Ruth L. Calvano
March 9, 1933 - December 31, 2023
Ruth L. Calvano (Norlin), of Winthrop, entered into rest on December 31, 2023, at 90 plus years of age. Born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, Ruth was the cherished daughter of the late Arthur C. Norlin and Judith DeMasi.
Her father, a native of Norway who spoke many languages, was an engineer whose work for the United Shoe Machinery had him travel to South America, where he and Judith, a native of Italy, spent a period during which Ruth’s two sisters, Beatrice and Charlotte, were born in Rio de Janeiro. Ruth, the youngest of the three, although North-American born, often reminisced over memories from her earliest years in Brazil and Argentina. She would allude to the sounds and images of the wildlife indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and its lively elements. On the family’s return to the United States, they lived in Chelsea, Massachusetts, where Ruth attended school and then went to work as a seamstress in the garment industry. She adored her mother, “Giuditta” in Italian, as Ruth would indeed succeed in uttering at times in the latter part of 2023. Like her father, Judith spoke more than her native Italian, namely, Portuguese, Spanish and English.
In the mid-1950’s Ruth met the man whom she would marry, Louis J. Calvano, Jr. Lou had worked in Air Cargo in New York and by that time was working for National Airlines at Logan Airport. Not surprisingly, their first encounter was at an Italian restaurant in East Boston, as the two shared an affinity for the neighborhood’s unique culture. With the birth of their first son, Louis, and with her sisters in nearby Revere, the Chelsea - Revere - East Boston triangle was most certainly home.
About a year following the birth of their second son, Arthur, the family moved to Tampa, Florida, where brothers Louis and Arthur grew up until the family returned to Massachusetts in the summer of 1980, eventually landing in Winthrop.
Winthrop would become Ruth’s steadfast stomping ground, as she walked one corner of the town to another. She immediately made close friends while Arthur enrolled at St. John the Evangelist School and Louis at St. Dominic Savio High School. Arthur would also later attend Dom Savio and then Holy Cross and Louis Suffolk University. The travails of becoming a single mother in the mid-80s and the trials that it created for her bore the forerunners of her great tenacity and grit, which could hardly be subdued by misfortune and the worst disease, even up to her passing. Because for Ruth, nothing was more important than her sons’ well-being and seeing a smile on their faces, a smile that they inherited from their mother - a smile that was each of theirs and theirs alone.
Well, that and the unconditional love that she demonstrated for animals, and cats above all. Ruth was wholehearted in her care and treatment of all kitties through the years, and not just her own. On Bowdoin Street she kept a close watch on a large outdoor cat as he began to falter (for the longest time thinking it was a she, as Ruth always called him “her girl”), fearing that she would get hit by a car with her diminished dexterity. She loved dogs too. She would occasionally carry treats with her and surprise a dog down the Center with an unexpected serving. She was a huge fan of an adorable resident cat named Nate of a hardware store in Beverly. On one October day in Salem years back, she enjoyed the most special company of a pig named Willy and his owner. Just a few examples.
The importance and symbolism of maintaining a smile and being able to laugh went hand in hand with the resilience and positive attitude that Ruth exhibited for 33 ½ years subsequent to losing her Louis in a tragic accident in 1990. She was equally persevering, persistently unaccepting, and inexplicably perspicacious through and amidst the formidable physical and mental challenges provoked by the infirmity that she was dealt, ones that began to surface over the greater part of the last decade.
Ruth had an uncanny ability to articulate in her own succinct way that which was unquestionably true. Direct and often funny, other times replete with emotion if not pain, she managed to hit it right on the button.
Those who truly knew her shall never forget that smile of hers that embodied her kind, selfless and magnanimous spirit. Those who knew her wouldn’t be surprised that she lived with deep humility up until her passing.
Ruth was the loving mother to her son and primary caregiver Arthur C. Calvano and to the late Louis J. Calvano, III. She was the dear sister of both the late Charlotte Timms and the late Beatrice Pesino. Ruth is survived by Arthur, her nephew Louis Duguie, three nieces - Sabrena Pesino, Dena Cordero and Nena O’Brien (and her husband Eric), as well as their children and grandchildren.
She also leaves behind her precious Poppy, of nearly twenty feline years.
Visitation will take place at the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home on Saturday, March 9, from 9 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. A funeral Mass will follow the visiting hours at 11:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church (of Saint Michael the Archangel Parish) located at 320 Winthrop Street in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth’s memory can be made to any of the following organizations at their websites:
Alley Cat Allies - https://www.alleycat.org ; The Compassionate Friends - https://www.compassionatefriends.org/grief/; or The Humane Society of the United States - https://www.humanesociety.org