GLOUCESTER: One week before her 90th birthday, Ruth Mildred (Morse) Barkhouse passed away peacefully on April 18, 2009. She was born on April 25, 1919, the daughter of Charles Boynton and Helen Mae (Woodbury) Morse in Rockport, MA where she attended the local schools. She was the wife of the late Norval K. Barkhouse. Ruth lived a full and happy life, overcoming many obstacles with grace, dignity, humor and love.
After the loss of her mother, Ruth became the main caregiver helping her father care for the rest of the family which included nine children one being only 11 months old.
Ruth enjoyed being outdoors and had a “Green Thumb” which was envied by all who knew her. She took great pride in her yard and many gardens, growing her own plants and flowers from seeds she would plant in the greenhouse that her husband had lovingly built for her. Ruth won several awards from the local Gardening Club for her outstanding rock gardens - she had an amazing knack for making all things beautiful. She could be seen tending to her gardens while sitting in her chair up until the age of 89 with her granddaughter by her side.
Ruth looked forward to the springtime when many different types of birds would flock to her yard annually to feast on the feed and water that she would religiously set out for them. She also enjoyed seeing the new little chicks hatch in the many homemade birdhouses that her husband would make in his shop, one of them an exact replica of their home. She and her granddaughter would sit in lounge chairs eating cucumber sandwiches with binoculars and a bird watching book nearby to help to identify any new birds they may see.
She spent many hours trout fishing with her husband and three children and as time passed with her granddaughter. They would travel to Maine for a week of trout fishing in the lakes every June. Ruth was an official member of the 3 pounders club from the First Lake Cabin for catching a 3 lb. 7 oz. trout – it was so heavy that she had thought she hooked an old log by the waters edge.
She participated in an all Women’s Bowling League where she won a trophy for high scorer. She was also an avid Red Sox fan and enjoyed talking baseball with her grandson-in-law, Anthony.
Ruth especially enjoyed playing Bingo and looked forward to playing Pokeno with her three sisters – the house would be filled with laughter and joy on those nights.
Ruth is survived by her three sisters, Mary wife of George Witham, Harriett Witham and Nancy Budrow who will greatly miss their visits with her. She looked forward to her daily visits and conversation with her granddaughter, Pauline, who was always there for her.
Ruth is also survived by her grandchildren, Pauline wife of Anthony M. Burnham, Michael P. Frontiera, Kevin M. Barkhouse, and Stephen P. Barkhouse and Jeffrey D. Barkhouse and her great-grandchildren, Joseph, Sarah, Jacob and Anthony, Jr., Mikheala and Derek, and Crisitina.
Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Norval K. Barkhouse, her daughter Nancy (Barkhouse) wife of Gasper J. Frontiera, Phillip, husband of Lillian Barkhouse and Norval “Butch” Barkhouse, her brothers, Herbert, John “Cackle”, Richard and Stephen Morse and a sister Helen Gleason.
To know her was to love her and she will be greatly missed by all whose lives she touched in so many ways.
A memorial service for Ruth and her sister, Nancy Budrow, will be held on Thursday, June 11th in the Rockport United Methodist Church, 36 Broadway, Rockport at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Interment will be held in the Seaside Cemetery.