Obituary for Anaita Ruiz (Calderara)
Anita (Calderara) Ruiz, 90, of Summer Street, Westerly, passed away at Westerly Health Center on Thursday, September 21, 2023. She was the wife of the late Julio C. Ruiz.
Born in Nashua, NH, she was the daughter of the late Josephine (Marzoli) and Louis Calderara. She was pre-deceased by her sister Claire Calderara of Westerly.
Anita graduated from Milford, NH high school, in 1951. She then was a graduate of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing. From there she attended Tufts University in Boston, and went on to work for Tufts, before moving to Westerly.
She was employed at the Westerly Hospital, and helped to open the new 3rd floor, where she became the head nurse. After the birth of her son, she became a private nurse, visiting and treating people in their homes, providing oversight and transportation to cancer treatments and hospice services. She held her RN license into her 70’s.
She enjoyed her large vegetable garden, canning and cooking. She also followed Boston’s 4 sports teams, and enjoyed watching them nightly during retirement. Her real passion was reading, and her favorite place in town was the Westerly Public Library.
She is survived by her son Thomas Ruiz and partner Jennifer Dudko, of Westerly, a sister-in-law Tania Ruiz of Miami, FL, several nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family would like to thank the entire staff at The Carriage House at The Elms, both past and present, for their exceptional care and compassion over the past several years. Special thanks to the owner and head office at The Elms, for their wonderful facility and staff, and also their hard work during the COVID Pandemic, to make sure things ran as smoothy as possible.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Westerly Public Library in Anita’s memory.
Funeral service and burial will be private. Gaffney-Dolan Funeral Home, 59 Spruce St., Westerly is in charge of the arrangements. For online condolences please visit www.gaffneydolanfuneralhome.com
Born in Nashua, NH, she was the daughter of the late Josephine (Marzoli) and Louis Calderara. She was pre-deceased by her sister Claire Calderara of Westerly.
Anita graduated from Milford, NH high school, in 1951. She then was a graduate of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing. From there she attended Tufts University in Boston, and went on to work for Tufts, before moving to Westerly.
She was employed at the Westerly Hospital, and helped to open the new 3rd floor, where she became the head nurse. After the birth of her son, she became a private nurse, visiting and treating people in their homes, providing oversight and transportation to cancer treatments and hospice services. She held her RN license into her 70’s.
She enjoyed her large vegetable garden, canning and cooking. She also followed Boston’s 4 sports teams, and enjoyed watching them nightly during retirement. Her real passion was reading, and her favorite place in town was the Westerly Public Library.
She is survived by her son Thomas Ruiz and partner Jennifer Dudko, of Westerly, a sister-in-law Tania Ruiz of Miami, FL, several nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family would like to thank the entire staff at The Carriage House at The Elms, both past and present, for their exceptional care and compassion over the past several years. Special thanks to the owner and head office at The Elms, for their wonderful facility and staff, and also their hard work during the COVID Pandemic, to make sure things ran as smoothy as possible.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Westerly Public Library in Anita’s memory.
Funeral service and burial will be private. Gaffney-Dolan Funeral Home, 59 Spruce St., Westerly is in charge of the arrangements. For online condolences please visit www.gaffneydolanfuneralhome.com