Ruth Kessin

NORTH CANAAN — Ruth Kessin died on July 8, 2020, of old age. She was 105 and lived in the Geer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Canaan for the past 8 years. She was social, and loved to chat with the staff and other patients. 

Ruth was born into a large family in Bayonne, N.J., where she went to high school. 

She married Nathaniel Kessin in 1940 but remained with her family in Bayonne, while Nat joined the Navy during World War II. 

They moved to the Washington, D.C., suburbs in 1947 and went into business and then in 1953, to Laconia, N.H., where they lived for 45 years and ran a clothing store. 

Ruth was active in town events and welcomed many relatives and friends to Laconia. She became the matriarch of the family. Hers was a life well-lived, largely for the benefit of others.

Her son, Richard Kessin and daughter-in-law, Galene Kessin, live in Norfolk. Lois Kessin, her daughter, lives in Laconia. Her grandson, Zachary Kessin and daughter-in- law, Devora, have two sons, Natanel and Elchanan, who live in Be’ersheva, Israel. Ruth’s granddaughter, Jessica Kessin, lives in San Francisco with her husband, Patrick Doherty, and children Oliver and Senya.  

On July 9, 2020, Ruth was interred next to Nat (who died in 2011) in Beth-el Cemetery in Paramus, N.J. Arrangements were by Plaza Memorial Chapel in New York and the Kenny Funeral Home in Norfolk.

Ruth and her family felt that the Geer Nursing and Rehabilitation staff were extraordinary in their care of the elderly and the injured. There was not a single case of COVID-19 in their facility. Donations in Ruth’s memory should be directed to Geer.