Obituary of Ruth Halvorsen

Ruth O. (Colin) Halvorsen, a resident of Burlington for 59 years, passed away at the Winchester Nursing Center, on her 89th birthday, September 18, 2009. Ruth was the wife of the late Ralph Henry Halvorsen. Ruth was born in Fredrikstad Norway. She one of 12 children born to the late Knut and Laura Colin. Ruth grew up on the family farm in Norway with farm animals and crops all supporting the heart of the family in the kitchen. She arrived in the United States at the age of 8 with her mother and seven other siblings in March of 1929 to join their father who was a master tailor in Central Square Cambridge, just months before the Great Depression. She went on to attend Willard Elementary School in Cambridge. Ruth married her husband Ralph Halvorsen of Lowell on August 14, 1943. Ruth worked as a Sales Clerk for Gorin’s Department store as well as Windsor Button Shop at the Burlington Mall. She was a talented seamstress and enjoyed knitting and sewing. Ruth was a woman of strong faith and was an active member of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Woburn. She enjoyed sharing her heritage with her family. Ruth will be remembered for her humor, warm and devotion to her family. Ruth was the beloved wife of the Ralph H. Halvorsen. She was the loving mother of Ralph K. Halvorsen of Lowell, Gary A. Halvorsen & his wife Frances of Burlington, Lauri L. Kelber & her husband Joseph of Chelmsford. Ruth was the sister of late Ella Eames, Fin Colin, Vera Baumber, Thyra Kolstad, Mary Williams, Omar Colin, Edith Bull, Karin DelTorto, Irene Hansen, Ruth Lilly Colin, Asta Buzzelle and Leif Colin. Grandmother of Kristin Rocheleau of Portville, NY, Matthew Halvorsen of Reston, VA, Sonya Halvorsen of Lowell, Nicole Halvorsen of Burlington, Elizabeth McGrory of Billerica, and Aaron Kelber of NY, NY. Great grandmother of Shannon & Kerri Rocheleau, Matthew Halvorsen and Luke McGrory. Dear friend of Marilyn Liljergren Richards and Jessie Franson. Also survived by 52 nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 10 a.m. Followed by Funeral Services at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Woburn at 11 a.m. Visiting hours Monday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. In lieu of flowers memorials in Ruth’s name may be made to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 60 Forest Park Rd., Woburn, MA 01801. REFLECTIONS By Gary Halvorsen, son Ruth O. Halvorsen Today, we celebrate Mom’s life and say good bye to the daughter of Knut and Laura Colin, a treasured wife to my father Ralph, loyal and loving sister, a wonderful mother, lovely mother-in-law and caring Nana, great grandmother, godmother, terrific sweet aunt, trusted neighbor, and dear friend who by virtue of these roles gravitated to be the matriarch of the COLIN family. The legacy of the family lives on; 3 Children, 6 grandchildren,4 great grandchildren and 2 more on the way, 52 nieces and nephews, nearly 100 great nieces and nephews, and many more great-great nieces and nephews and many, many friends. And you all thought Senator Ted Kennedy’s family had the only lock on family numbers. She saw two children become victims and victors of cancer and herself come to experience the suffering of cancer. It was her choice to go against the insurmountable odds to fight the good fight but in the end to be on the wrong side of the fight of a merciless foe. Her grace, courage, dignity, love on a daily basis, full of hope, and optimistic expecting a miracle. From Mom’s point of view, these past 3 ½ months were invaluable, bestowing precious additional time to spend with her family. The pleasure she gained of being around you - the grandchildren and great grandchildren was free medicine and the three things intrinsic to her – faith, family, love. Mom based on her strong faith goes before us to lay the path with the flight of angels to the heavens. The passing of a mother is the final link of two sons and a daughter to become wholly dependent upon themselves and begins the legacy of who the teacher was. My brother Ralph, my sister Lauri and I have all learned very well. Giving of her heart, and the love how deeply she loved. A gifted seamstress taught from Pa and Bestefader (i. e. grandfather). The dress she chose to be laid out today is testament to the craft. Mom always told me basting and button holes were the hardest challenge to learn and perfect. And over the years on more than one occasion I would hear her swear out loud. Being one of her last dresses she was full of dignity and proud completing the perfect basting and button holes on one try! Mom said, “Pa would be proud of me.” My dear wife Frani and my loving daughter Nicole – you gave so fully and selfishly to Nana. You provided the love that sustained her all these years and into her last chapter. The last few months she saw how much we loved her and outpouring of affection as her health would diminish her. Thank you!! In the eyes of poet Christopher Warner: God Only Takes the Best God saw that she was getting tired And a cure was not meant to be So he put his arms around her And whispered &quote;come with me&quote; With tearful eyes we watched her suffer And watched her fade away Although we loved her dearly We could not make her stay A golden heart stopped beating And a warm loving heart to rest God broke our hearts to prove to us That he only takes the best Frani, Nicole and I will miss you deeply and we will always love you and cherish the beautiful memories of our years together. Love you Mom!! Ralph’s word’s of remembrance Ruth Aase Halvorsen, born Sept. 18, 1920, Fredrikstad, Norway, died Sept. 18, 2009, Winchester, Massachusetts. One of nine sisters and three brothers, she came to the United States in 1929 at a time when immigration was very tight, especially for a large family. One brother would survive Pearl Harbor, another, a Corporal in the Kings Guards, helped the King escape capture by the Germans and was spirited to England. Finn then went to help the partisans, was captured many times and escaped, skiing into Sweden while being shot at, just like an Errol Flynn movie. Mom,..... wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother was as lovingly proud of her Norwegian ancestry as she was fiercely proud of her adopted country. She loved this country with all of her being. Here was an independent thinker married to a second generation Norwegian/American, an FDR loyalist. Dad would give her a list of Democratic candidates to vote for before she went into the voting booth. She always assured him she voted the &quote;right&quote; way but when the curtain was pulled she exerted her American right to vote her conscience. I don't think she ever said anything to him but &quote;Just as you told me honey&quote;! The daughter of an immigrant tailor, she passed on her skills as a seamstress to her offspring, and they to their offspring, both male and female. Both my son and I, Navy veterans stitched our own ranks ratings to our uniforms, did our own alterations. How many of the Gen-X children of today can even thread a needle? Mom called me one day extremely excited because her church had not one but two old sewing machines for sale for $25 each. One went to my son the other to my youngest daughter. Her legacy lives on. Ruthie as she liked one and all to call her, was a big supporter of the space program. After all, it was America at its best. My sister told the story of being at my house late at night watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon and seeing tears of joy fall from Mom's eyes. The same tearing eyes I saw when her &quote;boyfriend&quote; Gus Grissom and his fellow astronauts died in the fire aboard the space capsule. As are many other mothers, she was proudest of her offspring's accomplishments, a son becoming a Naval officer, a grandson becoming an FBI agent, graduations from high school and college. The children, grand children...... And the great grand children that unfortunately will never know her loving embrace but who will hear the wonderful tales of &quote;Nana&quote;. God bless you Mom, we love you............ Lauri’s words of remembrance I am Ruth's daughter, Lauri Louise Halvorsen Kelber. I would like to personally tell you what I know my mother loved. My mother loved to sew. I wore a green flowered &quote;going away&quote; dress on my wedding day. My daughter wore a white eyelet christening dress. My son wore red overalls. My home had orange curtains. My mother loved to knit. My grandson wore a blue hat with matching mittens complete with string. My husband wore a brown tweed sweater. My mother loved my father. With his carpentry skills, he built my childhood house which I moved into at the age of three weeks old. My mother loved my brothers. One would research her family heritage for her, the other would make sure that her sewing machine had fresh oil. My mother loved my family. She flew her first kite with my husband at the beach. She enjoyed Saturday teatime with my daughter at her home. She was interviewed about her family's brave journey from Norway to the United States by my son. She made sugar free fresh blueberry muffins for my son in law's lunch box. She made a precious beautiful orange apron for my future daughter in law. My mother loved her church. She had many friends that shared stories with me after last Sunday's church service. She made &quote;birds&quote; a Norwegian beef dish, for the pastor and his family when their son was born. She worshipped in two different church pews at the end seat of the last row--they each hold a single pink rose in her memory today-the one to the left was her original seat that I sat with her in, the one to the right is the seat that she moved to so that she could comfort a dear friend when her husband passed away. My mother loved the fall. She will be laid to rest on its first day of the season and finally My mother loved me. I will never forget last Wednesday. When I got to the rehab center for my daily visit, my mom simply gazed into my eyes and with a weary voice whispered Lauri, I need you to stay with me today. I will miss my dear mom although I know she is now with the Lord that yes I know my mother loved.