Obituary of Ruth M. Rife

Ruth M. Rife, R.N., 91, formerly of Rife Lane, Fonda, a current resident of the Edward L. Wilkinson Residential Health Care Facility, passed away unexpectedly Wednesday at St. Mary?s Hospital. Born in Amsterdam on August 19, 1914, the daughter of George and Lulu Gilman Kehoe. Ruth was a 1935 graduate of Fultonville High School and later the Amsterdam City Hospital School of Nursing. She met her beloved husband, Manuel Rife in the Army at West Point. They married on April 24, 1948. Ruth served as a nurse and attained the rank of Captain before her honorable discharge in 1948. Her nursing career was spent in pediatrics at the City Hospital and later at St. Mary?s, both in Amsterdam until she retired. She and her husband also were the owners and operators of the former R&R Drive in Tribes Hill. Ruth was a communicant of St. Cecilia?s Roman Catholic Church in Fonda. Her husband predeceased her on February 7, 2005. Her brother, George Kehoe, also predeceased her. Survivors include her daughter, Ann M. May and her husband Donald of Amsterdam; a son, Edward Rife and his wife Kathleen of Tampa, Florida; grandchildren; Christopher May, Donald May III and his daughter Antonia, Michael May, Michael Dwyer, Ruth Ann Rife, Melvin Rife, Rose Ferguson and Katrina Rife; six great grandchildren and nieces and nephews survive. Services are Saturday at 9:30 am at the Jackson & Betz Funeral Home, 15 Main Street, Fultonville, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am at St. Cecilia?s Church, Fonda with Fr. Patrick Gallagher, OFM Conv., celebrant. Interment is in Evergreen Cemetery, Fonda. A calling hour will precede the service at 8:30 am at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, in care of the funeral home.