Ruth Etta Ives, of Pemaquid, passed away on Nov. 13 from a malignant brain tumor.
She was born Jan. 17, 1947, the daughter of Charles and Velma Drake and stepdaughter of Robert Sutter of Wiscasset. She was a 1965 graduate of Wiscasset High School and a 1969 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono.
Ruth studied theology from 1971-1972 at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland where she met her husband, Rev. Robert Ives. They married in 1973, and moved to Monhegan Island where for two years they taught together in the one-room schoolhouse while Robert was the island minister.
Ruth and Robert moved to Loud’s Island in Muscongus Bay and lived there from 1975-1977; they served as the island ministers during the summers and in Sheepscot during the winters.
After serving the New Harbor and Round Pond United Methodist Churches from 1977-1979, Ruth and Robert founded the Carpenter’s Boat Shop in Pemaquid. For 27 years they welcomed apprentices into their home to learn the craft of wooden boat building and discern direction for their lives.
She always welcomed any person, offering a cup of tea and a blueberry muffin. She corresponded with thousands of friends and former apprentices, and wrote over 50,000 letters while at the Boat Shop.
Ruth also helped found the Community Housing Improvement Project (C.H.I.P) in 1984, and for nearly 15 years helped coordinate the annual ecumenical CROP Walk to benefit world hunger relief. She was an active member of the Second Congregational Church, U.C.C. of Newcastle.
Ruth leaves behind her husband of 33 years, Rev. Robert Ives of Pemaquid; children, Hilda Ives Wiley and husband Peter of Cambridge, Mass., Jonathan Ives, and Hannah Ives of Pemaquid; and brothers, Bob and Bill Sutter of Wiscasset, and Scott Sutter of Boothbay.
Memorial service 1 p.m., Sat., Nov. 18 at St. Patrick’s Church in Newcastle. Family burial will be held at the Harrington Meetinghouse Cemetery in Pemaquid.
In lieu of flowers, the Ives family requests that gifts be given to C.H.I.P. (Community Housing Improvement Project), P.O. Box 6, New Harbor, ME 04554, or any organization that is working to promote justice, love, and peace within your local community. Ruth always tried to “think globally and act locally.”
