In Memoriam

Ruth C. Stewart
1929-2026

COOPERSTOWN–Ruth C. Stewart, 96, passed away on January 19, 2026, a beautiful snowy night, in her home on Eagle Street in Cooperstown, surrounded by love. Coming home was as comforting to her as it was to all of us who love her well. We are blessed.

Born April 2, 1929 in Buffalo, New York, the youngest daughter of Joseph and Winifred (Williams) Cousins, Ruth graduated from South Park High School in 1947. Married to Milo V. Stewart Sr. in 1951, the family of five moved to Cooperstown, New York in 1961 where the two youngest children were born.

Ruth was talented, tenacious, beautiful, and fearless, and her smile is unforgettable. The garden was where you’d most often find her, digging and planting and standing back to assess and then to rearrange. Her garden is a secret oasis of year-round beauty where we all took refuge for intimate talks, play in the yard, and large parties filled with laughter, great food, and lively exchanges between professionals and students alike. Two family weddings took place in the delightful garden. The house on Eagle Street was Ruthie’s kingdom, the kitchen the expression of her love and the garden her masterpiece.

Ruth’s love for Milo and our family was deep, enduring, and devoted. They were each other’s first and only love; 2025 marked their 74th wedding anniversary and 82 years since they met. Five children with boundless energies and talents, seven grandsons with exponentially more energy and talents, and one great-grandson, made for a very lively household. Tragedies happened, but the strength and resilience of a girl child of the depression carried us through on the broadest of shoulders. Ruthie’s stature belied the tower of strength that she was.  

Ruth’s talents were expressed in her artisanry. She was versed in many artistic expressions of the early American decorative arts guilds, cut and pierced lampshade design and fabrication, and especially picture framing, which is an art and a technical skill. Ruthie was an accomplished seamstress and knitter, spinner, and weaver. Her archival quality picture framing business was a thriving home business, with examples in local homes and museums. Ruthie was a perfectionist.

Ruth moved to the Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home in 2021, a plan she had made many years prior, and where she made many deep connections with staff and residents alike. The Thanksgiving Home is a place she loved and where she was loved, and we are grateful beyond measure for our collective experience there.

A sense of humor, boundless sense of adventure, mad dance moves, her memory for poetry, children’s games, and love of music, all music, fill our hearts and our memories. Ruth would love to be remembered for her dedication to her physical well-being, which came naturally and out of her restless spirit to keep busy and to accomplish a good day’s work. This served her well and is an inspiration to all who shared a spin class, a rock wall, a zip line ride or a swim across the lake. If you ever saw an older woman walking briskly around town in all weather, chances are it was Ruthie. Give a wave, tip your hat and bid that little lady a fond fair wish. She will most certainly return the sentiment.

Ruth is survived by daughter Elizabeth Stewart Solá of Lake Grove, Long Island; daughter Sarah A. Stewart (Robert Amore) of Cooperstown and New York City; son Milo Stewart Jr., of Cooperstown. Seven grandchildren, Kyle Sola (Isabell Gatzen Solá, and their son Gray Solá), Troy Solá (Mae Sussman), Hunter Solá (their father José Sola), Noble S. Mattson (his father Christopher Mattson), Henry Stewart (Bailey Stewart), John Stewart (Olivia Hull), (their mother Jennifer Stewart), and Weston Honicker (Marie DiLorenzo Honicker) (his father Russ Honicker).

Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Milo Sr., who died September 12, 2011, and two daughters, Ann Stewart Honicker who died May 1, 2016, and Cynthia Ann Stewart who died September 1, 1971.

She is further predeceased by her siblings, Laurence H. Cousins, Winifred J. Hanny, Dorothy L. MacHose and Marion L. Wikoff Chambers.

 A Memorial Service will be offered at 1:00 p.m. on April 11, 2026 at Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown, New York.     

Burial will be private in Lakewood Cemetery in Cooperstown.

Contributions in Ruth’s memory may be made to either one of the following:

Ann Stewart Summer Internship Fund, c/o Cooperstown Graduate Program, PO Box 4, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Checks made payable to SUNY Oneonta Foundation, memo “Anne Stewart Fund.”

Thanksgiving Fund, c/o Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home, 48 Grove Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Checks made payable to “Thanksgiving Fund.”

Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.