Obituary: Ruth Helen Welch Downie

Ruth Helen Welch Downie, age 94, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, at the Vero Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hampden, Mass. She was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 13, 1927, the daughter of the late Rudolph and Elsie (Spadgenske) Rasmussen and moved to the Berlin, N.H. area at the age of four, and lived in Berlin until 1980, when she moved to Brooksville, Fla., where she resided until 2010. After moving to Florida, she spent many summers in Springfield Mass., spending time with her family, finally making a permanent move to the Springfield area. Ruth was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and was also a member of a Lutheran Church in Florida. She enjoyed playing golf into her 80's, reading mystery novels, and doing crafts.

Members of the family include her daughter Susan (Welch) Lafleur of Springfield, Mass.; four grandchildren, Amy Fortier and her partner Scott Elliot, Heather Marr and her husband Peter, Christopher Lafleur and his wife Tracey, and Patrick Lafleur and his wife Karen; four great grandchildren Ellie and Camden Marr and Henley and Hudson Lafleur; a brother Robert Rasmussen of Berlin, N.H.; many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her first husband Clarence M. Welch (Smokey), her second husband David W. Downie, and by a brother Rudolph Rasmussen. She was also pre-deceased by a son, David Welch.