Ruth Locknane Hand

Ruth Locknane Hand, age 93, died peacefully August 28, 2010, Middletown, RI., in the presence of her daughter and only child.Ruth Hand was born July 6, 1917 in Washington, D.C., the middle child of James and Ruth Locknane. She lived in Washington, D.C. until 1945, working as a secretary and administrator after graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1935. In 1945, after a whirlwind wartime romance, she became the loving wife of Edwin Hand and shared a 64-year marriage with him. They had one daughter, Edna Eileen.Ruth was a homemaker who was outgoing and active in her Silver Spring, Maryland community, volunteering at schools, in church, and for community causes. She worked with Girl Scouts of America in the greater Washington area and was the troop leader and devoted mentor to the same group of girls for thirteen years. Ruth and Ed Hand spent summers with their daughter in a cottage they built together in Loch Haven, Maryland in a time when the Chesapeake Bay area was still rural and undeveloped.After retirement, Ruth and Ed Hand moved to St. Pete Beach, Florida where they were both active in the community. Ruth was an enthusiastic member of the Womens Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Gulf Beaches and the St. Pete Beach Community Club. She served for years as an officer in the latter and organized many successful charity events to benefit the town she loved. She was a member of Pasadena Methodist Church.Ruth had a great gift for friendship and was known throughout her long life for hospitality to friends and neighbors of all generations. She adored her grandsons. She was a keen reader, a competitive card player, and when allowed to be the organizer of her loved ones lives. She was unfailingly gracious, loving, and generous and had an infectious, pealing laugh. She loved music and was a fine pianist and organist.Ruth Hand survived her beloved husband Eddie by exactly eight months. She survived her cherished siblings, sister Florence Locknane and brother James Locknane. She leaves and is greatly mourned by her beloved daughter Eileen Hand Warburton and her son-in-law Roger Warburton, both of Newport, Rhode Island. She also leaves her grandson Aneurin Nye Warburton of Los Angeles, California, her grandson Rhys Warburton and his wife Anna Davitt, both of Brooklyn, New York, her niece Jeanne Locknane Itjen and her husband of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and her nephew Bush Locknane and his wife Laura Locknane of Seminole, Florida, and her dear friend, her husbands cousin Charlotte Koerner, formerly of Peekskill, New York.The family is profoundly grateful to the compassionate staff of Blenheim Senior Living Community, Middletown, RI and to Hospice of the Visiting Nurse Service of Newport and Bristol Counties. The funeral will be private.