SOUTH HADLEY

Ruth E. (Duffy) Narey, age 93, of South Hadley, passed away peacefully at her home with her family by her side on Monday, May 22, 2023. She was born in Holyoke, a daughter of the late Patrick J. and Mary E. (Curley) Duffy and was a 1947 graduate of the former Rosary High School.

Ruth worked as a telephone operator for New England Telephone Company and later was employed at the former Holyoke Savings Bank. She married her high school sweetheart, Francis Narey, on April 14, 1951 at Holy Rosary Church, and moved to Indiana where Fran was stationed with the United States Army.  They returned home to Holyoke the following year. Ruth and Fran were blessed with sixty-one years of marriage before his death at the Holyoke Soldier’s Home on March 16, 2013.

Ruth subscribed to and loved to read the local newspapers daily, along with the Washington Post and NY Times. She was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and a longtime member of the Holyoke Canoe Club. She was a communicant of Saint Jerome Church in Holyoke.

Ruth is survived by her beloved children and grandchildren: Martin and his spouse Betsy of South Hadley; Susan Cole and her spouse Mark of Franklin, MA and their children Patrick and Mary; and Atty. Stephen Narey and his spouse Donna and their children Josh, Ryan and Cole of Williamstown, MA, as well as several nieces and nephews. Besides her parents and husband, Ruth was predeceased by her brothers, Francis and William, and sisters, Mary and Dorothy.

Calling hours will be held Saturday, June 3rd from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton Street, Holyoke, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 noon in the chapel of Saint Jerome Church, 169 Hampden Street, Holyoke.  A private burial will be held at a later date. Memorial donations in Ruth’s name may be made to the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, 20 Burlington Mall Road, Suite 261, Burlington MA 01803 (781) 221-0024 www.mdsc.org, an organization that was dear to Ruth’s heart.