Abbey of Regina Laudis: Mother Ruth R.I.P.

Mother Ruth (née Pearl) Barry, 91, died peacefully on August 4, 2018, at Our Lady of the Rock, our monastic foundation on Shaw Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington. Her health had been declining for several months, and the last couple of weeks saw a rapid drop in her already frail condition. A few days before she died, she told Mother Prioress Therese that she wanted to go the Lord.

Pearl Barry was born of Dixie and Rosa Barry on a farm in Wrens, Georgia, the sixth of eight children. Her parents, tenant farmers, picked cotton alongside their neighbors who were sharecroppers. Pearl spent her childhood helping on the farm: picking cotton, gathering pecans, and drawing buckets of water up from a well a hundred feet deep. When she was only four, her mother made a little bag for her to use for picking cotton.

After finishing high school she moved to New York City, where she held several jobs, including at a department store and a bank. In the evenings she attended Brooklyn College. Raised as a Southern Baptist, she became drawn to Catholicism and entered the Church, taking Teresa as her Confirmation name. In 1968 she entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. When Pearl Teresa received the monastic habit she was named "Sister Ruth", and when she made her final vows in 1979 she became Mother Ruth. Her years at the Abbey were filled with farm work, primarily as shepherdess and caring for the large vegetable garden.

Mother Ruth held the office of Subprioress for several years. She was also involved with guests and made many friends among the people of Bethlehem.

In 1999 Mother Ruth moved to our foundation, Our Lady of the Rock. She was a great asset to the small community there in many ways. She helped with guests, did sewing and cleaning, worked in the gardens, and until the last two months of her life did the community's laundry. She was an avid reader, solver of crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and teller of stories. She remained close to her extended family, enjoying her regular phone conversations with family members and old friends. Mother Ruth

Throughout her monastic life, both at Our Lady of the Rock and at Regina Laudis, she was unfailingly present at Mass and the demanding Benedictine communal prayers. In her devotion to her monastic community she was a faithful servant of God, and now rests in His presence.

A Requiem Mass for Mother Ruth was celebrated on Tuesday, August 7th at the chapel of Our Lady of the Rock, followed by burial in the monastic cemetery.