DARIEN, Conn. – “The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning” (Ivy Baker Priest).

Ruth Mitchell Hartley died suddenly at Stamford Hospital on Jan. 1, 2023. She passed on to the next world with her family around her and with Irish music in her ears.

Ruth was born Oct. 29, 1931, in Islesboro, Maine and while she did not reside there for her whole life, she always considered it her home. Her father, Burr Mitchell, was caretaker for the Winthrop Aldrich estate, and Ruthie and her siblings grew up in the caretaker’s cottage on Ames Cove. She had a happy childhood, playing in the woods, rowing boats and engaging in countless other shenanigans with her brother and cousins.

She attended the University of Maine at Orono where she was a competitive tennis player, a sister of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and an All-Maine Woman, graduating in 1953. She was a proud alumna of UMO, and to her delight, saw two of her grandsons attend her alma mater as well.

Upon her graduation, Ruth embarked on her teaching career in Colebrook, NH in the company of her lifelong friend, Barbara Anderson Aaordkian. She married Grayson Hartley in 1959 and together they raised four children. Ruth resumed her teaching career in 1976 and retired from Livermore Falls High School in 1990. She and Grayson then returned to her beloved island for a long and happy retirement. There, Ruth was a member of the Sewing Circle and served as both President of the Islesboro Historical Society and on the Board of Trustees for the Alice L. Pendleton Library. She and Grayson entertained their friends at their home on Derby Road, traveled widely, and eagerly looked forward to the summers when their children and grandchildren would come to visit. She was never happier than when her grandchildren were running in and out of the house and reveled in their stories of sailing lessons, Town Beach picnics and other island adventures. Ruth was a loving mother and a truly excellent Grammy.

Ruth was a writer and musician, loving books and ideas. Her intellectual curiosity never diminished, and as she aged, her interest in the big metaphysical questions of life only increased. She was fiercely proud of her island ancestry and her Irish heritage. Music was her true passion: she was a member of the Charlie Pendleton Band and she gave piano lessons to island children for many years. Sing-a-longs were the mainstay of every family gathering, with Ruth at the piano, riffing and improvising, changing key to accommodate the voices. Those were undoubtedly the best and happiest of times.

Ruth was predeceased by her husband of over 60 years, Grayson A Hartley. She is survived by her four children and their spouses, Susan and John Brisson, Rockport, Mass., Carol and Chris Rooney, Darien, Conn., William and Terri Hartley, Kittery, Maine, John and Gretchen Hartley, South Portland, Maine; 12 grandchildren, Sarah, Alex, Jack, Emily, Isabelle, Grace, William, Charles, Lucy, Fiona, Delia and Billy. Also her brothers and sister-in-law, Buddy Mitchell of Topsfield, Mass. and John and Pat Mitchell of Islesboro. Ruth also leaves behind many dear friends both in Islesboro and at the Atria, Darien, Conn., where she resided for the last years of her life, sharing her love of books and music with all she met.

A celebration of her life will be held on Islesboro in summer, 2023.

In lieu of flowers,

donations may be made

in her name to:

Islesboro Historical Society or: the Alice L Pendleton Library

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