LEWISTON – Ruth (Vickie) Couture of Hanover went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Oct. 29.

She was born the daughter of Ruby Ellingwood. Vickie was brought up in Rockwood surrounded by her loving aunt and uncle Laura and Bert Calder, her mom and siblings. Just before she turned 8, her mom died, and she and her sister were placed in foster care in Skowhegan.

She was a determined independent brave and courageous woman. She married Clement (Cutt) Couture and had four children. She raised her family in her beloved town of Hanover. In 1959, the house she was living in burned, and although she lost all of her possessions, she claimed she lost nothing because she got her children out safely.

Determined to remain in Hanover, she immediately sought out a new home for her family. She loved her little red house on the hill. She could be seen walking up to Howard Pond, or down to Howe’s Store to get her paper.

She always said that busy hands are happy hands and she kept her hands, busy working at the Trail’s End Motel for her very special friends, Al and Freda Larriviere. She would ride her bike to and from work and every other Saturday up to Bethel to see her daughter, Celina. She stopped riding her bike in her 70s after she fell off it and broke her leg, although she claimed she stopped riding because “the tires needed air.”

She never had the opportunity to travel much, but she traveled all over the world and beyond because of her love of reading. She also was accomplished in knitting, crocheting and sewing.

She is survived by her children, Mrs. Angelo (Claudia) Nardone Jr., Adrianne Gallant and Spencer Couture and his wife, Linda; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren, the youngest of whom arrived the day before Vickie left this earth

Awaiting her arrival in heaven are her mother, Ruby; her daughter, Celina; and her great-granddaughter, Angelina Nardone.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Rumford Community Home for their excellent and loving care and the staff at CMMC for making her last hours comfortable.