Ruth A (McCaffrey) Bourk-Boyle

Ruth A. (McCaffrey) Bourk-Boyle, R.N.,.

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend

Ruth A. (McCaffrey) Bourk-Boyle, R.N., 81, of Pelham, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 14, 2020, at her home with her loving family by her side.
She was the beloved wife of the late Richard G. “Dick” Boyle, who died on March 12, 2020, and the late Roger E. Bourk.
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1938, a daughter of the late Matthew F. and the late Alice (Conlon) McCaffrey, she attended Lowell schools and was a graduate of Lowell High School, class of 1956. Ruth went on to graduate from the Northern Essex Community College Nursing Program as a registered nurse.
 
Ruth worked for more than 35 years at Saints Memorial Medical Center (formerly Saint John’s Hospital) as a registered nurse, most recently in the emergency department.  
She maintained lifelong friends who she still looked forward to meeting at monthly lunch gatherings. Many knew her as a loving, caring, compassionate nurse with a special place in her heart for treating all patients with dignity and empathy.
Among her many interests, Ruth enjoyed traveling, reading, and making puzzles. Anyone who knew her was aware of her lifelong passion for the second-hand market: antiquing, thrift stores, and auctions. She and Dick loved the “thrill of the hunt” and a trip down memory lane. Ruth had a great eye for treasures, and after retiring she enjoyed volunteering in the thrift shop at the Pelham Senior Center.

A quintessential extrovert, Ruth loved spending time with many family members and close friends. She still met regularly with friends from the Lowell High School class of ‘56.
She was a communicant of Saint Michael’s Parish in the Centralville/Christian Hill section of Lowell, where she and her first husband, Roger, lived and raised their four children. She regularly volunteered at Saint Michael’s School and Church. Her life centered on the joy of motherhood and all that it entailed.
 
Ruth is survived by her four children: Michael R. Bourk of Pelham, Timothy Bourk of Gallatin Gateway, Montana, Roger Bourk of Andover, Massachusetts, and Kerry Adams and her husband Michael of Hingham/Hull, Massachusetts; five grandchildren: James Bourke and his wife Kelsey, John Bourk, Haley Bassett, Jane Lydia Adams, and Zelda R. Adams; a great granddaughter, Mackenna Bourk; two sisters, Jean Callahan of Ogunquit, Maine, and Judy Casserly and her husband Frank, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts; a sister-in-law, Mary McCaffrey of Chelmsford; and many nieces and nephews. She was also the sister of the late Richard “Dick” McCaffrey.
 
Bourk-Boyle—Relatives and friends are invited to attend Ruth’s  Funeral Mass to be celebrated Saturday morning, June 20, 2020, at ST. MICHAEL CHURCH in LOWELL at 10 o’clock. In light of Covid-19 restrictions in the state and churches, we ask that all attendees please wear a mask and practice social distancing while in the church. Burial will follow at St. Mary Cemetery in No. Tewksbury. E-condolences at www.pelhamfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in her memory to the Pelham Senior Center, 8 Main St., Pelham, NH 03076. Arrangements by the PELHAM FUNERAL HOME – PELHAM – (603) 635-3333.

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