Obituary: Ruth “Tiny” Hoffman
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Ruth “Tiny” Hoffman died Oct. 15, 2026, just shy of her 99th birthday at home in Cambridge surrounded by family as she had hoped.
Ruth “Tiny” Hoffman
Raised in Rochester, NY, she married Fenno Hoffman in 1947 whom she met in Small Point, Maine, a much-loved place their families spent summers for generations. They moved to Cambridge in 1957 where they raised their four children. From 1967-69 she flourished living in Rome, where Fenno taught through RISD.
After a second marriage to Jim Drier living in Staten Island, NY, and Bath and Brunswick, Maine, where she enjoyed the company of friends and local restaurants and time at the Spirit Pond cabin, she kept the friends and returned to Cambridge in 2003.
Some of her life interests beyond her family: 20 years in the hospice movement; Carl Jung (dreams, the shadow, the importance of intuition and the feeling life) through the Jung Centers in Cambridge and Brunswick, Maine; the natural world with the beach, the birds, the light on the Herons; making new friends and keeping old ones, including a beloved “death partner.”
Ruth took part in the civil rights movement; shared the influences of her privileged class background on the Phil Donahue show in support of the Haymarket People’s Fund; supported the women’s and GLBTQ movements through her children and stood on the on-going side of justice. In the last years, she asked daily about the war.
As she developed dementia, the family held a “living funeral” for her in 2022 to hear from friends and relatives. “I’ve had a good life. I’ve known a lot of interesting people.”
Her spirit is carried on by her children, their partners and grandchildren- John and Kate (Stevens) of Charlemont, Mass., Cathy and Betty (Burkes) of Cambridge, Mass. and god-son Aaron Cartterfield of Bath, Annie and John (Lapham) of Arlington, Mass. and son Adrian of LA, and Sarah and son Josh of Cambridge.
A celebration of her life will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m., at the Mount Auburn Cemetery Story chapel in Cambridge. Live stream at https://vimeo.com/event/6297829/fd31657424
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