Ruth Anne Goldstone

Ruth Anne Goldstone (née Liebling), known to many as Cookie, died at home in Shaftsbury, VT on August 5th, after a long struggle with lung disease. She was 89 years old. Ruth was born in 1932 in Brooklyn, the daughter of Jacob and Minnie Liebling. Her family later moved to Queens. After marrying James Goldstone in 1954, they moved to Los Angeles, and raised their three children: Peter, Jeffrey, and Barbara. In 1989, with the children grown and mostly living in the Northeast, they moved to Shaftsbury. Ruth attended The High School of Music and Art in New York City, where she majored in flute. In 1954, she earned a Bachelor degree from Bennington College. Ruth and Jim returned to Bennington College in 1955, where they earned their Masters of Arts degrees–Ruth in modern dance, and Jim in theater. In her teenage years and early twenties, Ruth danced professionally with choreographer Pearl Primus’ African dance company and with the American Square Dance Society. She toured the Northeast with the Bennington College dance company, and went on to teach modern dance and Pilates to students of all ages. After moving to Shaftsbury, Ruth volunteered at the Bennington Tutorial Center, helping students study for their GEDs. She later worked as part of a team led by Fred Burkhardt (who had been the president of Bennington College when she attended) on the Darwin Correspondence Project, preparing the complete letters of Charles Darwin for publication. Her specialty was comparing original handwritten letters to their typed transcriptions for accuracy. At the age of 80, after spending so much time in Darwin’s world, Ruth fulfilled a longtime dream and traveled to the Galapagos Islands with her daughter’s family, visiting many of the places she had read about. Though her accomplishments were many, she often said that her greatest achievement was raising her family. She was a remarkable wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was a wonderful influence on many, generously and lovingly welcoming them into the family home. Ruth was an avid gardener, weaver, and reader, and a faithful correspondent to friends. Her childhood summers at Camp Woodland in the Catskills informed many aspects of her future passions: her career in dance, love of folk music, and lifelong dedication to friends (many of whom she met as a nine-year-old camper). Ruth was a fabulous baker and cook, intuitive and creative, and a consummate hostess. Her gardens were her pride: daffodils, peonies, phlox, and irises. Family and friends always left with full baskets of vegetables and fruit. In her weaving studio she made rugs, pillows, tapestries, and more, all in her unique and personal aesthetic. Ruth was predeceased by her husband, the Emmy award-winning movie director, James Goldstone, in 1999 and by her son, Peter Goldstone, in 2019. Her brother, Joseph Liebling, died last year at the age of 94. She is survived by her children, Barbara Robertson and Jeffrey Goldstone, Barbara’s family (husband, Craig, and children, Camille and Allegra), Jeffrey’s family (wife, Frances, and children, Jacob and Gregory), and Peter’s family (wife, Anne Guével, children, Lucas and Julie Goldstone, and Julie’s family: husband, Nick Koch, and children, Malou and Hugo Goldstone-Koch). Sending flowers would be silly as the garden is now in full bloom. If you’d like, please make a donation in her name to the charity of your choice c/o Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home PO Box 957 Bennington, VT 05201. The family will gather privately with close friends to celebrate Ruth’s life.