Ruth Laura Grueter Hackett, 82, a dear mother, grandmother and friend, died peacefully at home on March 19, 2014 surrounded by family.

Ruth was born in Paterson, N.J., the daughter of merchants who owned Paterson Coffee Roasters. Her early life spanned the tumultuous decades of the Great Depression and World War II. She graduated from Pompton Lakes High School in 1948 and the Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in 1951. As a registered nurse, she was a caring person who always sought to discern and meet the needs of others. Her career in nursing spanned more than a quarter century, and included clinical care, supervisory and administrative roles. She retired from the Home Care Department of Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y.

Ruth and William E. Hackett Jr. were married in 1951and built their first home in Wayne, N.J., where they started a family before moving to Allendale, N.J. in 1960. In the 1970s they purchased property from T. Delano Bryer and built a home on Pleasant Cove in Boothbay with the help of family and friends.

She enjoyed contract bridge, decorative painting, collecting bric-a-brac and gardening. She loved animals, especially dogs, and served as a volunteer and trustee of the Boothbay Region Humane Society.

She was an exemplary mother and grandmother who passed on her strong work ethic, her commitment to excellence in professional life, and most importantly, her love. She would sometimes remark, “I think my life’s purpose has been to raise my four boys.” A mother’s love can never be repaid — it can only be passed on.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred Grueter and Cathryn Wilson Grueter of Wayne, N.J.; her older brother, Fred Grueter Jr. (Killed in action on November 22, 1944, 411th Inf. Reg., 103d Inf. Div., U.S. Army); and by her husband, William E. Hackett Jr. (January 31, 1930 — March 14, 1998).

She is survived by four sons (and their spouses), William R. (Deborah Anthony) Hackett of Ogden, Utah; Robert F. (Irmalyn McPeek) Hackett of Boothbay; Thomas E. (Robin Engler) Hackett of Brielle, N.J.; and Jonathan N. Hackett of Boothbay; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A family gathering in Boothbay is planned later this year to celebrate her life and legacy.