Ruth Littman

Ruth Wertheimer Littman, 106, passed away peacefully in her home in Southbury, Connecticut on Friday, May 11 after a long, full and well-lived life. 

She was the widow of Dr. Benjamin Bertram Littman, a cardiologist to whom she was married for 73 years. She was the daughter of the late Joseph Wertheimer and the late Anna (Rubenfeld) Wertheimer and was born in midtown Manhattan.

She is survived by her daughter Dr. Emily Littman Eisen (the late Dr. Steven Eisen) and her son Dr. Jonathan Littman (Lynne Strode) and grandsons Andrew Wallace Eisen of Los Angeles, California and Daniel Ellis Littman of Brooklyn, New York.

She graduated from Hunter College in 1931 and received a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in 1935. In recent years she attended her 80th and 85th college reunions, where she was a Guest of Distinction.

During the Depression Era, she was a Special Interviewer for the Disabled at the New York State Employment Service, finding work opportunities for people with disabilities. Prior to that, she taught English and Citizenship in the New York City Schools.

She was a life member of the Waterbury Hospital Auxiliary and of the Mount Sinai Medical Center of Miami, Florida and its Cancer Auxiliary. She was also a member of Hadassah, The National Council of Jewish Women and the American Jewish Congress.

She traveled extensively throughout her life. Starting at age 100, she conducted a travelogue for the residents of East Hill at Watermark, which her husband had started, to provide armchair voyages for herself and the other residents who were no longer able to travel.

The matriarch of her large, extended family, she will be remembered for her sharp mind, which served her until the very end, and allowed her to always offer astute political opinions and commentary.

She will also be remembered for her deep love of family and friends and the joy she took in entertaining and connecting with others.

A funeral will be held on Tuesday, May 15 at 11 am at B’Nai Israel, 444 Main St. N, Southbury, CT. The Woodbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere, 2 School St., is in charge of the arrangements. There will be a Shiva Minyan at 310 Flanders RD, Bethlehem, CT on Thursday, May 17 at 7 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Littman-Eisen Family Fund at the Connecticut Community Foundation, 43 Field St. Waterbury, CT, 06702.

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