Ruth L Grossman

Ruth Grossman, nee Labov, died May 7, 2024, in New York City. Ruth was the second child of Harry Labov and Charlotte Ullman Labov. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on August 17, 1927, she was predeceased by her siblings, Joseph Labov and Marjorie Labov Jacobs. Ruth left New Haven in 1944 to study journalism at Syracuse University and graduated in 1948, the first female in her family to do so.

After graduation, Ruth married Ralph Lawrence Grossman of Scarsdale, New York, in New Haven on July 18, 1948. They moved to New York City, then Mount Vernon, New York and finally settled in White Plains, New York in 1956 where they resided for 60 years. Ralph passed away in 1994. In 2016, Ruth moved back to New York City.

In 1970, Ruth began editing cookbooks for author Yvonne Young Tarr. The books they collaborated on included the “New York Times Bread and Soup Cookbook," published in 1972, and the "Great East Coast Seafood Cookbook," published in 1982, which won the Tastemakers Award. Subsequently, Ruth went to work for Sunburst Communications (now Sunburst Digital) where she edited catalogs of educational materials marketed to K-12 schools. At the same time, she earned her Master’s Degree in Humanities from Manhattanville College with a perfect GPA. She completed her degree program at the end of 1990.

Ruth was an avid reader and gardener. She enjoyed travelling, feeding the birds, and working diligently to outwit the squirrels. Ruth is survived by her loving children and their spouses, Amy Grossman (John Purchase) Seth Grossman (Laureen Cooney), Susan Grossman (Walter Knoll), and Elizabeth Grossman (Ronald Bederka), and her beloved grandchildren, Tania Grossman (Blaise Troiano), Chelsea Grossman (Dustin Speights), Alan Bederka, and Zachary Knoll. Ruth’s great grandchildren were a source of joy for her, Zoe and Lilah Troiano and Sawyer and Ruby Speights.

Her family will miss Ruth's keen intellect, wise counsel, love and support.

Funeral services will be held at Riverside Memorial Chapel at 180 West 76th Street, New York, New York on May 10, 2024 at noon. Interment will be held at Ferncliff Cemetery at 280 Secor Rd, Hartsdale, New York. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in memory of Ruth Labov Grossman to the Daughters of 1853 Nursing Scholarship Fund through the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven either on line (https://jfgnh.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1222) or by mail (360 Amity Road, Woodbridge, CT 06525)