Mary Ruth Drew

Mary Ruth (Aspland) Drew, age 98, passed away December 4, 2024, at Tidewell Hospice in Punta Gorda, Florida. Her husband, Joseph Drew and her brother, Alfred Aspland preceded her in death. She was born on October 23, 1926, in Providence, Rhode Island to Fred and Mary Aspland who were first generation Americans. Mary grew up in Lincoln, Rhode Island. She was formerly from West Willington and Prudence Island. When winters in Connecticut became too much, Mary and Joe purchased a home in Englewood, Florida. Upon retirement she lived summers on Prudence Island, Rhode Island and winters in Englewood.

Mary loved how close she lived to the water. She enjoyed fishing and “swapping lies” (her words) with other fishers. She walked every beach in Port Charlotte and Englewood finding an eight inch shark’s tooth and regularly securing unusual shells. and a variety of treasures. Love of the beach was in her DNA. Her parents met on Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay. Mary’s mother came up from New York in the summer to work in the Prudence bakery, and her father came to the island to fish and clam. They dated and were married. Mary visited Prudence many summers as a child. She returned with her family as an adult. Mary and Joe visited Prudence. As a result, they purchased a home. The family truly enjoyed Prudence, especially Mary.

Mary attended high school at East Providence High School. While she was in high school, she worked at Hasenfeld Brother’s factory assembling doctors’ kits and pencil boxes. That little factory is now Hasbro Company. Upon graduation Mary enrolled in Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. The United States had entered World War II and all of the military services needed nurses. The federal government funded the Cadet Nursing Corps giving a free education to anyone who agreed to serve upon graduation. She chose the Navy because their uniforms were cute. She never got to wear the uniform because WWII ended prior to her graduation. She achieved a license as a registered nurse.

The Labor and Delivery room at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island was her first job after nursing training and passing her boards. She chose Labor and Delivery because she did not like to take care of sick people. Her words. Her husband secured a job in Connecticut in 1957, so the family moved to the rural town of Hebron, Connecticut. Mary found a part time position at a nursing home. In addition, she started to raise animals from chickens to goats. It was like ‘Old MacDonald’s Farm’ with an abundance of milk and eggs. Mary canned the produce grown on the farm.

When her own children were all in school, Mary found a job as an elementary school nurse.in Coventry, Connecticut. In addition to regular first aid, she began vision and hearing screening. After a referral one little girl got glasses and was amazed that trees had leaves. Mary also enlisted a dental hygienist to clean and check the students teeth. She enjoyed the children and staff. She continued to correspond with some of the teachers in the years after her retirement.

After 20 years, Mary retired from school nursing. She became an escort for Kaplan Tours. She loved being the center of attention and the boss, so this was her cup of tea. She guided bus tours along the east coast, including Canada. She had a strong desire to learn new things. Interestingly she put her nursing skills to work. She loved to share the scenery and history. She performed the Heimlich when a tourist was choking at dinner. A tourist suffered a heart attack and Mary successfully performed CPR to revive him. She was always ready for an adventure.

Adventure expanded to world travel. From The Great Wall to China to glaciers of Alaska. Mary and Joe had a fabulous adventure driving the ALCAN Highway (dirt road) to Alaska. They camped when there was not a hotel. One morning she faced a bear across a pond. The trip to Alaska was a beginning.

Mary had a strong desire to visit places in the world she had read about, such as China, Egypt, India, Panama, Mexico and England. It was as if those photographs from “National Geographic” came to life. Mary read voraciously giving her background to plan her adventures. Her greatest thrill was being at the Pyramids

When not traveling, Mary had a variety of hobbies. She crocheted everything from hats to stuffed animals using her own patterns. She participated in the knitting group that meets at St. Davids. Beach scenes were Mary’s subjects for painting. She captured the awesomeness of the water and sky in her paintings. Cross stitch was a passion of Mary’s. She cross stitched the alphabet with an authentic individual lighthouse for each letter. Fishing was Mary’s favorite. She could clean and filet the fish she caught.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents Fred and Mary (Hartley) Aspland, her husband. Joseph Drew and her brother Alfred Aspland.

Mary is survived by her children: Susan Kirkendall (Alan) of Pasadena Maryland, Gerald Drew (Roseanne) of Dover New Hampshire, and James Drew (Jennifer) of Houston Texas. Also, her grandchildren: Sian Drew, Michael Drew, Sarah Drew, Melissa Kirkendall, Jeff Kirkendall, and Andrew Kirkendall. Extended family survivors: Betty Aspland, sister-in-law, Kathy Lynch niece, and Richard Aspland nephew.

Visitation will be held on December 20, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Kays Ponger & Uselton Funeral Homes & Cremation Services 1935 Tamiami Trail, Venice Florida.

A funeral service will be held December 21, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., St. David’s Episcopal Church, 401 S. Broadway, Englewood Florida. A graveside service will follow at Gulf Pines Memorial Park in Englewood.

Interment will be at Gulf Pines Memorial Park immediately following the service.