CASTINE – Ruth Brank Kneisel, 96, died Nov. 22, 2006, in Blue Hill. Born Jan. 23, 1910, in St. Louis, Ruth Kneisel grew up in Summit, N.J. She and her husband, Frank, lived in New York City and Wellesley, Mass., retiring to their cherished summer home in Castine in 1972. A music major and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College in 1932, Ruth was an accomplished pianist and teacher of piano and music history. During the course of her career, she worked at Wellesley College and LaSalle Junior College in senior administrative positions and, for many years, was the executive director of Kneisel Hall, Blue Hill. In Castine, she served as chairman of the Castine Golf Club Women’s Committee. Predeceased in 1973 by her husband of 40 years, Ruth moved to Westport, Conn., for several years before returning to Castine where she spent her final years. A loving and caring mother and grandmother, Ruth leaves behind a daughter, Virginia of Castine; a son, Frank and his wife, Mary, of Westport, Conn., and Castine; grandchildren, Geoffrey and wife, Sara, Lindsay and husband, Richard Gagnon and their twin sons, Brady and Andrew, and David and his fiance, Caitlin Bortolot. Funeral services will be held in December in Castine at a date to be announced by Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral Home, 28 Elm St., Bucksport. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Castine Health Clinic or Castine Trinitarian Parish Church.
RUTH BRANK KNEISEL
