Longtime Charlestown Resident Ruth Bushway Dies at 92

Ruth M. Bushway, 92, a lifelong Charlestown resident who worked across the Connecticut River region and performed with local musical groups for decades, died January 5, 2026, at Springfield Hospital (VT). Born July 30, 1933, in Charlestown, she graduated from Charlestown High School in 1951 and married Robert E. Bushway later that year.

Bushway's working life touched multiple sectors that have long anchored the region's economy. She held jobs at Holstein Fresien in Brattleboro, Bragg Lumber in Bellows Falls and Moore & Thompson Paper in Bellows Falls, and she also worked at the Charlestown Senior Center. Her varied employment reflects the mix of manufacturing, lumber and service work that sustained many Sullivan County households in the second half of the 20th century.

An entrepreneur, Bushway sold Beeline Fashions and operated both a tanning salon described in records as exotic and a neighborhood hot dog stand. Those small-business ventures contributed to the local retail and service landscape and exemplify the kind of microenterprises that support rural towns' economic life and social interaction.

Beyond her work, Bushway was an active part of Sullivan County's cultural fabric. She sang and played drums and guitar with local bands and ensembles over many years, a presence that helped sustain a local music scene that residents often gather around at community events, senior center functions and summer gatherings.

She is survived by her daughter, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, siblings and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services were scheduled at Charlestown Memorial Chapel, with burial set for spring at Pine Crest Cemetery. The family listed the Charlestown Senior Center and Charlestown Congregational Church as organizations for memorial donations.

Bushway's life illustrates a pattern familiar to many in Sullivan County: long personal ties to place, a patchwork career across nearby Vermont and New Hampshire employers, and a combination of wage work and small-business activity. Her musical contributions and time at the senior center also underscore the nonmonetary ways residents shape community life. For neighbors and those who knew her performances or frequented her businesses, her passing closes a chapter in the town's social and economic story.