Ruth Anne Pause

Ruth Pause, of Glenmont, New York, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2026, at the age of 79.

Ruth was born April 13, 1947, in Queens, New York, to Louis and Ruth Olivieri. She attended the State University of New York at Albany, earning her B.S. in English in 1969, and that August she married Keith Pause. They were married for 57 years.

Ruth and Keith bought their first home in East Greenbush in 1976, and in 2001 they built the home in Glenmont where Ruth spent the rest of her life. She built her career at the United States Postal Service, working nights for many years at a general sorting facility so that her days belonged to her sons. She later served as a clerk at the Post Office in the Empire State Plaza in Albany until her retirement in 2007.

Her boys were the center of her life. Ruth raised Kyle and Scott in East Greenbush and gave them a childhood built on steady, unglamorous devotion: a homemade lunch packed every school day from kindergarten through twelfth grade, countless drives to and from soccer, tennis, and track, and a seat at PTA and school board meetings where she advocated for their education. She and Keith paid for both of their college educations in full, through years of sacrifice and hard work. She raised her sons to be independent, caring, and clear-thinking men, ready for the world she sent them into.

She was a wonderful grandmother to Logan and Charlotte Pause, who will always remember time spent at Grandma's house, especially at Thanksgiving, where she spoiled them without apology.

Ruth kept a remarkable vegetable garden during the East Greenbush years, and her family spent every summer and early autumn eating fresh produce straight from her backyard. Much of it made its way to the dinner table, where a homemade meal waited for her family every evening. She was an accomplished baker as well, and her pies and cakes were a fixture of birthdays and holidays. She was a voracious reader, working her way through at least a book a week for her entire adult life, and she passed that love of reading on to her sons. She had a painter's eye for her own home, and treated its rooms, including her grandchildren's, as canvases. She followed the news closely, thought hard about it, and was never at a loss for a well-reasoned opinion. She and Keith spent many happy summers vacationing in Ogunquit, Maine, and Cape May, New Jersey.

Ruth is survived by her husband, Keith; her sons, Kyle and his wife, Anca, and Scott; her grandchildren, Logan and Charlotte; her sister, Rosemary Harnett and her husband, Larry; and her nieces and nephew, Kerry, Kevin, and Laura. She was predeceased by her brother John, and her parents, Louis and Ruth Olivieri.

The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to the hospice team at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, whose compassionate care kept Ruth comfortable in her final days.

The family will receive visitors on Saturday, September 5 from 2 to 4 pm at Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave., Delmar followed by a memorial service at 4 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ruth's name to a charity of the donor's choice.