Ruth Ann Hendrix

Ruth Ann Hendrix, née Theriault and known for much of her life as Ruth Saviano, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2026, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, surrounded by her children. She was 88 years old.

Ruth entered this world on April 13, 1938, weighing a mere 3 1/2 pounds, in Bangor, Maine. Her parents, Emile Theriault and Lea Babin Theriault, placed their newborn on an open oven door to keep her warm. Right from the start, this baby girl had plenty of life challenges to endure. Ruth spent her childhood on a family farm where she developed an understanding of hard work, simple living, and an affection for all living things (except snakes). The memories she carried of working the farm alongside her siblings became some of her favorite stories to tell throughout her life.

As a young woman, Ruth moved to Massachusetts, hoping to expand her horizons and life experiences beyond rural Maine. Due to a sitcom worthy mixup, she met her husband instead of her originally intended suitor. She often referred to this mix up as her best “mistake”, for she was immediately smitten with this handsome Italian man named Angelo Saviano. Ruth and Angelo wed on June 14, 1958, and began their family in East Douglas, Massachusetts. During her time in East Douglas, Ruth had her hands full raising five children and attending to the never ending duties of being a wife and mother of that era. It was there that she built some of her closest friendships, bonding with other moms in the small community, as they all navigated the joys and chaos of raising their families together.

Due to Angelo’s job transfer, Ruth and her family relocated to Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1976, where she would spend the rest of her days. While in Spartanburg she continued to devote much of her life as a homemaker. As her children got older, she also served with great care and compassion as a nurses’ aide at several nursing homes in the community. Her tenderness toward the elderly was a thread woven throughout her entire life — one that began with the love she held for her grandmother, Delia Babin.

Ruth found joy in life's simplicities. She tended her plants, cross-stitched, created pottery, and never missed a chance to sit down for a game of cards — or Scrabble, which she played with particular enthusiasm and, it should be noted, loved winning. She grounded her days in Bible study and her faith in God, a faith that she deeply felt and a source of her comfort in every trial life brought her way. She had a gift for finding contentment in the small things: crisp sheets billowing on a clothesline, the softness of puppy ears, the first blooms of spring, the quiet of watching a baby sleep, the warmth of a tea with loved ones. She was always very fond of anything sweet, with a particularly strong penchant for a Starbucks Caramel Ribbon Crunch. Extra crunch. These were not small joys to Ruth — they were the substance of a blessed life.

Among her final words, she offered a reflection that speaks for itself: “Regardless of all the hard times, I have been just so blessed in life.” It is a sentiment worthy of carrying forward.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Angelo Saviano, her son, Gregory Saviano (wife Beth); and her grandson, Taylor Gaskins (wife Meredith) and five siblings.

She is survived by her children, Angela Lancaster (David), Paula Gaskins, David Saviano (Susan), and Elizabeth Cain (Adam); 11 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren, one great-greatgrandchild and two siblings.

A private ceremony will be held to celebrate and honor her memory.

She was deeply loved, and she will forever be missed.