Red Sox fans pay tribute to Ruth Pesky

LYNN -- Johnny Pesky already had his chance to say goodbye. He and his son, David, clutched the hands of his wife of 60 years, Ruth Hickey Pesky, as she died Friday at age 82.

Last night, friends, extended family, and the rest of Red Sox Nation had their chance to bid farewell to Mrs. Pesky, a woman with a wicked sense of humor and an infamous indifference to the spotlight. It wasn't easy: She was married to a famous ballplayer in a baseball-crazed city.

''She was a hell of a gal," Johnny Pesky said. ''She was a good wife and a great mother."

Mourners gathered at a memorial service at St. Mary's Church in Lynn. Three generations of fans paid tribute. They wore suits affixed with Red Sox pins. They gazed at the black-and-white photo of a smiling Johnny and Ruth on their wedding day. And they told heartfelt stories about a woman who was an integral part of Boston baseball for six decades.

''Everyone knows Johnny Pesky as Mr. Red Sox," said Dan Maher, 17, a great-nephew of Mrs. Pesky who lives in Lynn. ''But not a lot of people knew Ruth, and that's a shame because she was an incredible person, too."

Mrs. Pesky was far more than a baseball wife. She was her own person. Family friend Raymond McGuiggin told a story about how Mrs. Pesky built the family home in Swampscott with blueprints lifted from a magazine. He called it the ''house that Ruth built."

Mrs. Pesky suffered a heart attack in February and spent time in a nursing home before she died.

Several former Red Sox players, personnel, and members of the ownership group paid their respects earlier in the week.