Nellie H. (Grublevskas) Ruksnaitis, 90, of Westminster and formerly of Worcester, died Sunday, May 2 at the Life Care Center of Leominster.

    Her husband of 43 years, Anthony J. Ruksnaitis, died in 1990. She leaves a son William “Rocky” Ruksnaitis and his wife Diane (Wilson) Ruksnaitis of Westminster, with whom she lived; four daughters, Nancy Ruksnaitis of South Boston, Rosemary Yurewicz of West Boylston, with whom she had also lived with, Christine Caldwell of McLean, Va., and Julie White and her husband Kevin White of Paxton; ten grandchildren, Christopher, Jonathan and Luke Ruksnaitis, Joseph and Michael Yurewicz and Valerie Dungan and her husband Bernie Dungan, Sabrina Caldwell and Caitlyn, Hayley and Anthony White; and three great-grandchildren, Dean and Devin Ruksnaitis, and Avery Dungan. Her brother, Vincent Grubbe, died in 1995.

    Nellie was born in Worcester, daughter of Julius and Julia (Ginotis) Grublevskas. She graduated in 1937 from Worcester Commerce High School. After secretarial school and some office work, she entered Peter Bent Brigham Hospital School of Nursing in Boston, graduating in 1943. While in nursing school, she was a student nurse on duty at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital the night of the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston.

    As a registered nurse, she entered the U.S. Army in 1944. She served with a mobile hospital unit in North Africa and France. Her unit supported Gen. Patton’s Third Army and its decisive campaign against German forces including victory at the Battle of the Bulge. She was awarded a European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars and was honorably discharged in 1945.

    Following her military service, she worked at the V.A. Hospital in Rutland. She later worked at Holden Hospital while raising her children. In 1970, she went to work for Wright-Line as an occupational health nurse, before retiring.

    Following her retirement, she did volunteer work at Higgins Armory as a tour guide where she often related stories of her own military service to visitors. It was her goal to pen her memoirs from her wartime experience in “Letters to Nellie”, which remains unpublished. She also volunteered with the American Red Cross.

    Mrs. Ruksnaitis was a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Higgins Armory Museum and the Worcester Historical Museum.

    She was a member of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion. With her husband, she was a founding member of the Lithuanian War Veterans in Worcester.

    She was active in the WPI Alumni Wives Assn., the WPI Faculty Wives Club and the WPI Old Timers Club.

    The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster for their skilled and compassionate care.

    Calling hours at the Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St. Worcester are Thursday, May 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be held on Friday, May 7, from the funeral home with a Mass at 11 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament Church, 555 Pleasant St., Worcester. Burial will follow in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton.