Wilma Diane Minnick, age 85, died peacefully on April 14, 2026 with her loving husband of 66 years John Minnick by her side. She is survived by her daughters Deborah Scheetz, and her husband Mike, and Beth Ruth, and her husband Tony. She is also survived by her grandchildren John Scheetz and his fiancé Elizabeth Grebe, Rebecca Scheetz, Abigail Scheetz, and Alexander Ruth. She is predeceased by her parents Archibald and Margaret Sheppard, her sister and best friend, Rhoda Murphy, and her grandson “Gus” Gustave Anthony Ruth IV.

Wilma was born and raised in Everett, Massachusetts by her parents and her large extended family that called the greater Boston area home. A lifelong Red Sox fan who celebrated the curse’s end with the Sox World Series win in 2004 also enjoyed the winning Patriots with Tom Brady. Wilma attended just about every home game of the Hartford Whalers starting in 1974 when the team located to Connecticut where she resided for 25 plus years.

She loved music, especially Frank Sinatra. Her sarcastic sense of humor was enjoyed by friends and family alike. Wilma, like Sinatra, “did it my way”.

Her joy for sports was only bested by her enjoyment of warm weather and the ocean. After John’s retirement, the couple wintered at their Sandpiper Key home in Englewood, Florida for nearly 30 years. In 1997, Wilma and John relocated from Connecticut to The Vineyards in Stratham, New Hampshire to be closer to family and enjoyed an enduring friendship with her nearby sister Rhoda and her husband Jerry Murphy.

Over the years, Wilma traveled with her husband throughout the United States, Bermuda, and Europe. She enjoyed needlepoint, antiquing, and reading. Most of all she valued time with her husband and family after spending 31 years on the move with her husband’s career as a sales executive.

Wilma savored her role as Ooma and Mimi to her four grandchildren. She rocked them, bathed them, played Flinch and Scrabble with them, and celebrated milestones never overlooking a birthday, graduation, or even a new tooth. She was always at the ready to help the grandchildren and attended more activities for the four grands than we can count. Throughout the years, she was a constant at soccer, football, T-ball, hockey, dance recitals, violin and piano performances, scouting events, and more. Most recently, she relished their upbeat visits to her home at Riverwoods in Manchester where they celebrated, always with a game of Bingo, her birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

A private family celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Riverwoods-Manchester Employee Appreciation Fund care of Riverwoods-Manchester, 200 Alliance Way, Manchester, NH, 03102. The family is grateful to the incredible, caring staff at Riverwoods.