SAUGUS — A talented carpenter, World War II veteran and Saugus resident Peter Ruggeri has spent most of his life building things.
From the small ranch-style home on Lenox Avenue he shares with his daughter, Jennifer, and dog, Toto, to countless pieces of furniture inside, it seems Ruggeri, 92, has never shied away from a project, no matter how big.
“We lived in a marshy area in Revere,” he said of his upbringing. “Where I lived is gone, it’s all highway and everything else, but it makes no difference because this (house) my wife and I built. Every square inch of it — every damn nail was driven.
“Everything we had, I made. Furniture, kitchen cabinets, the beds, the grandfather clocks, everything.”
When he was a senior at Revere High School, Ruggeri left home to join the United States Navy, serving two years at the end of World War II working in the engine room of the U.S.S. Pocono, then later joining the Coast Guard.
After the war, he began his long career as a carpenter and home builder, enjoying the new life he shared with his wife, Ruth.
“My brother had a girl, but he needed a car. I had a car, so he fixed me up,” he said of how he met his wife, to whom he was married for nearly 70 years before her death in 2018.
What followed his brother’s offer was a blind date and a short, happy courtship before the two quietly made the trip up to New Hampshire to elope. The married couple would eventually settle in nearby Saugus, where they became well-known locally for their well-crafted grandfather clocks and bowls (him) and quilts (her).
Ruggeri said his wife had a kind heart and was a talented quilter (“one of the best in the town of Saugus”), and would frequently make quilts to send to people in need across the country.
“We got along like you would never believe, like two people should,” he said. “I don’t care what would have happened. We helped one another all the way down the road.”
According to Ruggeri, Ruth was also an able carpenter who spent as much time building the couple’s home as he did.
“We built the whole thing, my wife and I,” he said.
For Ruggeri, however, building his own house was only the beginning of his career.
In the several decades he spent as a builder, Ruggeri played a role in countless projects, including helping to construct parts of the John Hancock building, Faneuil Hall, and the Prudential Center, as well as several local schools.
“I’ve done an awful lot of things over the years,” he said.
Because of his skill, Ruggeri was frequently called on to assist with a variety of projects.
“There was this one school, they brought me in because they had to hang some doors,” he said. “A truck comes in with over 200 doors. We took them all out, and that was only some of them. I had one Frenchman with me … We had to do the whole thing by ourselves.
“We just knew exactly what to do, and we just kept going around the whole school, and we did them all.”
From schools, churches, and houses, Ruggeri said his main focus and joy has always been using his trade to help others.
“I wasn’t looking for money,” he said. “I only wanted to help people.”
