I did not know this about Rutherford until I read it in the Proclaimers book. And my grandparents were Bible Students in 1920. Is it no wonder why quite a few jws left after reading the history in the Proclaimers book (came out in 1993, about the time the internet really took off).
The WTS has 3 kinds of history accounts of their own organization
1. Info presented but info left out that takes it out of context
2. Info never mentioned at all
3. Info massaged or reinvented to fit their image (using the internet or getting access to publications not on the WT-CD) Is that rewriting history?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101993008?q=mary+rutherford&p=par
Brother Rutherford was survived by his wife, Mary, and their son, Malcolm. Because Sister Rutherford had poor health and found the winters in New York (where the Watch Tower Society’s headquarters were located) difficult to endure, she and Malcolm had been residing in southern California, where the climate was better for her health. Sister Rutherford died December 17, 1962, at the age of 93. Notice of her death, appearing in the Monrovia, California, Daily News-Post, stated: “Until poor health confined her to her home, she took an active part in the ministerial work of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
(Notably, Rutherford spent a great deal of his time in southern California, but not to be with his wife and son, Malcolm--whatever did happen to him. She did not live very far from Beth Sarim, but no mention why he did not live with them or even have contact with them.