Ruth Pearson Long

Pearson Long, Ruth Hazan December 14, 1918 - November 8, 2012 Ruth Hazan Pearson Long, born December 14, 1918, in Oak Park, Illinois, passed away November 8, 2012 in Reseda, California, surrounded by loving friends, family, and the extraordinary staff at the Jewish Home For The "Adorable" as she called it. Ruthie, as she was known by those who loved her, married the wonderful Stanley Mark Pearson in 1947 and celebrated over 51 years with him before his untimely death in 1998. She raised two children Robin Pearson Rose (Roro) and Mark Hazan Pearson (Marko). She was a powerhouse of a wife, a mother and a nurturer of children. An icon in Sacramento, California, she helped start the first cooperative nursery school, taught creative (modern) dance for generations of children and taught charm school (for which she received unending grief from the two she called her "wretched children." With the help of Stanley, she founded the celebrated Inverness Day School in Carmichael, California, a private school, K through 4, that was dedicated to the arts and provided many scholarships for those unable to afford tuition. Ruthie's parents were Samuel and Rose (Rosie) Hazan. Sam was in the import business and after bucking the unions in Chicago, moved his family to the Bronx in New York when Ruthie was 19 years old. Ruthie was one of seven children: Bruna, Sandra, Sarah, Louis, Earl and Lenore. After selling The Inverness Day School, Stan and Ruthie opened a bed and breakfast in Cambria, California. They entertained and celebrated the most diverse collection of notables and ne'er-do-wells. After Stanley's death, she was so lucky to find Tom Long who steadfastly loved and cared for her through their six years of marriage before his death in October of 2008. The Long family was a blessing for which the Pearsons will always be grateful. Ruthie was an accomplished potter, poet, speaker of French (how she loved her French club), and an active and informed member of the Crocker Art Gallery (though she famously told Wayne Thiebaud, at one of his openings, that she really didn't like his pies). The extraordinary and loving Jewish Home for the Aging was her final residence. She continued to celebrate her interests there; going to the Mommy and Me classes, Tai Chi classes, reading her poetry in the club created for her and enjoying all the various music programs. Many of the workers and residents there became like family to her. She was madly in love with her grandchildren, Bennett and Connor, and their lovable yellow Lab, Murray. She is survived by her daughter Robin, Robin's long time partner Joseph Patrick Callaghan; her son Mark, Mark's wife Valerie; her grandsons Bennett and Connor; her sister Lenore Levy, brother in law David Levy; her brother Earl Hazan, sister in law Lois Hazan and myriad members of the Hazan, Pearson and Long families. We all miss her terribly. She was a force of nature. She was the "Ruthiest" because you couldn't get any more "Ruthie" than she. Ruthie's memorial celebration will be held at Noon on Sunday, December 16th, 2012 at The Sportsmens Lodge Event Center, 12833 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604. 818-755-5000. Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory, 3150 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura. Condolences may be left at TedMayrFuneralHome.com.