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Belle Rugh Obituary
Belle Dorman RUGH June 8, 1908 ~ May 22, 2011 Born in Lebanon, Belle spoke English and Arabic. Following her BA (Vassar) and MA, she taught in Beirut. After marrying Douglas Rugh, she lived in China, Lebanon, and the US, and wrote three children's books. Known for her open heart and spirit, Belle loved engaging in wide-ranging conversations. Preceded in death by her husband, Belle is survived by daughters Molly Newcomb (Jerry) and June Rugh, grandsons Danny Newcomb (Andrea) and Gabe Newcomb (Nancy), and great-grandchildren Simone, Ailie, Theo, and Isaac. A memorial service will be held on June 12, 2 pm, at Seattle First Baptist Church. Sign Belle's on-line Guest Book at www.Legacy.com.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Belle Rugh
Karen Stingle
January 21, 2024
I had the good fortune of living in Beirut from 1952-1957. I was friends with Belle's niece Eleanor, and got turned onto Belle's book, Crystal Mountain, a favorite of mine. When mine got stolen with a big pine box of treasures, I managed to find a replacement, which I still have.
My family spent part of a couple of summers very close to their family's place up in the mountains, and I climbed "Crystal Mountain" often, finding (and eating) pine nuts, and interesting rocks and fossils.
In 2005 I took a trip to Lebanon, a beautiful and joyful time for all of us, as the Lebanese had finally gotten the Syrians to leave, got their country back again.
By then Belle was living in Seattle and I connected with her through a mutual friend. I had a visit with her before my trip and asked her what I should do while I would be there. "Eat lots of baklawa," she replied with a laugh. I took her advice and have never had such joy in sweet baked goods, nor seen such variety anywhere.
I am thankful to have gotten to know her and wasn't aware of her death, though I'm not surprised - she lived a long and joyful life. Have some baklawa for me up in heaven, Belle!
Tami Yogev
June 3, 2020
I miss Belle so much. I always think of things she used to say to me, like when I was worried she told me: leave the life of your loved once in the hands of god. She had such a good sense of humor! I once asked her how do you get to an old age? She told me just keep breathing
Or make everyday a happy day...
Belle lives in my heart ❤
Brenda and Don Mallett
September 27, 2011
Dear June and Molly,
Don just informed me that he heard from our sister-in-law in Indiana, that dear Belle had passed several months ago. She was such a special friend of Don's mother, Kay Mallett, and I loved the time she was in our lives too. She was so unassuming but she was so bright and curious about all manner of things; she was such a scholar and an author but she was so humble that many didn't know of her esteemed academic background. I loved her sense of humor, her perceptive outlook, her inclusiveness, her gentle spirit. She and Mom had so much in common and had a deep and true friendship in their later years---they complemented one another, were confidants, traveling companions, tea drinking mates, and explorers together. What a gift to both their friendship was. Don and I are so sad for your loss. We know you and all of Belle's loved ones will carry on her legacy -- she was a wonderful woman and we loved her.
Molly Kenyon
July 24, 2011
Dear June and Molly,
My father liked Dag Hammarskjold’s writing, and Belle exemplified the attitude to life outlined in a very challenging passage from Markings:
“For all that has been, thanks. To all that is to come, yes.”
Five things I remember about Belle:
Her enormous kindness in tutoring me in history and French, when I was out of school in 1969-70. Spending time with her was always pleasant, entertaining, informative. She fed me triangles of pita bread with melted cheese, and Pepsi. We walked the dog together on the golf course, sometimes with my mother. That was the year after your father’s death - I can only imagine the emotional and practical adjustments she was having to make.
You may have been present when she spoke at church about bereavement, saying that it was like a stream going underground - the person was no longer visible, but still present. I suppose that the theme of The Lost Waters was in her mind, as well as a feeling that your dad was still with her.
You may also remember her story of a person who claimed skill as a medium coming to call and saying - “Oh, I can see Douglas sitting in that chair now!” Belle said very firmly, “No, he would never be so impolite.”
She only once mentioned having a temper like the rest of us. She said that occasionally if she felt out of sorts, she would warn Doug and the girls that it would be more comfortable for them not to be too near her that day!
After her move to a smaller house, I remember her wonderful story of a Dorman relative visiting when a power cut took out the lights. The two of them sat for hours reciting poetry. Western countries have lost the skill of memorisation, but the value of narrative tradition is resurfacing through the international storytelling movement. I’d have liked to talk with Belle about that.
Rob and I are so glad that we were able to visit her last year. It was a precious hour - especially as Rob’s first and only chance to meet her. Belle’s positive attitude to life and other people shone through her struggle to see, hear and remember. Her blessing on us remains a memory to treasure, especially as Rob never knew my father or mother.
Andrea Sununu
July 7, 2011
Dear Molly and June,
As you already know, if I were to tell your mother what she will always mean to me, I would say, however inadequately,
"Your youthful radiance, generosity of spirit, Lebanese hospitality, and inimitable blend of whimsy and wisdom have touched many lives. My own life would not have been the same had I not met you, at long last, at age sixteen, and had I not discovered Crystal Mountain eight years earlier at the USIS library on Rue Sadat--just beyond Rue Bliss, the Beirut street named after your great-grandfather. Ever the teacher and writer, endowed with a poet's soul, you understood Wordsworth's aphorism, 'What we have loved, / Others will love, and we will teach them how.' Before I left Lebanon, nearly 47 years ago, you taught me, as you once put it, to 'love two lands.'
Through your books, your letters to me over the years, and your life's example, I have benefited from your intrepid spirit, your gift for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and your unfailing welcome. You loved not only two lands and family and friends but also children, dogs, walks--smelling the wind, as the Arabs say--trees, rocks, and thistles, language, poetry, the expressiveness of Arabic idioms, and life itself. Fittingly, you remained your serene, lively, and loving self until you slipped away into a new Beulah.
Everyone who contributed to the memorial service did you proud--and all four hymns, with their thoughtful glosses, proved as fitting as could be."
Belle & Isaac, her youngest great-grandchild (2008)
June Rugh
June 18, 2011
judith dorman
June 18, 2011
Dear Belle, It has been a very long time since I have seen you unfortunatly. I pray Jesus is taking the very best care of you now. You will be so missed by all. Judith Dorman ( Miami Fl)
Najwa Wehbe
June 17, 2011
She was an inspiration to me. A very sensitive and a positive woman. I am so glad I got the chance to know her. I loved visiting Belle in those sunny afternoon, sitting in her living room in Seattle and chatting over tea and cookies. So simple, yet so precious.
Charles Frederick Dorman
June 14, 2011
Belle, I will miss coming up to Seattle to come see you, especially for
your kind hospitality during my visit with you. I will cherish the time that
I was able to spend with you, you will be always be in part of my heart.
I will stay in touch with Molly and June, until we see each other again!
Charles F. Dorman, (Tacoma, Washington)
Tami Yogev
June 11, 2011
My last visit to Belle, Oct. 2009
Tami Yogev
June 11, 2011
On "Grandparents Day" with Gilad
Tami Yogev
June 11, 2011
There are so many good memories of Belle from the 10 years we lived in Seattle and from all the visits to Seattle after we left. When I walk on the beach of the Mediterranean in Haifa now I think how much Belle loved the Mediterranean Sea. I think of all the stories she told me about this area of the world, about Lebanon and Israel (back then Palestrina). In one of my visits to Seattle a few years ago I brought Belle a stone and water from the Sea of Galilee. She loved it so much. She told me "you have brought me a piece of your land".
I feel so fortunate and privileged to get to know June and Belle. Belle was like another mother to me and a grandmother to my kids. I will never forget the time she came to my son's preschool on "Grandparents Day" as his grandmother. Also the time when she had us over for dinner at her house, my son was 3 years old. Before we came she hide some toy dinosaurs on the tree branches in her back yard. When we arrived she told him "let's go outside and see if we can find dinosaurs". I loved her sense of humor. I once asked her about her secret of her long life and she said: "just keep breathing". And "I was fortunate with friends and family" and "our children means so much to us" and "part of trusting God is to look back at what he has giving us. God is in charge, leave the people we love in the hands of God".
And there are so many more memories....
I will always have the memory and the spirit of Belle to hold in my heart.
Tami Yogev, Haifa, Israel
Y. Remmers
June 10, 2011
Until we meet again my Dear Friend.
Marsha Knight
June 10, 2011
Sleep now, dear Belle. In memory of a life well-lived.
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory,
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
---Percy Bysshe Shelley
Tina Peterson
June 9, 2011
June, Your mother was so sensitive. She told me the story of her bus ride through England - and her impression of seeing the countryside through the eyes of Peter Rabbit! - as she was riding on the bus! As if she were him!
I loved that.
She was very charming and intelligent and I am glad I got to spend the small amount of time with her that I did.
James McGrath
June 9, 2011
I did love and revere your mother---a serene and gracious lady. I won't be able to get to the memorial service, but know that I'm beside you there in every way possible. Peace, Jim McGrath, Redmond, Washington
Bill Dorman
June 9, 2011
There are so many images that flood my mind when I think of Aunt Belle: The house in Connecticut with the big red door and the VW bug in the driveway, and of course the kitchen with the smell of ginger snaps. That great patio out the back door and the downhill path leading to the golf course, but not before the magic patch of sunflowers. The basement with what seemed to a young boy to be a lifetime supply of National Geographics, along with interesting or baffling toys from different countries.
But of course it's the spirit that is really always with me. And I feel fortunate that I will carry that for the rest of my life. I can see the beaming smile and the hand clap that goes with "Oh, BILL!" when welcoming me. Unconditional love. The sage advice to not worry quite so much about whatever I happened to be worrying about at the moment (which always seemed to be something). And of course walks with the dogs. And there are particular moments.
Like when she came to visit us in Pennsylvania when i was in fifth grade and she came to our classroom to talk. And I was so proud--that's my aunt and she wrote a book, you know. In fact, she wrote three of them. And of course the last one had a featured role with a certain little boy--not to mention his brother and their cousin. But she also just talked with all of us at the school on our own level. I still remember walking around for weeks and having people talk about how "your aunt is so COOL!" I always felt like that was my first visit from a rock star.
And the time when my first marriage broke up and she wrote me a great letter basically reinforcing the idea of not to worry so much, and to move on because life was certain to get better and to bring more good surprises as well. And with the funny line at the top saying "this letter requires no answer."
And she was right, of course. About things getting better and life bringing more good surprises. And about the importance of being open--open to other people, to different cultures and ideas, and to life itself. That open feeling and the ability to look at the world with wonder as well as curiosity--and always with love.
June 9, 2011
Belle Dorman Rugh
June Rugh
June 9, 2011
One of my favorite pictures of my mother.
Deborah Woodard
June 8, 2011
When Mrs. Rugh was 97, June and she visited my Emily Dickinson class at the Richard Hugo House to talk about their family's connection to Abby Wood, Emily Dickinson's childhood friend. With June's assistance, Mrs. Rugh climbed a steep set of stairs and quietly waited in an adjoining room until my students were settled in their seats. My class loved Mrs. Rugh's visit and her stories. When she needed to amend one of my observations, there was a sudden flash in her eye, and I felt myself not so much corrected as illuminated. I remember her saying, "We mustn't outstay our welcome," as she and June prepared to take their leave. Surely there was never any danger of that, and, just shy of her 103th birthday, she has departed all too soon. Heartfelt condolences to June and the entire family.
Tim Dorman
June 8, 2011
Whether collecting stones, viewing the clouds, reciting poetry, offering cookies or reminiscing on her rich life and family, Aunt Belle left us all with a legacy of deep wisdom, a twinkling eye, unbounded curiosity and unqualified love. Amen!
Molly Hastings
June 8, 2011
Dear Molly, June, Gabe and Dan,
It was a wonderful priviledge to get to know your mother and grandmother for the many years we lived on her block. She had a wonderful sense of being, a wonderful sense of humor and a wonderful love for life around her. We truly cherished the opportunity to get to know her and her contagious optimism will forever be how we remember her. May your memories of her always bring smiles to your faces.
Fondly,
Bill and Molly Hastings and family.
Bill and Andrea Rugh
June 8, 2011
Dear Molly and June,
We regret that we cannot be with you for your mother's memorial service, but we want to offer a few words for that occasion.
Aunt Belle was always a special person for us. It was our luck that when we joined the Foreign Service and moved to Beirut in 1964 to study Arabic, she was there. We couldn't have asked for a more sympathetic introduction to the Arab world or a better guide to becoming immersed so quickly. With her fluent Arabic and friendly manner she literally opened doors for us in our first days looking for an apartment, and even when the apartment didn't meet her standards we went away feeling we had fast friends seemingly all over Beirut. She introduced us to her friends, and when Doug showed us around the country, took care of our boys who adored her—following her around at Chemlan as she showed them all the wonderful things plants could do. From the very first moment, through the understanding we gained from her, we knew we were going to love living in the Arab world.
She was the essence of kindness and charity and good humor—later when we went on to other countries all we had to do was think “What would Aunt Belle have done in our place?� and knew if we did it right our relationships would be infused with the proper kinds of courtesies Arabs are known for. She was our inspiration and model for living our lives in the Middle East. We stayed in touch with her over the next 47 years, meeting in Cairo and Seattle and elsewhere and often talking by phone. Whenever we chatted with her we went away inspired by her humor and wisdom, and proud that we were related to such a wonderful human being.
We will always treasure her memory and will continue to try to emulate the grace and dignity with which she lived her later years.
gail crouch
June 8, 2011
Belle was one of my favorite women and I treasured the times I had with her. Lots of prayers flow to you June and Molly. Give my best to Gabe and Nancy. I remember their joyous wedding.
Jeffrey Pollock
June 8, 2011
June - You were so good to your mom. You were more than mother and daughter, you were good friends. A rare gift. I know how much her presence in your life means to you. I'll always cherish meeting your mother and her first words to me were "Jeff, how delightful to meet you, I can't wait until you leave so we can rip you to shreds"! I knew right away I liked her. Her sense of humor was a riot. A true beauty! I wish you a weekend of love, joy and peace with your family. Jeff
June 8, 2011
My dog, Bella, a European golden Retriever (cream colored and white) and I visited Belle as a part of the Group Health Hospice Program. Bella loved her and I enjoyed our conversations. She was so sweet and gentle and interesting to converse with. I am sorry that we never met her daughters as she spoke fondly of them. I am so sorry for your loss. Ruth Rice [email protected]
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