Ruth Bochner

1925 - 2017

May 9, 1925 - March 11, 2017 Ruth Bochner passed away at her home in Santa Monica on March 11, 2017. She was 91 years old, her death the result of natural causes. Born Ruth Roher in Toronto, Canada, on May 9, 1925, the daughter of Harry Roher, a well-known Toronto bookseller, and Anne Roher, nee Deutch. Ruth studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in the 1940s and was an accomplished pianist, performing across Canada at a concert level and winning several prizes in competition. In 1948 she married Lloyd Bochner, the Canadian actor. They made their home in Toronto, where they had three children: Johanna, Hart and Paul. Several summers in the early 1950s were spent in Stratford where Mr. Bochner was part of the Shakespeare Festival's original cast of actors. In 1960 the family left Toronto for Los Angeles when Mr. Bochner had been given a lead role in an ABC series. Ruth and Lloyd remained married for fifty-seven years, until Mr. Bochner's death in 2005. Ruth returned to school in the 1980s, studying at Antioch College West, and was awarded her Master's degree in 1988. She then began work in the Court Appointed Special Advocates program in Los Angeles, helping to represent, to guide and counsel disadvantaged, youthful offenders in their passage through the judicial system. Ruth and Lloyd spent summers sailing their 42-foot sloop in the Georgia Strait, off the coast of British Columbia, indulging their long-held joy in being alone together on the water. She is survived by her three children.