Jael Brown Ruesch

1937 ~ 2020
Jael Brown Ruesch (nee Ashton) was born October 30, 1937 in Salt Lake City. As a young girl, she experienced a childhood full of music, love and laughter. She graduated from West High School in 1956 and began a long, distinguished career as an artist and illustrator, teacher, and college instructor. Along the way, she became a mother to four children and completed a BFA degree at the University of Utah, graduating with high honors. Her career brought her to Las Vegas, Santa Cruz, and eventually to New Jersey. Throughout her 60+ year career, she worked with west and east coast publishers and private clients, completing over 87,000 pieces of art work. Jael was recognized with many awards for her creations, including being a three-time nominee for the Hugo award. She has traveled throughout the nation and to various parts of the world, experiencing life to the fullest at each stop. Her 12 grandchildren and still-growing number of great-grandchildren were her main focus later in life and brought her much joy. She peacefully entered eternal life on November 17, 2020, with family by her side. She is survived by a very large extended family that will miss her dearly. "With tears of sadness and gladness, she turned, and began to climb a new hill of her own, to otherworlds…"
A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jael's memory can be made to CAWC.org for abused women and children, to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund, or to the ASPCA.