Ruth Heyser

The essence of Ruth Marie (Hubbell) Heyser was art and passion and curiosity and libraries and volunteering and the light filtering through the trees at her home on the San Juan Ridge.

It was a deep love for her husband Fritz, whom she saw pull up to her community college one day in a yellow 1955 Thunderbird convertible, prompting her to tell a friend, "I'm going to marry that man." (She'd never met him before.)

It was her devotion to raising three daughters who were very different, but whom she delighted in dressing alike - in flawless dresses she'd made for them - on outings in Southern California, where they, and she, had all been born.

It was her lifelong friendship with her niece, Fern, who was born on Ruth's 18th birthday and whose artistic brilliance would emerge and evolve alongside her own.

Ruth's journey through life involved several occupations that paid the bills, but there was never any doubt that art was the core of her being: calligraphy, sketches, 100% homemade clothing, immaculately decorated cakes, the Bicentennial logo for the City of Thousand Oaks.

When the nest emptied, she took up quilting, which quickly veered off the traditional track. Then she left the textile track completely when she discovered what she could do with wood and bone and tree branches and rusty metal and broken windshield glass and twist ties (really!).

Dementia stole all of this - all of her - from us.

But for a time, she enjoyed a second act during which her daughter, Katrina, cared for her and took her everywhere around town. Ruth stood out in brightly colored clothing and tight leggings and quirky hats that she chose. This would have mortified the Original Ruth, who preferred modest shapes and muted tones, but we all found great beauty in her abandoned inhibitions.

Everyone loved the Original Ruth, and everyone seemed to love this one too, with the possible exception of the customer at the ice cream shop in Downieville whom she unexpectedly popped with an uppercut one day. (Sir, we're really sorry about that. Thank you for laughing!)

She died peacefully at the Wolf Creek Care Center in Grass Valley, where (not surprisingly) the staff adored her and provided excellent care.

Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Robert S. "Fritz" Heyser (2003), and daughter Katrina S. Heyser (2024).

She is survived by her daughters Leslie Cottrell of Bremerton, Wash., and Holly Heyser of Orangevale, Calif.; her grandchildren Brian, Joel, Alex and Emily Cottrell, all of the Puget Sound area of Washington; her great grandson, Atlas Cash Cottrell, who was born in Seattle four days before Ruth's death; her sister, Ann Tompkins, of Harbor City; her brother, Lee Hubbell, of Elko, Nev.; and many nieces and nephews.

Support the arts. Support your local libraries. Ruth did, and that is the memorial gift she would have wanted.