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Ruth Pearl Obituary
RUTH SWITZER PEARL
August 26, 1935 – October 6, 2022
Ruth Switzer Pearl was born in Dallas, Texas, to Rozella White Switzer and Thomas Marion Switzer. As a child she lived all over the west including Midland, Texas, Medford, Oklahoma and McPherson, Kansas. She spent her adult life in the Washington, DC area.
She graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1958. Following graduation, she worked as a staff member handling constituent mail for Senator Neuberger from Oregon, and then for Senator Gary Hart from Colorado. Ruth joined the civil rights and Vietnam War protest movements, and continued her advocacy as an intern at the Washington Urban League.
She then embarked on a career in education, starting as a volunteer at the Lab School of Washington, an innovative, arts-centered education program that supported students with language-based learning differences. At the same time that she was working and raising three children, she earned a Master's Degree in Special Education in 1981 from American University. For 13 years she taught at the Lab School and was also the Special Assistant to the Director. Even after retirement in 2005, she continued to tutor students at the school. Following that, she apprenticed and became an expert in antique furniture restoration and picture framing.
She was a self-taught artist, creating beautiful original artworks using found materials, such as antique tools, driftwood and seashells. Every Christmas she would delight her family with carefully chosen, beautifully wrapped unusual gifts and stunning holiday décor, much of it handmade. She loved to walk on the beach, play cards and attend concerts with her dear friends and family.
She is survived by her three children, Natasha (Richard) Stowe, Lisa (Thadeus) Arrington and Thomas Pearl; along with two grandchildren, Clifford Stowe and Simone Arrington; and by her former husband and father of her children, Laurence Pearl.
A private memorial service for family members is planned for winter 2023.
Memorial donations may be made to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC (plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-metropolitan-washington-dc) or to So Others Might Eat (some.org)
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Ruth Pearl
3 Entries
Isai Urasa
November 24, 2022
I was so sad to hear about Ruth´s passing. She and her husband Laurence welcomed me to their home in NW DC (off 16th st) where I stayed with them for a couple of weeks in 1966. It was my first experience with an American family, after just arriving from Tanzania to attend college in Virginia. They were a wonderful couple. They did everything possible to make my stay comfortable. I will forever remember and cherish their generosity. The girls (Natasha and Lisa) were fairly young but old enough to play and have a time with. Tom was an infant.
I just wanted to share these few words about Ruth. May she rest in peace.
Marsha Brady
October 23, 2022
What an admirable legacy to leave behind. She had such wonderful taste, too. I was lucky to meet Ruth later in her life through her son Tom Pearl. One of the first things I learned about Ruth, even before meeting her, was about her habit of rescuing tree trunks from being choked by ivy. She would set off to do this, walking through the brush yanking long strings of vine until she was sure the trees would be ok. That was her way of seeing the world and our duty to care for it with compassion. My very deepest condolences to all who knew and loved her, in particular her three children and her beloved dog, Gretel.
Randall Smith
October 18, 2022
So sad to see this. Loved Ruth so much and all she did for the Lab School and my Mom, Sally Smith. Best, Randy Smith
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