I got the email because the writer had found a post I did in 2018 that had a picture of Ruth Sheridan at a protest against tightening immigration regulations and wanted permission to to send
copies to friends.
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| Anchorage's Ruth Sheridan at 100 July 2018. |
She also wrote:
"January 25th would be her 102nd birthday.
Unitarian Fellowship is hosting a remembering of her and her life (Celebration of Life Service) from 2-5PM that day.
All welcome."
Luckily we'll be in town that day.
I'd note the tentative nature of the post's title. I hate to post 'facts' when I get them from just one source, especially someone I don't know. This does look pretty genuine. And I thought I'd post this to give people a heads up for the event on January 25. I couldn't find any online confirmation when I got the email or even now.
I did find this 2016 note from the ADN in 2016:
"In addition to those 10 women, long-time Anchorage community and political activist Ruth Sheridan was named as the recipient of the Arliss Sturgulewski Award. This is a special award, which is not presented every year, said YWCA Board President Carrie Lindow. She said the previous honorees have included the late Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and Sturgulewski herself."
UPDATE JAN 19, 2020: Here's a link to Ruth Sheridan's full obituary in the ADN. ]
I understand your reluctance in posting after one report, but thank you for giving me pause to think of her. Ruth's passing will mark significant change for many of us & I await confirmation of this news.
ReplyDeleteTo me, she reminded me of the great socialist hope the United States once held in its polity, only to have it shamed and shredded from so many reactionary forces embedded in its grounding character.
Ruth walked among us, living in light of that 'other nation' we could have been. Her passing would also signify, to me living now as an immigrant, the longing minders of loss being removed from our former homes -- not only of people we once knew, but of times now lived among people now who will never know our friends, families and communities.
We all move on. Ruth has perhaps taken that last walk to new being. I feel & miss her presence.
thanks for your thoughts here. I got another email confirmation today, though I'd rather be wrong. In any case, Ruth lived a long and active life. And I'm sure there are lots of Ruth Sheridans of various ages out in the world to take up where she left off.
DeleteI don't know if there's lots of Ruth Sheridans -- she was pretty one of a kind -- but I hope so. She drove other people to their appointments even after she turned 100. Your picture of her says a lot about her spirited energy. I never saw her down; she only seemed to focus on actions that needed to be taken. I feel blessed to have known her.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known she was still around when I moved to Albuquerque in 2003. I lost touch with her after a while, and I had assumed that she would probably have passed on quite some years ago. Had I known, I would have tried to stay in touch, send her birthday cards and all that. She was indeed one of a kind and an inspiration to me, as well as a close friend and comrade when we were in Alaska Common Ground together in the late 70s, in the Student Political Awareness Committee at Anchorage Community College at the end of the decade, and in ACALA. she'll be missed; she is already dearly missed.
ReplyDelete