Nov. 1, 1922-Jan. 3, 2010

Eagle River resident Ruth B. Taylor, 87, died Jan. 3, 2010, at home.

A celebration of Ruth's life will be announced in the spring.

Ruth was born Nov. 1, 1922, in New York City and grew up there in the Amalgamated Cooperative Houses. She was a graduate of Hunter College, and a high school biology teacher in New York, and later a teacher of English as a Second Language in Alaska.

Ruth came to Alaska 37 years ago to teach 10 Aleut children in the one-room schoolhouse in Nikolski, in the Aleutians. There she met Donald K. Taylor, the love of her life. They worked on the pipeline together and then moved to Glennallen, where they built and operated the Tikanni movie theater. After that, they lived on their boat, the Koala, docked in the Valdez small boat harbor. Later, Don and Ruth enjoyed life together high on a mountain in Eagle River, where Ruth lived until her death.

From her childhood through her older years, Ruth was adventurous and always deeply committed to the natural world. She hiked the Appalachian Trail as a young woman and joined family kayaking on Kachemak Bay two summers ago, when she was 85 years old.

Ruth was an enthusiastic member of the Eagle River Nature Center, the ACLU, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Nature Conservancy, among other organizations, and was a proud supporter of the union movement, particularly the IBEW and the IUOE.

She was devoted to human rights and social justice throughout her life.

Ruth was preceded in death by her daughter, Judy Elizabeth Sternbach; her son, Frederick Douglass Sternbach; and her husband, Donald K. Taylor.

She is survived by her beloved grandson, Zerbin Marquette Singleton, of the U.S. Marines; her daughter, Anne Marie Sternbach of California; her daughter-in-law, Margaret Sternbach of California; many nieces and nephews; and numerous dear friends.