WA - Ruthy was the eldest of six children born to Benjamin and Florence (Silver) Maslan in Seattle, Washington. Growing up, Ruthy lived in Madrona off of Cherry Street, within walking distance of her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins. She attended the Seattle Talmud Torah, Madrona Elementary School, and Meany Junior High School. The Maslans are a musical family, and instilled in Ruthy a lifelong passion for music. A natural talent, she began studying piano at the age of five. She also loved to sing, and was a member of the Herzl-Ner Tamid choir for many decades.

When Ruthy was in junior high school, her family moved to the Clifton A. Stuart house, or as they called it "The Big House" in Mount Baker. She attended Franklin High School (class of 1956), and was on the planning committee for her high school reunions until this year.

Ruthy attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and president of Hillel. She studied History with a minor in Russian and intended to go into teaching, but ended up joining the family business as a paralegal. However, her skills as a teacher did not go to waste, as she volunteered frequently, tutoring special needs children and teaching English as a second language to new immigrants and refugees.

Ruthy was an avid reader, never going anywhere without a book in hand. She was a devoted patron of libraries and was a great appreciator of wordplay, puns, bad jokes, and other quirks of the English language. Ruthy did the crossword puzzle every day, and more recently was in a highly competitive Wordle group with her sister and nieces.

Throughout her life, Ruthy gave her time to a number of organizations, including (but not limited to): Attending Camp Hatikvah in British Columbia and later working there as a counselor, serving on the boards of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Washington State, Washington State Jewish Historical Society, Nshei Yeshivat Or Hazafon, and volunteering at the Jewish Family Services food bank.

Ruthy is survived by her children Alex & Rachel Sassoon and Regina Friedland, her siblings: Robert Maslan, Janice Grayson, Fred Maslan, and Michael & Shoshana Maslan, as well as many wonderful nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Ben and Florence Maslan, her brother, Philip Maslan, and her sister-in-law Carol Maslan.

Ruthy's biggest joy was her grandchildren: Tanya & Nathan Krohn, Zachary Sassoon, Halle Friedland, Joshua Friedland, Jonathan & Netah Sassoon, Tamar Sassoon, Joshua Sassoon, and Benjamin Friedland. But her biggest, biggest joy was her two-year-old great-granddaughter, Dahlia Krohn, her most recent piano duet partner and dance soloist.

Ruthy died in her home of 58 years surrounded by her family and her books. She spent one last song-filled Shabbat with her loved ones. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, auntie, cousin, and friend, who had a knack for making everyone (big and small) feel special and important. Everyone who was lucky enough to know her already misses her dearly.

May her memory be a blessing.

Tributes in Ruthy's honor can be sent to the Seattle Hebrew Academy.