I first met Ruth when my sister Kathy, my nephew Niles (Jimmy’s son), and I went to visit her in 1965. I had never been to such a fun home - filled with children laughing and dancing. Niles was just two, and the other children were all different ages, all playing together. Although I never visited there again, I saw Ruth every time I was in New York. And she came to visit me and my family in Minnesota and in San Francisco. Kathy, Ruth and I took a driving trip from San Francisco to Minnesota, stopping to camp along the way. And the three of us once met in New Orleans where we spent a few days enjoying the music and delicious food. Every night we ate in a different restaurant and Ruth always ordered the gumbo because, as she showed us, every restaurant had a different gumbo recipe. Her humor and kindness and laid back ways made her a wonderful traveling companion, a wonderful friend. My thoughts are with Ruth’s family. I was so lucky to know her.