Obituary Ruth Preston

She smiled at all the dogs.

Ruth Preston

Life ends, love remains.

Gone far too soon, we remember

Ruth Preston

3/15/1965 – 9/21/2026

Born in North Dakota to Bill and Eileen Preston, Ruth and her family moved to the Portland, OR area when she was a young child. There, she attended Sunset High School, and later, she obtained a bachelor's degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. After college, Ruth built a career around words, working as an advertising copy writer and developer of educational and training modules, and, most frequently, as an editor. She was never shy about offering insights into the correct structure of a sentence or the placement of a comma, and her friends and coworkers at Adobe will surely miss her skills. Ruth was also a gifted vocalist, and if there was a place in the world where she felt truly at home, it was in the alto section of any choir. During her college years at PLU, she sang with the Choir of the West under Richard Sparks. Later, she was one of the original members of Choral Arts Northwest, under both Dr. Sparks and Robert H. Bode. She also has a long history as a member of the Cantorei and the Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Joseph Adam, at St. James Cathedral in Seattle. She will be truly missed by all of these choral communities. If anyone asked Ruth to describe the high point of her choral career she’d say it was singing with Choral Arts at a holiday event in the White House with President and Mrs. Obama present. Out of all the many concerts and glorious church services she contributed to, that was the event that Ruth was especially proud of. Ruth loved baking and was known for her amazing chocolate chip cookies and pecan bars. Whenever her friends needed a cake, they knew they could count on her to create something fabulous and she never disappointed them. Her idea of fun was to try out a new recipe, then bring the results to the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #1 (a member since 2018), the Pinehurst Pub, or the 5th Avenue Tavern for everyone to sample. She will be sorely missed at all those places. A friend once joked that Ruth could meet someone new and be asked to be their bridesmaid within a half an hour. She loved her friends, she loved trivia night and playing all kinds of games–she had a standing date for Monday night cards–and she loved her dogs Cosmo and Lucy.

Ruth was preceded in death by both of her parents, Bill and Aileen Preston

Ruth is survived by her cousins Debbie York of Vancouver, WA, and Kathy Johnson of Sandy, OR. Ruth is also survived by a truly astonishing number of people who knew her as their ride-or-die friend, and every one of us is heartbroken at our loss.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St James Cathedral in November, with details to be announced later.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth’s memory can be made to the Seattle Humane Society (seattlehumane.org)

1018 visits since 28 September 2026

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  • Glenda Voller wrote on September 29, 2026

    Ruth was a dedicated alto at St. James Cathedral and cared about all choir members and the music. I remember learning from her, that an " E ticket ride " has meaning beyond Disney Land!
    Be with your parents Ruth and God Love you.... Glenda

  • Angela Nielsen wrote on October 4, 2026

    As I was scrolling through Facebook tonight, I came across the heartbreaking news that Ruth has passed, and I honestly can’t believe what I’ve just read. I am shocked and deeply saddened.

    Ruth and I were colleagues at Adobe from 2016 to 2020. She was intelligent, hilarious, beautiful, and so full of life. Her love of all things music, Seahawks football, and her beloved furbabies was unmistakable and beautiful. Our mutual disdain for Cris Collinsworth and our shared appreciation for high-quality documentation (thank you, Oxford comma!) were the kinds of things that would leave anyone not in the know scratching their heads. And her incredible baking talent? She could have given any baking show contestant a run for their money.

    Ruth loved sharing stories of her travels, especially her trips to Hawaii, and I’ll always remember how incredibly proud she was of having sung for President Obama. She had so many wonderful stories, so much talent, and a personality that left an impression.

    The world feels a little less bright without you, Ruth. May the heavens be comforted by your beautiful soul and blessed by your gift of song. You will be remembered with love, laughter, and music.

    Rest in Peace and Song, Ruth.

  • Laura Hutchinson wrote on October 7, 2026

    I think that I only sang with Ruth once (A Tudor Choir Shapenote gig WAAAAY back in the day.) but I am so glad that I had the chance to meet, sing and sling back way too many margaritas with her. Every time I saw her (not often enough) in the years following, we'd squeal, hug and do as much catching up as we could in the course of some intermission or other. RIP, Ruth.

  • Nick Hilton wrote on October 7, 2026

    I worked with Ruth at Adobe for a few years until she changed teams. I loved all my interactions with her because she had the best sense of humor. I always appreciated her sarcasm, and ability to make light of stressful work situations. If something wasn't going well in a meeting, I would message her and I could always count on her to send a funny note back to make the situation feel not so stressful. I wish I had more time to get to know her more outside of our work meetings, but I will always have the most positive memories of her. She was one of those people that you just enjoy being around (even if it was virtually)! We miss you, Ruth, Thank you for all the smiles, laughs, and of course, grammar corrections ;) You'll always be remembered!

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