Esquela Ruth Preston

She smiled at all the dogs.

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.

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)