Obituaries

I met Ruth Nomura when I was twelve nd se gave me a job as "assistant troll" at the craft gallery she ran. I showed up at the Northwest Crafts Center in June 1971, and I sat there from 11 to 6 every day, for most of the days that summer and the three after that. My family played cards, and I recall Ruth's relief when she saw I was capable of learning to play rummy. Her world came into focus for me in the names I heard repeated in her stories. And soon enough, people bearing these names would drop by and I'd see what real adults in the world (not my parents or teachers) were like. I had my favorites. A big bear of a man named Regnor, who was a commercial fisherman and potter. He was vast and animated, and whenever he burst in through the front doors I always shivered, imagining his footfall shattering all of the pottery. A smile from Ruth in the office and her loud calling (without seeing who it was), "Regnor!" They gossiped in the office drinking vodka and listening to baseball on the radio. The pleasure his company gave her made me like him even more. And there was also Annie Gerber, a deceptively sweet woman my grandmother's age with enough political savvy and tenacity to get Seattle's miscellaneous timber and Boeing Babbits to fund an ambitious art museum and other cultural institutions. When I worked with Ruth again (after returning to Seattle, now as a published writer of novels) in the 1990s, Annie was almost blind, but she navigated the world as if sighted, walking most places and praising the superb sneakers that kept her afoot. She died in 2005, restless and tireless to the end. I remember her coming by the Craft Center one summer, dumping her purse out on the counter so I could identify her medicines. A slingshot fell out, with everything else, and I asked her what it was for. "I'm going to the art museum, go see that Dale Chihuly show," she said wickedly. And Uncle Harold, as Ruth called Harold Balazs, a welder and sculptor from Spokane, Washington, also brought warm smiles and the vodka bottle out from Ruth's office. Ruth taught me what life waslike among artists and the restless, curious, stylish people who I'd never met in the dull suburb where I grew up. She showed me what the world could be. I'm not positive, but I believe the reference to the novelist "Michael Cunningham" being a habituee of the NWCC is actually a reference to me. I never saw Michael there, and I would know: he's a friend who provided an introduction to one of my novels...perhaps his name snuck into the record there? He should feel honored!

Posted by Matthew Stadler on February 5, 2024

My mother, Shirley (Michaels) Kershaw met Ruth in Yellowstone when my mother was 4 years old in 1936. The two of them corresponded with their parents assistance in the mail until they were 7, each sending presents to each other in the mail from time to time. My mother has retained those letters to this day. My mother thought of Ruth often and was saddened when the family was detained during the war. It was then that the two of them lost contact with each other. It is also real unfortunate that my mom was never computer literate to even think to try to find her. Today while visiting my mother (now 90 years old) we found those letters and I happened to look up her name on google and found this Obit. Both of us express our sorrow to the family and I know my mom wishes that things had worked out differently. - Steve Kershaw - Shirley's son (that's my email in this enty).

Posted by shirley Kershaw on September 12, 2022

I have a family member named Sada Nomura from Kyoto Japan. Her father was Hisayoshi or Hisakichi Nomura and mother Naka Nomura. Is it possible Ruth's mother may be related?

Posted by Anonymous on June 10, 2021

My sincere condolences to Ruth's loved ones. She will be remembered, many happy memories be with you all. Losing a family member to death is so hard, may the God of all comfort help you endure the tears. (23rd Psalms) Sincerely, Michelle

Posted by Michelle on April 28, 2020

Ruth is probably responsible for me not only becoming an art collector, but also an art critic. as a jejune 16-year-old she let me buy ceramics on time, paying as little as $10 per month! she would listen to everyone she liked; that was one of her many great qualities: a listener! gradually, she encouraged my interest in writing about ceramics. as a teenager, I was able to see many of the big shows she curated of the UW ceramics mafia including howard kottler, Robert sperry and patti warashina, the latter two are blamed for me being the first artists who invited me to visit their studios, thereby encouraging me to become an art critic! ruth was cultivated and all the rage when she returned to NYC to visit, among others, the legendary LEE NORDNESS who was living in George gershwn's penthouse apt., where she stayed with lee. these trips also gave her a chance to wear her mink coat--unthinkable in seattle. she may have had a bigger following in NYC than in seattle. her early collaborations with SCOTT HATORI were more than an import shop. scott would design tight-fitting clothing ruth wore to the Orpheum theatre when the symphony performed. they stopped traffic! because she re-created a memory of youth for herself after WWII, young people loved her and considered her one of their clique. I shall never forget ruth and will forever be grateful to her for her encouragement. matthew kangas

Posted by Matthew Kangas on April 28, 2020