Ruth Emmerman Peizer passed away peacefully on October 23, 2013. Ms. Peizer left an indelible mark on the Jewish community as a Yiddish authority in Seattle. She shared her passion and expertise in literary Yiddish by teaching classes at the University of Washington, Jewish Education Council, Hebrew High School, and Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. She also gave public readings, translated private letters and texts and shared the joy and tenderness of Yiddish literature and culture with a cadre a young students over several decades.

Ruth also gave of herself in many unpublicized ways, organizing shipments of medications and clothing for many years to needy, elderly Jews living in Latvia and Lithuania. She was an involved member of many Jewish organizations, including the National Yiddish Book Center, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, the Jewish Federation, Hadassah and the Seattle Yiddish Group. She enjoyed attending the Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony and Seattle Repertory Theatre for many decades, as well as anything that concerned the Yiddish language.

Read more about Ms. Peizer in Weaving Women's Words: Seattle Stories

Ruth will be remembered for her enthusiasm, her zest for life, her innate ability to give wise counsel to friends of every generation who flocked to her, her keen intelligence, and ahead-of-her-time open-mindedness with regard to race relations, gender equality, gay rights and much more. Most importantly, her goal was to always be a "mensch," a person of integrity. (Seattle TImes, October 24, 2013)