- Date Of Birth: September 27, 1934
- Date Of Death: October 6, 2022
- State: New Mexico
Ruth Rosa Gerber O’Gawa lived passionately. She devoted her life to caring for the environment, the underserved and unhoused, her aging friends, her patients and her family. She made things happen that few imagined possible. She was a big picture thinker and a tireless doer.
Ruth died peacefully, with her family at her side, on October 6, 2022, at age 88 from complications of a stroke.
Ruth was born on September 27, 1934, in Webster, NY to Lydia Dennler Gerber and Albert Gerber. She grew up with two brothers in a home with no running water. She graduated from Webster High School and received her nursing degree from the University of Rochester, NY where she met and married Gilbert McNally O’Gawa on April 2, 1955. She worked in a variety of nursing roles during her career, including Head of Nurse Staffing at the hospital in Petoskey, MI in the 1980s. She created the Hospitality House in Petoskey to serve the families from throughout the region with loved ones in the hospital. She was active in wetlands preservation and conservancy in Michigan and Canada. She brokered agreements between Canada and the United States that will protect the Lake Superior coastline for generations to come. She was recognized this year by Freshwater Future of the Great Lakes Region as a Freshwater Hero. Ruth loved the outdoors and taught her children and grandchildren through experiential education: hikes in the woods, ice skating on ponds, sledding, cross country skiing, identifying birds, fishing, canoeing, as well as regular trips to the zoo and state fair. She was an enthusiastic New Orleans jazz second line dancer with friends in Northern Michigan as well as traveling to New Orleans where she wore authentic attire – umbrellas, masks, sparkling gowns and the whole works.
Ruth relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2016. She poured her intellect, energy and heart into creating a comprehensive recycling program for her retirement community and spearheaded a publicly celebrated partnership between that community and the Albuquerque Public Schools Title 1 program for economically disadvantaged students.
Ruth is survived by husband, Gilbert; her three children and their spouses, Sharon Dennler O’Gawa Dommermuth (Ron Dommermuth), Gregory Scott Harrison Ogawa (Diane Jean Harrison Ogawa), and Mark Obenshain O’Gawa (Rebecca Obenshain O’Gawa); as well as her seven grandchildren Michelle Marie Dommermuth, Christina Joy Dommermuth, David Albert Dommermuth, Katherine Harrison Ogawa Douglas, Allison Harrison Ogawa, Richard Maleko O’Gawa, and Daniel Stull O’Gawa. She is also survived by her brother, Dwight Gerber, and was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Norman Gerber.
• The Ruth Gerber O’Gawa Fund benefitting APS’s Title 1 students at the APS Foundation, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 630E, Albuquerque, NM 87110.
