Ruth Friedman Saul
born April 7, 1919
Montreal Quebec
died September 26, 2009
8 Tishrei 5770
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Daughter of Emalene Siegel Friedman and Nicholas Friedman
Sister of Milton and Lee
Wife of Samuel David Saul
Mother of Lynn, Wendy, Lewis, Alan
Grandmother of
Kevin, Erica, Wesley, Sam, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, Joel, Nicole, Symone, Martine
Greatgrandmother of Aiyana, Emerson, Justus, Sadie, Mara, Othmane
“Aunt Ruthie” to too many to name
Beloved and loyal friend
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RUTH
FRIEDMAN
was born to Nicholas and Emalene Friedman in Montreal on April 7, 1919.
When she was six weeks old, her family moved back to Homestead, Pennsylvania
to be with Emalene’s parents, George and Esther Siegel. She grew up in
the nearby town of Wilmerding, where her parents established Friedman
Department Store. Her grandfather William Friedman lived with Ruth and
her family. She loved hearing his stories about his life in Hungary and
treasured the gifts he brought her from his annual visits there. She
started high school at Turtle Creek, but the family moved to Squirrel Hill,
and she graduated from Allderdice. She met her high school sweetheart,
Sam Saul, in the Beth Shalom confirmation class and went with him to many high
school dances. She developed her love of art attending ceramics
and painting classes at Kaufmann’s, the Carnegie Museum, and Carnegie Tech.
Ruth started college at the Frick Teacher’s Training School, but it closed
after her first year and she finished at the University of Pittsburgh where
she could continue to study art as well as education. After waiting for
Sam to be drafted after World War II started, they finally married on June 28,
1942 because he had received deferments. When they returned from their
honeymoon taking trains across the United States and mules to the bottom of
the Grand Canyon, Sam received his draft notice and they spent the next three
years with him serving in the Army. While stationed at Long Beach,
California, their first child, Lynn, was born. After the war, they
returned to Pittsburgh. Wendy, Lewis and Alan were all born here.
With a small, square black kiln, she organized the first ceramic studio in the
basement of her home on Marlin Drive.
Recognizing that the small Jewish community in Mt. Lebanon was growing, in 1950 Ruth and Sam became founding members of Temple Emanuel of South Hills. In her home ceramics studio, she made the Ten Commandments that were placed atop the portable ark used until Temple built its permanent home here on Bower Hill Road. She also taught Sunday School for many years.
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Ruth
was passionate about art and teaching. She loved ceramics and spent much
of her life perfecting her craft; she founded Clayground and Artists in Action
studios and taught privately and at several seniors facilities. She took
her children, grandchildren, and friends to art museums and galleries,
delighting especially in modern art. She continued to study, attending
workshops at Alfred University and the University of Arizona, and she
exhibited her work at the Center for the Arts. After not having a studio
for a number of years, when she moved to Covenant, she was able to establish a
studio there where she did her own work and also taught other residents.
Ruth was so proud of her students, who had never touched clay before but tried
something new, did beautiful work, and really enjoyed their classes. She
also did volunteer insurance counseling for seniors and in 1993 was honored
for that work.
Ruth loved to travel, visiting her family, taking Elderhostel trips in the United States, Mexico, and Europe, visiting Israel with members of Temple. She took her grandchildren on trips to Niagara Falls, Williamsburg, Oglebay Zoo Camp, Los Angeles, and other exciting places.
Ruth took on researching both her own family history and that of Sam’s huge family who had already documented everyone in the world descended from Abraham Veshasky. In 1997, Ruth took Lynn and Wendy to a Jewish Genealogy conference in Paris and then went on to Hungary and even into Ukraine to visit Poroshko, where her beloved grandfather William Friedman was born, and Satoraljaujhely, where her father and his family had lived. She was able to visit her aunt’s former home in Cegled and see the farms and countryside that her father had talked about so much. She continued to do extensive genealogical work and collect photographs of everyone. And she maintained contact with all the live members of the family, sending birthday and anniversary cards and keeping track of all the new babies.
Ruth had strong opinions, and sometimes it was challenging to discuss things with her. When her granddaughter Nicole tried to argue with her, Ruth told her not to argue “because I’m always right.” When Ruth’s niece Amy Cohn heard of Ruth’s death, she said “Aunt Ruthie is with my mom now, and I’ll bet she’s telling June what to do.” But when Wendy and Symone were with Ruth in her final hours, they wished she would open her eyes and criticize their hair one more time. Ruth’s niece Elizabeth Himelstein wrote, “Aunt Ruth always spoke her mind, and many times, we all have to admit she was right about everything.”
Her memory is a blessing for all of us.
