Ruth Ellen (Shacknow) Farbman

July 1, 1935 – August 25, 2024

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Ruth Farbman, lifelong learner, community rabble-rouser, traveler, and beloved mother and grandmother.  She passed away peacefully on 25 Aug 2024 at the age of 89 at home in Redmond, WA.

She was born Ruth Ellen Shacknow in New York City on July 1, 1935.  She finished High School in three years, and then attended Smith College, graduating in 1956. She immediately went to work at the Social Security Administration.  For the rest of her life, she would be happy to tell you of the miracle of Social Security (and the extra benefit of being born on the first of the month).  She married in 1961 and moved to the Chicago area in 1964.  Although she lived 2/3 of her life west of the Hudson River, she always considered herself a New Yorker.

While her children were young, she earned a Master’s degree in education and became a teacher in Evanston, IL. Then, when her youngest child went to college, she began Law School at Northwestern University.  After retiring from her law career, she took jobs with airlines to allow her to travel more easily.  She moved to the Seattle area in 2009.

Outside of family and work, she was an avid tennis and bridge player, theater-goer, and baseball fan.  She happily taught tennis to her friends and family (and anyone else who asked). After learning to play bridge in college, she played regularly into her 80s.  She frequently volunteered as an usher so she could see more live theater. When she moved  to the Chicago area, she threw her baseball allegiance to the Cubs, though never lost her affinity for her original love – the Giants – nor her antipathy for the Dodgers and Yankees.  She could explain to you both qualitatively and quantitatively why Willie Mays was the greatest baseball player who ever lived. The last live baseball game she attended was (finally!) to watch her beloved Cubs play in the World Series.

She was an adventurer who loved to travel .  After college, she toured Europe with a friend, which was rather bold for a pair of young women in the 1950s.  With cross-country road trips in her 20s and 30s, and a few targeted vacations, she achieved her goal of visiting all 50 states.   In retirement she got to Machu Picchu,  the Great Wall of China, and the Galapagos Islands.

Her younger sister, Linda Shacknow, predeceased her. She is survived by her three children, Lee, Caroline, and Peter, and her five grandchildren Emma, Sam, Charlie, Maddie, and Gus.

A Celebration of Life devoted to Ruth will take place mostly via Zoom on Sunday, September 15 at 1:00pm Pacific (4:00 Eastern) time. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to a charity of your choice to honor Ruth’s memory.