Blessed with eight months in which to finish her life Ruth Burns Rogers, after receiving a metastatic cancer diagnosis, chose to consciously experience, write about, and openly share her journey toward death with friends and family.
A former hospice nurse at Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend, she grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She married Joel Burns and moved to Port Townsend from Seattle after graduating from nursing school at Emanuel Hospital in Portland. Benjamin is a beloved son and has now returned to Port Townsend after himself graduating from nursing school in Portland.
Ruth felt fortunate to reconnect with music and the cello in PT and played for many years with the Port Angeles Symphony. She also shared a sisterhood with the Port Townsend String quartet for 30-plus years. She built a Pygmy kayak and loved being in nature and on the water. She loved to lake swim and was instrumental in facilitating the acquisition of Peterson Lake to the PUD when her good friend Bernie in his last days agreed to its purchase as a future water source.
Over the years she traveled to Europe, Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Ireland and the UK, sharing many adventures with good friends. A women’s group known as Longdance (at Sahale) and a contemplative process of exploring consciousness (Gene Keys) have been important parts of her spiritual life. And, finishing these last years with the love of her life Jerry Rogers has been the icing on the cake of a life well-lived.
She is survived by son Ben, his wife Rachel and granddaughter Liesel of Port Townsend; husband Jerry of Port Hadlock; sister Lois Bang and family of Anchorage, Alaska; brother Paul Hammon and family of Kitsap County, Washington.
Remembrances and memorial contributions may be given to the Sahale Learning Center on Hood Canal, a retreat center managed and shared by the www.goodenough.org or Goodenough Community, PO Box 312, Tahuya, WA 98588.
A tree planting will happen this winter (February), and celebration of life and give-away sometime next summer.
