Ruth Anne (Whine) Lanzer

Died on 27 February 2021 in Boca Raton, Florida, after a short illness.  Ruth leaves behind her beloved husband of almost 66 years, Peter, and their four children:  their daughter Helen of Trevi, Italy, and her two children, Phoebe and Rupert, her partner, Stephen Solomon and his two children, Georgia and Ben; their daughter Susan of Marlborough, Connecticut, her husband, Marc Caplan and their two children, Jack and Sophie; their daughter Hilary of Boca Raton, who has been looking after Ruth and Peter for the past five years; and their son Toby of London, England, and his three children, Emily, Sven and Ingrid; as well as countless friends all over the world.

Ruth was born in London, England, on 28 March 1934, second daughter to Alec and Mary Whine.  She and her older sister, Jackie, grew up surrounded by a large extended family, and their childhood was defined by World War II.  Ruth was a much loved, mischievous child, who made everyone laugh.  Thus began her love affair with the stage, and she left school at the age of 16 to study theatre at the Old Vic School in London.

She met Peter when she was 19, said yes to his marriage proposal two weeks later, and they were married in 1955, the day after her 21st birthday.  Their marriage was filled with fun and laughter and their adventurous spirit took them far and wide.  In 1963 they moved to Kleve, Germany, with three daughters under the age of four.  Toby soon followed, born in Germany in 1965.

In 1966 Peter’s job took the family to the small village of Wehrheim, near Frankfurt, which was an idyllic time filled with trips to the (unheated) public swimming pool in the summer, and wonderful friendships.

Peter’s career moved the family to the UK in 1971 to the village of Pyrford, in Surrey, only to go back to Germany less than a year later.  This time the family moved to a village called Busenbach, on the edge of the Black Forest, and life in Germany was embraced once again.  In 1973 Peter’s job sent the family back to Pyrford, where they remained until 1979, when an opportunity took them to new adventures in the United States.

As if raising four children wasn’t enough, Ruth pursued many interests outside family life. She taught English in Germany, worked as a real estate agent in the US, and volunteered her time for various organizations, in particular recording books for the blind. She participated in many theatrical productions in Connecticut and Brussels; oh, and always found a spare hour to walk the dog.

Peter and Ruth remained in West Hartford, CT, until 1990, when Peter’s career moved them to Brussels, Belgium.  They stayed in Belgium until Peter’s retirement in 1999, when they decided to return to Connecticut.  Some years later Peter and Ruth decided they needed to escape the cold New England winters and found a home in Boca Raton, Florida, and have been enjoying the warm weather and friendships they have built there ever since.

Ruth enjoyed good health all her life and so it came as a complete shock when she suddenly felt less energetic a few months ago.  Thankfully, she only had to endure ill health for a short time, and she was surrounded by Peter and the family and much love in the last few weeks of her life.  Ruth, the strongest of women with almost boundless energy, has been taken from us so much earlier than anybody could have imagined.  We will miss her tremendously.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Glick Family Funeral Home at 3600 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL, on Thursday 4 March 2021, at 1:00 p.m. (Florida time).  Strict pandemic guidelines will be observed, including mask-wearing and social distancing.  There will be a video-conferencing link set up for those unable to attend in person.  Kindly email the family at tobylanzer@gmail.com to indicate whether you will attend in person, so we may ensure social distancing.

In lieu of flowers the family welcomes contributions in Ruth’s memory to one of the following:

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, via http://support.kew.org/donate/givetokew#/

The Old Vic Theatre School via http://oldvic.ac.uk/support-us/bursarys/

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens http://morikami.org/product/support-morikami/

Talking Books via http://egov.ct.gov/HeritageFoundationDonations/Donation/Create (see half way down page, “Friends of the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.”

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