Obituaries

December 18, 1919 – April 8, 2019 Phyllis Jane Ruttenberg was born in Detroit Michigan on December 18, 1919 to Blanche and Milton Greenblatt.
She and her sister Lillian grew up in Detroit. She graduated in 1941 from the University of Illinois, where she was affiliated with Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, with a B. S. degree in Physical Education and qualified for teaching credentials. She married Herbert Ruttenberg, also a University of Illinois student, whom she met at a Sorority dance in 1941. They moved to Arizona while Herbert was in the Army during World War II. She taught grade school while in Arizona and was later a homemaker. After the War they returned to Chicago, Illinois, Herbert’s birthplace, but them moved to Los Angeles in March of 1950. They had 2 children (Anne Elizabeth Adlin and Gary Mitchell Ruttenberg). A few years after Herbert passed away in 1982, she was on a cruise with friends and met Colin Williams. Colin was a decorated WWII RAF pilot and a businessman who resided in Sydney, Australia. They traveled back and forth a few times and were later married for 20 years. They both loved to travel and had many wonderful adventures. She had been a resident of Westlake, Thousand Oaks, California for 45 years. Phyllis has always had a flair for oil painting, needlepoint and Quilt making. She was artistic and creative and had created and made things from a young age. Her residences were always filled with her original oil paintings. She could always find the beauty in things. “Give her lemons and she’ll make lemonade” She enjoyed people and children, and was always quick with a smile or ready to chat. She had a sweet tooth, and loved ice cream and Hershey’s kisses. Phyllis loved going for a drive up the California coast or through the canyons and hillsides around the Conejo Valley. She stayed interested and engaged, but also enjoyed just sitting in the sun. She was happy and thankful for the wonderful life she had lived. From everything she touched – sprang beauty! She is survived by her children Anne ( Eddie), Gary (Brenda) and her granddaughter, Hayley Ruttenberg.