Gratitude

In Memoriam

Ruby Pipes
Ruby Pipes
April 13, 1988-January 29, 2017FullSizeR1
Ruby Pipes, the light of our lives, has found her peace.  Sending love and gratitude to all you loyal followers of our dear Ruby’s Blog.  Ruby was a shining star that flashed through our lives and profoundly touched us all. Her wisdom and loving kindness, her beauty and gorgeous smile will be with us always!
Passionate and effusive, Ruby was quick to make friends and was a fierce friend to have.  Never one to do anything halfway, she loved fully and unconditionally. She remembered birthdays with cards and her homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies.  If any friend called her in need, she would drop everything to help them out or just be with them. As one of her friends told me, “She would truly listen and care.”  People remember her as “a sweet little girl with a good, kind heart”.  And she became a compassionate young woman. She truly loved us all!
Ruby was a natural beauty with an inviting smile and a laugh you could recognize across a crowded room. She emblazoned herself in your mind and in your heart without even trying.  She was unapologetically her own person, striking the balance between fierce and delicate, independent and vulnerable.  And we loved her for it.
A master of the English language,  understanding at a 12th grade level when she was in 4th grade. And so, she was drawn to music… all those captivating lyrics.  She could hear a song one time and sing it and treasure it forever after. (She had a beautiful voice!)  This love of music transported her into the realm of musicians and she became friends with many good, local artists.  She was such a wonder!
Recently she had discovered a passion for cooking, making jewelry and for math. A good student, she was excelling at them all! I told her she should write a cooking blog… Everything she did, she did well!
Those of us close to her knew that she struggled. Ruby tried, and mostly succeeded in hiding her pain and depression. But it was always there, waiting to suck her down.  She had accepted her bipolar diagnosis and reached out to professionals a few years ago.  It was a bumpy ride with more therapy and new (very exspensive!) medications.  She was doing better with her demons, and sometimes even great.  She was trying so very hard!  She wrote about her struggles in her blog post, sharing her story with honesty and love. Many of us gained strength and understanding from her poignant words.
A friend shared her understanding of Ruby’s illness and said “the instability becomes too overwhelming, exhausting, confusing, shameful… and she just felt she’d had enough.”  We know that Ruby has finally found herself some much deserved peace and rest.  But she surely has left a giant hole in our hearts! We will always hold her close.  In her own words:  “We mourn [her] loss, yes, but in turn we celebrate the living [she] did. And… oh, how [she] did.”
If you would like to visit the website of cattermolefh.com her friends have posted many photos of our dear, sweet Ruby. You can also leave condolences at that site. Thank you for visiting there.
“[S]he came like the wind, Like the wind, touched everything, And like the wind was gone.”
-Marsha Pipes

14 thoughts on “In Memoriam”

  2. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Ruby. Her blog was so amazing. It shed light on how dark the road can be but it also brought me hope. It reminded me that I am not alone in how I feel. I miss her voice but I take some comfort in knowing that she is resting now!! Xx

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  8. I got on WordPress today solely to check on Ruby’s blog and see what new pieces she had written about what was going on in her life. I adored her posts. She gave me hope and inspiration and a sense of connection. I’m so saddened to learn that she has passed on, and I know her family must feel this to an immeasurable degree. My thoughts are with you all, and I will think of Ruby when I write about my similar struggles. ❤

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  9. I miss her voice but I take some comfort in knowing that she is resting now!

    I didn’t find and follow Ruby’s blog for long before she passed, but it was enough to know some of the truth of this memorial.

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  11. This is a story which brings us back to the realities of what this disease can do. I am sure many of understand the thoughts that can lead to this decision. But to orchestrate it? Something desperate I dont understand. So so heart wrenching.

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  12. Tears. I’m so sorry. I first stopped drinking because of her blog. I’m also bipolar and thought if she can do this I can. My heart breaks. I loved week bit of her words.

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  13. I am really sorry to understand that she is no more. I had come across one of her articles in huffigtonpost. I thought of asking her permission whether I can take some of her concepts from that article to write in my own language (tamil). Neil Gaiman says that you can leave one of the two things in the world. 1) A kid or 2) your creative art. I am sure that he has left her incredible writing to us.

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