Ruth Treeson passed away early Saturday, November 23, 2013, with her husband of 64 years, Emil Treeson, at her side.
Ruth was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1930. As a child, around the time of the Anschluss, her parents forged new papers and moved to Krakow to hide under new names from the Nazis. After her father and then her mother were taken by the Gestapo, they came for her and her little sister at a convent where they were enrolled under assumed Christian identities. Ruth’s sister was ripped from her arms, and Ruth was later sent to Auschwitz and then on to a series of labor camps. At the end of the war, she and the other prisoners were led on a march from the camps. The guards later abandoned the surviving prisoners at a farm. At that point Ruth, who had just turned 16, headed back to Krakow on foot to find what remained of her home.
When she found that there was no one left in her immediate family, she was placed in a refugee camp. She decided after several months to resettle in the United States.
Ruth was sponsored by Joe and Lillian Sherman and moved into their Detroit home as a teenager. There she met Emil Treeson, and they began dating after she moved to New York City.
Though she spoke no English when she moved to the United States, she eventually earned her high school equivalency and got her bachelor’s degree at William Patterson College. After her three boys were born, she completed her master’s degree at Montclair State College and taught literature, poetry and English until her retirement.
Through all those years, she had a lasting love of poetry and wrote a great deal. Most recently, The Long Walk, her novelized memoir of her journey after the war to the United States was published. She began giving talks to groups and schools on the topic of hope, forgiveness and the power of imagination.
Though her early life was difficult, her ability to embrace the new joys that she found and pass along that love of life was irreplaceable. She loved the vast beauty of North America and traveled extensively to the national parks with her husband and sons. Even in her later years, she delighted in finding new nature paths and bluff walks along the ocean in Orange County. Her gentle spirit, open heart and welcoming arms can never be replaced.
In addition to her husband, Ruth is survived by her three sons: Glenn, David and Emanuel and three grandchildren, Joshua, Blaise and Zoe.
