Barbara Ann Ruane, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Dedicated Trees on Waymarking.com

Located inside a circular area surrounded by a highway ramp.

[biography information from Post-Gazette]
Obituary: Barbara Ruane / Shadyside resident shared her love for Cassatt's art with Pittsburgh
April 27, 1944 - Oct. 10, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Barbara Ruane loved animals, children and art.

Her compassion for each became evident in her efforts to recognize a famous impressionist painter born in Pittsburgh's Old Allegheny City, by bringing the arts to hundreds and by launching the creation of a community garden.

Ms. Ruane died of cancer in her Shadyside home on Tuesday, with her family and her dog, Jelly Bean, by her side. She was 62.

Barbara Ruane, described by those who knew her as a gentle spirit, was valedictorian in 1984 at the School of Nursing at the University of the District of Columbia.

But she was no shrinking violet, especially when it came to impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. She did her part to bring the artist's work to life locally.

Mary Cassatt was born in 1844 in Allegheny City, now part of Pittsburgh's North Side. She lived there for five years.

When Ms. Ruane arrived in Pittsburgh from Louisiana, she was saddened that so few people knew of the local connection with the famous painter, who lived in France and befriended Degas. She set out to change that.

In the summer of 2004, she mounted a display of prints of the painter's most famous work in the City-County Building, Downtown. The evening she dismantled the exhibit, the maintenance workers thrilled at how the display had brightened their nights.

Whether speaking before young students or arts-loving community groups, when she dressed in green shoes with sparkles, floppy hat and long cotton smocks it was as if she had stepped out of one of the painter's canvases.

She once had her husband dress as a dog and present art awards to elementary school students who were part of an art exhibit to recognize Mary Cassatt at the Children's Museum.

Each spring, Ms. Ruane would plant wildflowers at a small plot of green where Cassatt's birthplace once stood. For years, she pushed for more community support to beautify the garden. The day she died was the same day that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, using an $80,000 grant, broke ground to upgrade the patch of green.

A former nurse, Ms. Ruane opted not to seek treatment for her cancer. Instead, she spent her time working with the Allegheny City Society to build awareness of Mary Cassatt, drinking tea with friends on her back porch and planning her memorial.

Ms. Ruane is survived by her husband, Harold Pinkofsky; and siblings Maureen Costas, Kevin Ruane, Rosemary Kuhns, Tim Ruane and Alicia Volk.

Location of the tree: next to highway ramp Type of tree: beech

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