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Long-time Mendocino Coast resident Elizabeth (Ruby) Bell Sherpa died peacefully on the morning of November 17th after a long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family and friends. Born Elizabeth Ann Banes on April 11th, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, Ruby grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her parents were Daniel (a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration) and Helen (an accomplished fiber artist). She had two sisters: Susan and Sally. After graduating from Montgomery Blair High School, Ruby married her first husband Joe Bell, Jr. and had her first son (also named Joe) in 1966. After getting divorced, she attended the University of Maryland. While attending college, Ruby became an impassioned political activist who took part in many protests against the Vietnam War. Ruby also became an avowed feminist and attended many women’s rights conferences around the country. Her political activism stayed with her throughout her life. Ruby was a passionate and free spirited person. Her sense of adventure eventually took her to California, first moving to Berkeley, and then to Southern Humboldt where she had her second son Panama in 1976. In the mid1980’s, Ruby moved to Mendocino which would be her home for the next 35-plus-years. She said “My decision to move to Mendocino was based on three things: I wanted a vibrant theater scene; a place that was open spiritually, since I was interested in psychic development; and I wanted a place that was political.” Upon arriving in Mendocino, Ruby quickly established herself as a fixture in the community. She was the 35-year proprietor of Rubiayat Beads and an active and passionate member of the Mendocino Theatre Company which she served for a time on the Board of Directors, and was an actress in numerous productions, most famously, the onewoman show Shirley Valentine. It was Ruby’s outgoing and upbeat personality, however, that most endeared her to her fellow community members with whom she established many deep and loving friendships. Ruby was also a frequent and enthusiastic traveler and adventurer who explored the world and loved going to exotic destinations. It was during one such trip to Nepal that she met her second husband, Dawa Ang Sherpa. Shortly before her death, Ruby described herself as an “activist, actress, beader, entrepreneur, palm reader, traveler, and lover of natural beauty.” She also declared that she had had a “great life” and was “thankful for her loving and supportive parents, husband, children, and friends.” Indeed, Ruby was a beloved mother, wife, sister, grandmother and friend who will be dearly missed. Ruby is survived by her husband Dawa, her sister Susan, her sons Joe and Panama (and daughter-in-law Elizabeth) as well as three grandsons: Jake, Brooks, and Avery.

A memorial scholarship in Ruby’s name for young women artists and activists graduating from Mendocino High School is being established A memorial to celebrate Ruby’s life is being planned for sometime in January or February.