Ruth Lyn Riedel

Ruth Lyn Riedel, 81, lost her protracted battle with Atypical Parkinsonism on Friday September 1, 2023. She passed away peacefully at her home in Del Mar, surrounded by the love of her husband, friends and dedicated caregivers.

She was born on December 15, 1941 in Philadelphia, PA to Johannes and Ruth (Ibbotson) Pessel of Yardley and attended Miss Fine’s School in Princeton NJ. During her teens, she formed a close relationship to her mentor and second mother, Helene Derry, who taught Ruth her own hard-won lessons of persistence, pragmatism and compassion. Ruth took these lessons to heart, and they changed the trajectory of her life.

Ruth branched out to become a civil rights activist in 1961, then worked with the Peace Corps to help a famine-stricken village in Ghana. After graduating Northwestern University, she became involved in the organization and running of a community healthcare project based in Cabrini Green, a housing project where even the Chicago PD feared to tread, helping residents access potable water, food, heat, and medical care.

She went on to attend the School of Social Service Administration at University of Chicago, followed by doctoral work at the Yale School of Organization and Management, finally returning to University of Chicago for post-doctoral work under the Ernest L. Crosby Fellowship from the American Hospital Association. She subsequently taught public health academia at Yale and University of Washington, then served as Deputy Director for Community Healthcare Programs at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which, in turn, led to her arrival in San Diego where she founded and led Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in 1988.

As founding CEO/President, she led the conversion, merger and sale of a California-based healthcare management group to create an $83 million endowment for AHF. Over the course of her leadership, she targeted $84 million to support grants, advocacy, and community program development, and raised $41 million in partnership funding. In total, these funds supported over 1,300 programs which impacted the lives of thousands countywide.

During her years leading AHF, Ruth developed a strong and unique identity for the large nonprofit, thereby increasing awareness of the underlying public health issues. This, in turn, enhanced the organization’s reputation, advocacy and grantmaking role in the county. AHF’s advocacy under Ruth’s leadership resulted in the changing of San Diego City and County health policies which positively impacted the lives of its many at-risk populations.

These milestones were her life’s work, but were also expressions of Ruth’s unique spirit. She had the rare combination of intelligence, wit, charm and mentorship which attracted and fostered a closely-knit and dedicated group who put the spirit of care and compassion into real-world action. To her staff, Ruth was forever the heart and soul of AHF.

There are so many reasons why we will all miss her, but you only had to talk with Ruth a short while to understand the empathy she felt for all people. To those of us who knew her, she will forever embody the words, “Love protects, trusts, hopes. Love always perseveres”.

Ruth is survived by her husband William Leigh; her niece Kathleen Mack; her sister-in-law Sara Voorhees (Pessel); her BFF Caregiver Isabel Martinez; the Alliance underground, and the San Diego healthcare community.

A visitation for Ruth was held Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 12:00 PM, with a funeral service at 2:00 PM at El Camino Memorial Chapel, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92121. A graveside inurnment was held at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, CA on Thursday September 28, 2023.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 21st, 2023 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Hillcrest from 1:00 to 6:00 PM. Services will begin at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the UC San Diego Student-Run Free Clinic, and the San Diego Legal Aid Society.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sorrentovalleychapel.com for the Riedel-Leigh family.