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April 2, 1999/16 Nisan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 27
Philanthropist finds place in community at 'home'
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
Ruth Pearson smiles at a soon-to-be-released premature baby at Los Niños Hospital, held by nurse Jessica McLemore. Pearson, an active board member, says the hospital prides itself on its warm, homelike atmosphere.
Photo by Mark Gluckman
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All it took was one visit to Hacienda de Los Angeles for Ruth Pearson to open her heart.
She and one of her sisters, New York resident Beatrice Doniger, visited the facility for developmentally disabled adults and children on the recommendation of Council for Jews with Special Needs founder Joyce Berk.
"We went, and when we left we said, 'We have to do something,' " recalls Pearson.
That something has turned into nearly a decade of support, helping to turn around the then-ailing institution, home to some 38 adults and children, and putting it on the road to recovery. Today, the facility, "is doing beautifully," says Pearson proudly.
Pearson, a native of Montreal, moved to the Valley from Boston 26 years ago as a part-time resident and has been busy "doing something" for a raft of communal service agencies ever since.
"My father was always involved communally," notes Pearson, the youngest of five sisters, "so I followed his example."
She currently serves on the boards of CJSN, Jewish Family and Children's Service, Hacienda de Los Angeles and its sister agencies, Los Ni¤os Hospital, and the Children's Angel Foundation, its fund-raising arm. She is also a supporter of Sojourner, a shelter for battered women.
Pearson is motivated by what she calls a need "to help those who can't help themselves." It's an urge that springs in part from her painful memories of a niece who was born deaf, blind and severely retarded. That niece, Barbara Butler, the daughter of Pearson's oldest sister, Zella, initially lived at home with her parents in New York, but later was placed in a residential care facility, recalls Pearson. Barbara's parents would visit weekly; Pearson and other family members would go once a month.
Pearson, the mother of three grown children, notes that Barbara was the only child of Zella and her husband, Jack. Both are now deceased.
When visiting Hacienda, Pearson and Doniger were reminded of Barbara, and they resolved to funnel a portion of funds from a private family foundation to the facility. "Once Ruth commits herself, her commitment is total," comments Bill Timmons, Hacienda's director.
Hacienda de Los Angeles, Spanish for "home of the angels," was founded 32 years ago by the late Ilene Butler (no relation to Pearson's late brother-in-law). Butler began by taking two foster children in need of intensive medical care into her north-central Phoenix home. When two children became four and neighbors complained, Butler resolved to raise funds to build a facility.
Today, Hacienda, at 1402 E. South Mountain Ave. in Phoenix, provides residential medical care and educational and recreational services to children and adults diagnosed with at least one of four disabilities: autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy or mental retardation. As an intermediate care facility, Hacienda has as its goal stabilizing patients so that they can return home. Approximately two-thirds of Hacienda's patients do return home, Timmons says, often within three-four months of their admission. Others may remain at Hacienda for the duration of their lives.
Hacienda's sister facility, Los Ni¤os Hospital, at 2303 E. Thomas Road in Phoenix, was founded five years ago. It is a small, homey place, in contrast with the institutional atmosphere of most large hospitals. Its walls are painted with brightly colored murals, its cribs covered with gaily printed bedding.
While Pearson cares deeply about her philanthropic and communal endeavors, she makes clear that they are only a part of her life. A retired stockbroker, she says she likes nothing more than spending a lazy Sunday in bed reviewing company prospectuses.
She also greatly enjoys baking peanut butter brownies for any of her eight grandchildren when they visit from out-of-state, and doing "anything with my hands." Dresses she once sewed and hand-smocked for her daughter have become family heirlooms, and her own paintings in acrylic and oil grace her home. She says she would like to try her hand at painting on glass and china - and attempt a portrait of her late mother.
Painting her parents is a "very personal thing to do," says the philanthropist for whom family is clearly a priority in all her endeavors. A portrait of her late father, painted when he was still alive, hangs in the den in her home.
"I love it," she says, her proper Boston accent softening. "He's always with me."
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