Ruth Madge Ouilette Hughbanks served as an officer of numerous community organizations in Seattle, including the board of Cornish School, the Parent-Teacher Associations of the former Webster Elementary School and James Monroe Jr. High School, American Legion Auxiliary, and Sunset Hill Music and Art Club, among other groups. She was an early volunteer at the Pacific Science Center and participated in Historic Seattle’s first survey of Ballard landmarks in the mid-1970s.
Born in Custer, Michigan, on March 24, 1904, she moved to northwest Washington and married Clarance F. Hughbanks in 1928. Her new husband’s family had helped to establish Ballard, and he owned the community’s first service station. She helped to lead many Ballard area school and service groups, and her son, C. David Hughbanks (1936-2023), played a major role in Seattle’s civic affairs after serving on the staff of the 1962 World’s Fair.
Ruth Hughbanks died on December 30, 2001.
