Ruby Luke
Ruby Luke
Clubs & Associations
Doppler Dancers
Emerald City Squares
Puddletown Squares
Medallion Dancer
- 1993 | 10 Year Medallion at Remake The Circle
- 2003 | 20 Year Medallion at Anchors Aweigh With a Half-Sashay
- 2008 | 25 Year Medallion at Touch A Quarter Century
Notable Notes and Highlights: My most vivid memory of Ruby dates from the first Seattle Convention. People were so revved up after the excitement of the first night's dancing that they didn't want to stop, and at some point, Happy New Year started calling himself so the dancing could continue. At first there were only a couple of squares, but as word filtered back to those who'd returned to their rooms, more and more dancers joined in, including Ruby--the hair intact, and wearing a crinoline under her bathrobe.
As far as I can tell, Ruby is alive and well, still actively participating in the gay dance community with an emphasis on Country-Western, and in Chinese-American community affairs. She was interviewed in July 2021 for this article about a Chinese-American Drill Team she belonged to the 1950's: https://frontporch.seattle.gov/2021/11/15/the-seattle-chinese-community-girls-drill-team-forging-a-tradition-one-step-at-a-time/
Doing the math, that would put her birth date in the mid-to-late 1930's, and her current age in her mid-80's.
Her late brother, Wing Luke, was a widely respected community and political leader; she and her sister Bettie attended the dedication of an Elementary School named in his honor in September 2021: https://nwasianweekly.com/2021/09/wing-luke-school-dedication/
In March 2022, she and Bettie attended the first big post-Covid indoor event held by the Board of the Wing Luke Museum: https://nwasianweekly.com/2022/03/wing-luke-gala-first-in-person-since-pandemic/
An amazing woman, from an amazing family--long may she continue to thrive!
--submitted by Russ King
Photos
At Wing Luke gala: First in-person since pandemic, March 13, 2022. From left: Adrian Liago, Cynthia Del Rosario, Wing Luke sisters Bettie, and Ruby (in white dress) (Photo by Assunta Ng).
Ruby remains involved with dancing as well, currently on the Board of the Rain Country Dance Association, where she's in charge of scheduling
