Ruth Rodale Spira (December 9, 1928 – August 31, 2019) was an American businesswoman and cookbook author.

Early life

Ruth Rodale was the daughter of

J. I. Rodale Jerome Irving Rodale (; August 16, 1898 – June 8, 1971) was a publisher, editor, and author who founded Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and The Rodale Institute, formerly the Soil Health Foundation. Rodale was an early advocate of sustai ...

and Anna Andrews Rodale. Her parents founded Rodale Press. She earned a bachelor's degree in botany at Wellesley College. Her brother was

Robert Rodale Robert David Rodale (March 27, 1930 – September 20, 1990) was an American publisher who was president and chief executive officer of Rodale, Inc., a company founded in 1930 by his father J. I. Rodale in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Rodale was an adh ...

, and her niece was

Maria Rodale Maria Rodale is an American businesswoman and author who served as chief executive officer and chairman of Rodale, Inc., an Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based publisher of health, wellness, and environmental content. She is the third generation of the Rod ...

Career

After college, Rodale worked at her parents' book publishing business, and edited ''Organic Gardening''. She lived in Paris from 1952 to 1954. In 1961, she co-founded Lutron Electronics, a lighting company, with her husband, who is credited with inventing the solid-state dimmer switch. She was Lutron's co-chair, and headed the company's marketing department from 1982. In 1973, the Spiras founded another company, Subarashii Kudamono, to grow

Asian pears Fruit commonly known as the Asian pear in different parts of the world include: * ''Pyrus pyrifolia ''Pyrus pyrifolia'' is a species of pear tree native to East Asia. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Jap ...

in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

. She published a cookbook, ''Naturally Chinese: Healthful Cooking for China'' (1972), considered one of the first American cookbooks to promote Chinese food primarily for its health benefits, rather than as an exotic cuisine. Spira was an arts patron in the Lehigh Valley, serving on the board of the

DeSales University DeSales University (DSU) is a private Catholic university in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The university offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses and programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Named for St. Francis de Sales, the u ...

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and active in the Allentown Arts Commission and the

Allentown Art Museum The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is an art museum located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 19,000 ...

Personal life and legacy

Ruth Rodale married Joel Spira in 1954. They had three daughters, Susan, Lily, and Juno. She was widowed when Spira died in 2015. She died in 2019, aged 89 years, in Allentown. Since 1983,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

's Electrical and Computer Engineering department has awarded the annual Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spira, Ruth Rodale 1928 births 2019 deaths American cookbook writers Businesspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Philanthropists from Pennsylvania Wellesley College alumni Women cookbook writers Writers from Allentown, Pennsylvania