Ruth Segerstrom, a County Fixture for Decades, Dies at 99

Ruth Segerstrom, businesswoman, art patron and matriarch of Orange County’s prominent Segerstrom family, died at her home Friday. She was 99.

A fixture in social and business circles who helped shape Orange County’s cultural and commercial landscape for more than 70 years, Ruth Segerstrom was admired for her “strong character, good humor and natural leadership abilities,” her children said.

“I’m blessed to be her son,” said Henry T. Segerstrom, Orange County land developer and founding chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. “My mother taught by her own examples the importance of commitment to our community and to community service.”

Ruth Segerstrom’s daughter, Ruth Ann Moriarty, said her mother was an inspiration to her children.

“She was a hard worker and she had very high standards and high values,” Moriarty said.

Ruth Segerstrom was born and raised in Indiana. She liked to recall that her great-grandfather was given a land grant, signed by President Andrew Jackson, as the first settler in that part of Indiana.

In 1920, her brother, Rex Thomas, brought home a friend with whom he served in the U.S. Air Force. It was love at first sight, and after marriage Ruth and Anton Segerstrom settled in Santa Ana.

Those who knew Ruth Segerstrom recall a woman active in community service. During World War II, she served as captain of several hundred women volunteering for the Red Cross. She also served as president of the Assistance League of Orange County and the Ebell Society of Santa Ana, and was on the boards of the American Red Cross and National Cancer Society.

Ruth Segerstrom also served on the board of the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana shortly after it was established in 1936. Her contributions were recognized with the naming of the Ruth Segerstrom Gallery.

She played a critical role in the Segerstrom family gifts of land and financial contributions to the South Coast Repertory Theatre and was especially proud of the Arts Center, friends said.

“Ruth Segerstrom was an ardent supporter of the center,” said Mark Chapin Johnson, the center’s chairman and chief executive officer. “She was a remarkable woman and was a catalyst in the development of the dream to build an internationally recognized performing arts center in Orange County.”

After her husband’s death in 1963, Ruth Segerstrom assumed an active role in C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, a retail and commercial enterprise responsible for South Coast Plaza, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and other ventures. She served as a managing partner for more than 25 years and was named Outstanding Businesswoman of Orange County by Golden West College.

“During the three decades we worked together in our family businesses, I was always impressed by the high esteem she earned for herself through her keen intelligence,” her son said.

Ruth Segerstrom is survived by Moriarty and her husband, Gene Moriarty; Henry Segerstrom and his wife, Renee Segerstrom; six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Waverley Church, Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana. Services will be Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., also at Waverley Church. In lieu of flowers, family members request that remembrances be sent to the Orange County Performing Arts Center or the Bowers Museum.