Ron Ruehl's obituary

Ron Ruehl Obit

Ron Ruehl, award-winning documentary producer/director and cinematographer passed away peacefully on May, 17, 2007, at the Solace Center, Asheville, NC. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949, he was the devoted son of Gil and Esther Ruehl, loving brother to Cyndi and Gillie, uncle to Samantha, Tiffany, Shannon and Nathan, and loyal friend to all.

Ron’s loss leaves behind a profound void not just for his family and many friends, but his championed causes: the mountains of NC and the Cherokee. He graduated from Kent State University, Ohio, in 1971 with a B.S. in Journalism and Advertising, received an M.A. in Educational Media from WCU in 1979. For the 32 years he lived in WNC Ron created an eternal legacy of documentary films for and about the people and places of WNC that he loved so dearly. A former WLOS-TV reporter and videographer for the NC Dept. of Cultural Resources, through his work with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, he received the largest grant ever awarded to produce documentary films for the Museum of the Cherokee Indians.

Ron considered himself an “electronic storyteller”. Some of his notable productions were Nashville Network’s “Fire On the Mountain”; the radio program “Liberty Flyer” featuring music, personalities and sounds of WNC mountains. Other PBS productions include: “From Our House To the Whites House, Mountain Square Dancing in the 20’s and 30’s”; “Cherokee, the Principal People”; “Breathing Troubled Air, A Prayer for the Mountains”; “To Build Castles and Dreams” the documentary of the history and restoration of the Grove Arcade; and “Thomas Wolfe’s Old Kentucky Home” for the grand re-opening of the historic home after the tragic fire. His “Video Postcard of the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey Mountains” can be seen in most retailers’ racks in North Carolina. In his own words: “To be a good storyteller, one must first be a good listener, and I’ve listened or 30 years to the elders, cultural leaders, artists, musicians, historians and to the historic buildings and the mountains themselves. There’s always much to preserve that’s worth preserving and sharing. It’s been such an honor to be able to keep a record of the passing of time, in such a timeless place as our mountains. I have a saying that goes, ‘there is no place untouched by time, there is no time untouched by place’. It’s quite satisfying to look at 30 years in one place, with film or video camera in hand, recording the important, the daily, the celebrated and beautiful places and people we call the mountains of Western North Carolina. I call my work a gift to the future; something the folks 50 or 100 or maybe even 500 years from now can look at; what it was like in such a rare and diverse natural and cultural environment as WNC. I think perhaps my work can impart insight and inspiration and energy to someone in the future, or maybe even today.”

Ron was so much more than his accomplishments. He was a visionary, a mystic, a seeker of wisdom and truth - always ready to laugh, to dream, to create, to live life to the fullest and to love it all passionately. We have not only lost a precious friend, but a wonderful advocate for the preservation of the history and culture of these mountains. There will be memorial services on Sunday, June 24 at 4:00 pm at Monfort Heights United Methodist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, and a celebration of his life on Sunday, August 12 at 2:00 pm at the UNCA Botanical Gardens, Asheville, NC. Visit the blog: http://Ronruehl.blogspot.com. for additional information. Ron’s parent, Gil and Esther Ruehl reside at 8780 Livingston Rd, Cincinnati, Ohio 45251