Ruth Canada

was born May 10, 1943 in Aurora, IL., and died in Tucson January 22, 2016. Ruth's "Birds with an Attitude," interpretive paintings that give birds human-like attitudes in her signature palette of vibrant colors, are well known. Art was always Ruth's passion. Her closeness and sensitivity to nature is the result of growing up in rural Illinois. Ruth studied Fine Art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. This led to her starting her own advertising specialties business which thrived for 30 years between Aurora, IL and Denver, CO. When Ruth moved to Tucson in 1998, she moved into the area of fine arts. She shared her beautiful art studio with many artist friends and was a mentor to many. Ruth was generous, kind and loved by all. She is survived by her devoted husband, Don Canada; two children, Michelle Cummings-Smith and Charles "Duke" Cummings; three grandchildren, Melissa Cummings-Wood, Dustin Cummings and Salina Cummings-Foster and her two beloved cats, Princess and Prince.