It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Ruth Offen on May 26th 2026 at the age of 73. She died peacefully with the people she loved.
Ruth was a beloved mother, wife and friend to many people. She was a force of nature to be reckoned with and will be missed deeply. She is survived her husband Maximo, and her son Zack.
A public celebration of life will be announced at a later date. We thank everyone for their love and support during this time.
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Published by Ruth Offen
I chose tango as my dance because I love the lifestyle, embrace, and, yes, dressing up.
In my tango series, I share images shot worldwide, in the places where I have danced: Spain, France, Germany Turkey,Canada,Italy Greece, and the USA, but mostly in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
With my written stories, I try to share some of the experiences that have stayed with me... An amazing embrace, a beautiful meal, a slightly uncomfortable life moment at a stay a train station or airport. These are the moments we remember.
As to my personal info, I was born in New Jersey eventually, after living in New York, Boston, and San Francisco, most recently on San Juan Island in Washington state, I moved to Buenos Aires in January 2020.
For 38 years, years I curated a contemporary art gallery, where I refined my skills and became a visual editor.
Always with a camera or some picture-capturing device in tow [including much heavy equipment], I started my travel at approximately the same time, was introduced to tango about 12 years ago.
VIsual storytelling begins with a moment. Some internal mechanism is triggered by a scene or event or movement and ...there's your photo.
Other times, it’s about a sliver of color or something else odd or ordinary that captures the eye.
As I am now fluent in Spanish, it is my desire that my stories and photos reach the broader tango community and other travelers.
Travelingtango offers translations into Spanish, Italian, and German.
Abrazo!!!
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11 thoughts on “A life well lived.”
So sorry to hear of your mother’s death. Loved chatting with Ruth whenever our paths crossed and always enjoyed reading the Traveling Tango emails.
She will be greatly missed. May she rest in peace.
My deepest sympathies to you & Maximo
So sorry to hear this! I have treasured Ruth’s Traveling Tango tales for as long as she has been posting them and had been hoping to meet her when she visited Bellingham someday.
Her travelogue was a very enjoyable read. Her passing away is a shock as she never mentioned any health issues. My condolences to you, Maximo and the rest of her family. Nitin Kibe, Washington DC.
She loved a life full of spice, verve and humor. I will miss her terribly.
And we all traveled with her, whether we could tango or not.
Besos, dear Ruth ❤️
Zack, I am sorry to hear this. Your mom and I go way back to our theatre days in Boston during the 70s. She was my oldest living friend. Your dad and mom met at our theatre company. And in San Francisco we all created new lives together. The move to Friday Harbor and Ruth’s remarkable success as an art dealer is a stoey of strength and resolve. May Ruth’s memory be a blessing to us all. Woody Wilson
Wishing Zack and Maximo my heartfelt condolences. May her memory be a blessing. I loved reading her blogs of travel and tango. She was a gifted writer and brought all her experiences to life with great insight, humour and knowledge. I am in shock to hear of her passing, and had no idea that she was dealing with a serious illness as her posts were filled with discovery, joy and optimism. She will be missed. Thank you for letting her followers know.
Oh Zack… I know how hard it was to post this to your mom’s page. I hope you are taking care of yourself today as responses come in. It’s true: everything thing you do takes her away from you just a bit more, makes it a bit more real. But it will get less raw… in months not days but I promise it will. Hugs
Zack. I am so very sorry for your loss. I was in touch with your mom when she went into the hospital for chemo, but then she v said she was being released early because she was doing so well. She will be missed!!!!
Stuart
So sorry to hear of your mother’s death. Loved chatting with Ruth whenever our paths crossed and always enjoyed reading the Traveling Tango emails.
She will be greatly missed. May she rest in peace.
My deepest sympathies to you & Maximo
Barbara Franz
So sorry to hear this! I have treasured Ruth’s Traveling Tango tales for as long as she has been posting them and had been hoping to meet her when she visited Bellingham someday.
Her travelogue was a very enjoyable read. Her passing away is a shock as she never mentioned any health issues. My condolences to you, Maximo and the rest of her family. Nitin Kibe, Washington DC.
She loved a life full of spice, verve and humor. I will miss her terribly.
And we all traveled with her, whether we could tango or not.
Besos, dear Ruth ❤️
Zack, I am sorry to hear this. Your mom and I go way back to our theatre days in Boston during the 70s. She was my oldest living friend. Your dad and mom met at our theatre company. And in San Francisco we all created new lives together. The move to Friday Harbor and Ruth’s remarkable success as an art dealer is a stoey of strength and resolve. May Ruth’s memory be a blessing to us all. Woody Wilson
Wishing Zack and Maximo my heartfelt condolences. May her memory be a blessing. I loved reading her blogs of travel and tango. She was a gifted writer and brought all her experiences to life with great insight, humour and knowledge. I am in shock to hear of her passing, and had no idea that she was dealing with a serious illness as her posts were filled with discovery, joy and optimism. She will be missed. Thank you for letting her followers know.
Kind reagrds, Miriam
So very sorry to read this…I never met her but I enjoyed her blog and all the photos. Well lived indeed! May she rest in peace.
I am so sorry to hear about Ruth passing. Since she had such a wide audience with her blog perhaps you would consider a Zoom celebration of life.
Oh Zack… I know how hard it was to post this to your mom’s page. I hope you are taking care of yourself today as responses come in. It’s true: everything thing you do takes her away from you just a bit more, makes it a bit more real. But it will get less raw… in months not days but I promise it will. Hugs
Thank you for the notice of Ruth’s passing. My condolences. I
Zack. I am so very sorry for your loss. I was in touch with your mom when she went into the hospital for chemo, but then she v said she was being released early because she was doing so well. She will be missed!!!!
Stuart