Ina Ruth Sarin Beck

“She Loved it Here”

Ina Ruth Sarin Beck passed away on May 9, 2018. Born in New York, NY, she attended Queens College as a psychology major. One of her first teaching jobs was working with blind students. She married her first husband, Leon Sarin, in 1954 and moved to Storrs in 1958, where she raised her three daughters Judy, Janet and Jessica and taught for over 30 years in the Manchester public school system as a reading specialist.

Ina Ruth spent most of her adult life in Storrs – she loved northeastern CT and lauded its beauty and the “miraculous changing of the seasons.” She was involved in community theater, The League of Women Voters, the Mansfield Democratic Town Committee, Hillel congregation, was a PTO president, a Hadassah member in high standing and was a loyal member of her beloved book club. A life-long learner, Ina Ruth earned two master’s degrees after the age of 50, an MEd. from UCONN and an MA in Folklore studies from UPENN. Ina Ruth was an expert on Ethiopian Jewish folklore and traveled to Ethiopia to document oral history and experience the country first-hand. She also developed a life changing love for Israel and traveled to Jerusalem every summer where she taught English at Hebrew University. She traveled the world giving lectures and attending folklore conferences in Israel, Europe and the United States.

Always a lover of nature and the outdoors, Ina Ruth liked to walk and, for many years in the warm weather, could be seen making her circle around Mirror Lake. A very curious individual, Ina Ruth never met a stranger she didn’t get to know through engaging conversation and/or telling a story. She was a wonderful humorist & storyteller and delighted in her fellow human beings.

She married her second husband, long-time Storrs resident Curt Beck, in 2002 and shared many happy years with him traveling, attending concerts and lectures and going to the theater. They shared a love of politics, history, museums, PBS and fine dining. Ina Ruth enjoyed getting to know Curt’s children and grandchildren, especially his daughter Meredith.

An avid reader her entire life, Ina Ruth passed on a love of reading, literature, art, music and culture not only to her children, but to her grandchildren, as well. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her and the world is a sadder place without her memorable and glorious warm smile. She leaves behind her husband Curt Beck, of Storrs, CT; daughters Judy Murray (George), of Hudson, OH, Janet Brandyberry (Arnie), of Simsbury, CT and Jessica Sarin-Perry (Jeff), of Swampscott, MA; grandchildren Elizabeth Murray, of Hudson, OH, George Murray, Jr. (Amy), of Alexandria, VA, Charles Murray, of Hudson, OH and stepson Ron Beck (Ariela), of Acton, MA; and, step-grandsons Elliot Beck, (Monica) of Windsor, CT and Nate Beck (Sarah), of Anchorage, AK.

A memorial service will be held at the Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT, on Sunday, May 27, 2018 at 11:00AM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send donations in Ina Ruth’s name to: Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, UCONN, 2132 Hillside Road, Unit-3104, Storrs, CT 06268-3014. Checks should be made to the UCONN Foundation Jorgensen Director’s Fund.

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