RuthAnn O'Neill Ruggiero

Ruthann Ruggiero, 74, of Torrance California, was born in Dayton, Ohio, to her parents Pearl Irene (Wilson) O’Toole and William O’Toole. After her father’s passing, she was adopted by her mother’s new husband, Richard F. O’Neill, and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The family moved to San Diego, California, where she attended Cathedral Girls High School, and later UC San Diego.

While at UCSD, she met and married Gary Ruggiero, also from San Diego. They later moved to the Los Angeles area, eventually settling in Torrance.

She taught school, mostly in the Torrance Unified School District, for over 30 years. By far her longest assignment was at North High School, where she taught math, and introduced the teaching of computer-related subjects. While there, she was a prolific writer of grant applications; and won an award for teaching excellence. She certainly loved to teach, always looking for new methods to explain important topics.

In her spare time, Ruthann loved to play the piano, watch British mystery shows, and research family ancestry. She sewed, knitted, and had just gotten into machine embroidery. She loved to watch her grandchildren’s youth sports games, and hosted a “Nana Summer Camp” for her two youngest, where STEAM-related topics were introduced in a fun-and-games manner.

After retirement, she and Gary had begun to travel, taking several cruises to visit Europe, including two river cruises (Rhein and Danube), the northern Mediterranean, and the Northern Lights in Norway.

She leaves behind her loving husband of 55 years, Gary; her children Christine Cuellar (Rick) of San Marcos California; Stephanie Ruggiero (Charlie) of Las Vegas Nevada; and Charles Ruggiero (Christina) of Shoreline Washington; and her grandchildren Cameron and Kendall Cuellar of San Marcos California; Donovan and Stephen Miller of Las Vegas Nevada; and Nathan and Sierra Ruggiero of Shoreline Washington. She also leaves behind her brothers Bill O’Neill (Cheryl) of Junction City, Oregon; and Tom O’Neill of San Diego, California.

She is preceded in death by her parents Pearl Irene (Wilson) O’Neill and Richard F. O’Neill, late of Las Vegas, Nevada.

In lieu of a traditional service, a celebration of life is planned for Saturday, May 28, 2022 from 11am to 3pm, in the Pacific Ballroom of the Portofino Inn and Marina in Redondo Beach, California. All are welcome, but please RSVP to [email protected].