Herbert Ruzann

March 18, 2023, Herbert. Of Elkins Park, PA; Father of Amanda Ruzann; Son of the late Rose and Abraham Ruzansky.  Services and interment are private; the family respectfully asks that contributions may be made to a charity of the donor's choice in lieu of flowers.

Beloved father, musician, teacher, performer, polyglot, scholar, and communicator, Herb was a man who lived his life with an unparalleled passion.  

Music, a love encouraged by and shared with his mother, was the true religion of Herb’s life.  He shared his resonant bass voice from an early age through undergraduate studies at West Chester, then into local theater productions and several choirs including Mendelssohn Club and the Philadelphia Singers.  A trained cantor, Herb also sang with several churches, including Trinity Episcopal in Ambler for 25 consecutive years as bass soloist.  He played theater roles from the exotic Emile de Becque to the pragmatic Daddy Warbucks - the latter a remarkable 6 times, and a role which he often joked his hairline predestined him to play. 

 Herb’s affinity for academia guided him through two master’s degrees and a third equivalency.  A world traveler, Herb was fortunate to spend time living in Quebec, Germany, and Israel.  He eagerly sought opportunities to practice the languages he had learned in each locale and developed a keen interest in military history.

His zeal for food sparked a willingness to embrace all cuisines - from Korean to Ethiopian - and his generous appetite was legendary among his friends and acquaintances.  This fueled an athletic vim and vigor that extended well into his sixties and seventies; he challenged Mandy’s friends to pull-up contests and ran flights of stairs at odd hours when he couldn’t sleep.  

Herb even brought athleticism into his greatest point of pride, his voice studio, where he came up with innovative techniques to unite the voice and body into a powerful instrument.  His voice students will also remember his creative warmups - “won ton”, “hey you!”, and “whoopee!”, to name a few.  It is as a teacher that he found the greatest gratification and the symbiosis of his accumulation of knowledge and skill for imparting it, which shows in the success and continued love from his many students (the author, his loving daughter, included).