Ruby Luke

At Touch A Quarter Century, 2008

Ruby Luke McKibben
16 Jul 1934 - 08 Sep 2025

Obituary

The world — and our hearts — lost a shining gem this week, as Ruby Luke passed away at the age of 91, with her daughter and son-in-law at her side.

Ruby was the sister of Wing Luke, noted as the first Asian American elected to public office. But Ruby lived her own life, loud and proud. In school, she was one of the original members of the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team. Before getting married, she and her husband-to-be were talented dancers, and over the years, Ruby was involved in folk dancing, square dancing, and country-western couples and line dancing. She also had a lengthy career as an employee at Boeing.

On the square dance front, Ruby danced regularly with Puddletown Square for many years, attending enough IAGSDC conventions to qualify for the 10 Year Medallion. There and with country dancing, Ruby was well known around the country. “Oh, you’re from Seattle?” people would say. “Do you know this little Asian woman…?” (As though Ruby were the only tiny Asian woman in the city!)

Ruby made most of her fabulous outfits herself, and was often up for a challenge, breaking out a version of a leather corset for the Leather Meets Country night, and she also one year served as Ms. Claus for the leather-themed Pictures With Santa fundraiser.

On the gay and lesbian country-western dance scene in Seattle, she was a fixture at the old Timberline (from the very first night they opened) and later at Timberline Spirits and Cuff Country. She taught couples and line dancing for years, even into her 80s, and she was a founding member of both the Timberliners dance team in the 1990s and the Rain City Rhythm Riders, founded in 2001. The Rhythm Riders later evolved into the current Rain Country Dance Association where she served as a board member for many years. In 2011, at Rain Country’s Emerald City Hoedown, the inaugural Ruby Slipper Award (recognizing contributions to Rain Country and the local LGBTQ+ country- western and line dance scene) was presented to Ruby. Video with lots of photos of Ruby from that presentation: https://youtu.be/1kDwkCUX1cc?si=GD7tqDAEolaiqHnE

Ruby slowed down in her 80s — after outlasting two pacemakers! — and retired from dancing when the pandemic blocked most of us from doing much dancing at all. She made an appearance at the 2022 Emerald City Hoedown and sat down with three Rain Country members for an interview the next year as well (https://youtu.be/9l2B6mGBTGY?si=pQf5Mfnw2kUJWxel).

A documentary on her life and dancing is in the works.

Please join us this Friday night (tonight, Sep 12) at Reverie Ballroom (formerly Century Ballroom; Pine @ 10th, 2nd floor) for Rain Country’s dance night, where we will have a brief announcement about this and enjoy dancing to a couple of Ruby’s favorite songs.
— Jim Drew

Remembrances

My most vivid memory of Ruby dates from the first Seattle Convention. People were so revved up after the excitement of the first night's dancing that they didn't want to stop, and at some point, Happy New Year started calling himself so the dancing could continue. At first there were only a couple of squares, but as word filtered back to those who'd returned to their rooms, more and more dancers joined in, including Ruby--the hair intact, and wearing a crinoline under her bathrobe.

As far as I can tell, Ruby is alive and well, still actively participating in the gay dance community with an emphasis on Country-Western, and in Chinese-American community affairs. She was interviewed in July 2021 for this article about a Chinese-American Drill Team she belonged to the 1950's: https://frontporch.seattle.gov/2021/11/15/the-seattle-chinese-community-girls-drill-team-forging-a-tradition-one-step-at-a-time/

Doing the math, that would put her birth date in the mid-to-late 1930's, and her current age in her mid-80's.

Her late brother, Wing Luke, was a widely respected community and political leader; she and her sister Bettie attended the dedication of an Elementary School named in his honor in September 2021: https://nwasianweekly.com/2021/09/wing-luke-school-dedication/

In March 2022, she and Bettie attended the first big post-Covid indoor event held by the Board of the Wing Luke Museum. ^[2]

An amazing woman, from an amazing family--long may she continue to thrive!
— Russ King

Very sorry to hear about Ruby's passing ... She was a fun spirit, and her outfits at the early IAGSDC conventions could not be outdone!
--Karl Jaeckel

The Wing Luke Museum is deeply saddened by the passing of an extraordinary Seattle fashion, culture, and civil rights icon, Auntie Ruby Luke. She passed away peacefully on Monday, Sept. 8, surrounded by family. Auntie Ruby was a larger-than-life presence during many of our special events, including our annual Lunar New Year celebration, and, for more times than we could count, our fundraiser and auction. We were so honored to have her join us during the Museum’s recent celebration of her brother (and our namesake), Wing Luke, during his 100th birthday celebration in February 2025.

A captivating presence, Auntie Ruby was renowned for her deep commitment to inclusion – easily moving from vocal advocacy for civil rights, while also relishing her iconic status in the LGBTQ community, teaching line dancing at The Cuff and volunteering with the famed Rain Country Dance Association.

She was one of the original members of the Seattle Chinese Community Drill Team, the trail-blazing group founded more than 70 years ago. It was that experience of kinship and joy that played a major influence on her life and outlook.

“My Mom took great delight and pride in being a part of the Wing Luke Museum community, and you all embraced her with love and grace,” says her daughter, Cynthia del Rosario.

In lieu of flowers, her family requests that any community members wishing to send remembrances please consider donating to the Wing Luke Museum or Rain Country Dance Association, her two beloved organizations.
— Wing Luke Museum^[3]

Photos

1951 Garfield High (Seattle, WA) yearbook photo, 1951
At Promenade Along The Rockies, 1985
At Explode The Rose, 1987
With BJ Dyer at Diamonds In The Desert, 1988
At Make Magic, 2001
L-Rː Gigi Long, Mike DeSisto, Ruby Luke. At Anchors Aweigh With a Half-Sashay, 2003.
At Remake The Heatwave, 2004
At Touch A Quarter Century, 2008
Ruby and Keith Gehrig at the CUFF
Rain Country Dance Association, March 2022
At Wing Luke gala: First in-person event since pandemic, March 13, 2022. From left: Adrian Liago, Cynthia Del Rosario, Wing Luke sisters Bettie, and Ruby (in white dress) (Photo by Assunta Ng).
2022
RAIN Hoedown, 2022
2022