Ruth Armstrong (Moskovitz), artist and longtime park activist who sparked the idea for and co-founded Berkeley Path Wanderers Assn., died Jan. 24 at age 71. Ruth had been influential in Codornices, LaLoma, and Live Oak Parks, helping design and mobilize volunteers to build playgrounds. In 1997, she posted a notice at the North Branch Public Library seeking people interested in working for Berkeley’s historic path network, much of it created in the days of streetcars but neglected or left unbuilt as automobiles took over.
Ruth and three women who responded — Jacque Ensign, Pat DeVito, and Eleanor Hall Gibson — founded Berkeley Path Wanderers Assn. BPWA, a partner group of Berkeley Partners for Parks, went on to form a productive partnership with the city in repairing and putting signs on paths; create a best-selling path map now in its ninth edition; lead hundreds of walks, and marshal thousands of volunteers who have cleared brush, installed steps, and more, making it possible to use dozens of previously unusable or dangerous paths.
In 1998, the group’s 20th Anniversary, the Berkeley City Council recognized BPWA’s contributions to enjoying nature, healthy exercise, and potential emergency evacuation. In January 2021, the Berkeley City Council named paths for each of the four BPWA founders. Ruth Armstrong Path is the pedestrian/bicycle continuation of Walnut Street between Hearst and Berkeley Way.
One of Berkeley’s most creative and influential environmentalists, Patty retires this month after more than 30 years “growing” Berkeley Parks programs.