Daniel Jonathan Ruby

Dan Ruby, magazine editor, web publisher, loving father and die-hard Pirates fan, died peacefully at his home in Piedmont, CA, at the age of 72.

Born and raised by his parents Stanley and Helga Ruby on Long Island, NY, Pittsburgh, and Chicago suburb Glen Ellyn, Dan grew up in a politically active household alongside siblings Walter and Joanne. He became a leader in student government at Glenbard West High School, organizing a student protest after the Kent State massacre and participating in the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention as a staffer for the McCarthy campaign. Steeped in folk music of the 60's, he frequented music venues in Chicago and launched a high school radio program called Hard Traveling featuring favorite artists like Steve Goodman and John Prine.

Dan attended Grinnell College and the University of Illinois, where he studied English and Journalism. In college, writing for the Daily Illini, he had the thrill as a 'Dead Head' of interviewing Jerry Garcia. Following graduation, Dan relocated to New York and began his career as a writer at Popular Science. There, with future wife Kate Eilertsen, he explored Manhattan and many parts of New England before settling in Boston, where they welcomed their beloved daughter Twyla.

With the opportunity to become Editor-in-Chief of MacWeek, Dan relocated to California and quickly became a key figure in the fast-developing San Francisco dot.com boom as an editor for technology magazines including NeXTWORLD, InfoWorld, and Knowledge Management. Following an amicable divorce, he settled in Oakland, where he built a rich life alongside family and remained for the rest of his life.

Following his passions, Dan ultimately exited magazine publishing and launched himself as a web publisher with Festival Preview ('your first stop for live music events'), a project born from music festivals he attended around Northern California including the Strawberry and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals, which he loved attending with family and friends.

Later, following the death of his parents, he became immersed in Jewish genealogy and launched Family History Machine ('where stories are made'), a storytelling platform for genealogists. While developing FHM he became active with the Jewish Gen community, attending international conferences and volunteering as a researcher of records and data detailing European Jewish communities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Another researcher, upon learning of Dan's death wrote, 'I hope that any time you meet someone interested in family history, you will remember that Dan was one of that small group of people who help others with their research and make possible many meaningful discoveries that are passed down through the generations.'

A fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club since childhood, and seeing the Bucs win three World Series championships in his lifetime, he believed that the underperforming and underfunded Pirates teams of recent decades would eventually win another World Series. And as a lifelong tennis player, he helped to develop pickleball as a popular sport in his Piedmont community. Dan loved games, quiz shows (almost making it on Jeopardy in the late '70s), and was an avid puzzler, starting each day with completion of the NYT crossword. When not competing online, he was challenging himself to top his last score.

Dan delighted in music throughout his life, and always brought the musical element to family gatherings, writing and directing family members to perform his hilarious parodies of favorite show tunes. A passionate follower of the Bay Area music scene, and practicing musician in his own right, Dan played mandolin in the East Bay bluegrass band Foggy Gulch and loved to sit on his sundrenched porch, strumming his ukulele in later years.

Dan was blessed with boundless intellectual curiosity and a true zest for life. He remained an optimist throughout his life, believing that America would ultimately create a collaborative, creative and compassionate society.

Dan is survived by his daughter Twyla Eilertsen Ruby, sister Joanne Ruby (Bill Rehm), brother Walter Ruby (Tatayana Rappaport) and niece, Elana Rehm and nephews Zach Rehm and Gene Ruby. A private memorial and celebration of Dan's remarkable life will be held October 12 in a redwood grove in the Oakland hills.