100-Year-Old Ruth Heald To Attend Sarasota Orchestra Concert One Last Time

Ruth Heald, a centenarian who is under hospice care at a Sarasota assisted living facility, will get a day of beauty and a special trip to the Sarasota Orchestra this weekend as part of her one final wish to hear live music before she passes.

Ms. Heald, who turned 100 last month, entered hospice care in August. Her social worker and family, in collaboration with Tidewell Hospice and the Sarasota Orchestra, planned the experience for Ms. Heald. A lifelong music lover and accomplished pianist, Ms. Heald will be joined by her son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Laura Heald, also of Sarasota.

After getting her hair and nails done, Ms. Heald will travel by medical transport to the Sarasota Opera House for the Sarasota Orchestra's performance of Discover Beethoven's Fifth. The concert is on Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 2:30 p.m.

"We are excited to have Ms. Heald as a special guest this weekend to show our appreciation for her years of support of the arts in our community," said Joseph McKenna, President and CEO of Sarasota Orchestra. "It's an honor to be able to provide Ms. Heald with this memorable moment."

Ms. Heald's health and lucidity has recently declined dramatically, Jim Heald said. But her love for music has not waned.

Ms. Heald attended Denison College in Ohio and graduated with a degree in music. She taught piano until World War II and entered the Red Cross where she met her spouse, John. After returning from her service, she raised three children. She and her husband went to the New York Philharmonic quite regularly. Jim Heald said she always played classical music whenever she could; he fondly remembers music throughout the house whenever he came home from college during the summers.

In 1980, the Healds retired to Sarasota where she volunteered for the Sarasota Opera as an usher. The church was important to her, especially the women's groups surrounding most churches. She volunteered at the Women's Exchange in Sarasota and enjoyed going to the Asolo Repertory Theater and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

"Music has always been a very important part of her life," Jim Heald said. "This is a program she will appreciate because she really likes Beethoven."

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