A pioneering force in Florida politics and the long-time architect of Miami’s philanthropic landscape, Ruth Shack died on May 23, 2026, at the age of 94. She was best known as the courageous County Commissioner who championed the landmark 1977 Human Rights Ordinance and later transformed The Miami Foundation into a $150 million engine for community growth. Shack was more than a politician; she was the soul of a modernizing city, a woman who arrived as an outsider and stayed to design its future.

Miami was a different city when Ruth Kassewitz arrived from New York in 1953. What began as a honeymoon with her husband, Richard Shack, became a permanent residency after she fell in love with the tropical landscape. She was an outsider who became the city's architect, viewing the community not just as a place to live, but as a project to be refined. As noted in her personal history with The Miami Foundation, her story eventually stretched across six different versions of the city, and in each instance, she saw a need for people to stand up and take ownership of the community.

Her most defining moment came in 1977 when, as a member of the Metro-Dade County Commission, she sponsored a landmark Human Rights Ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. The backlash was immediate and severe. During the Save Our Children campaign led by Anita Bryant, Shack faced what she described as ferocious hate, including death threats and hate mail. She drew strength from her Jewish upbringing, noting that her experience with prejudice made her view the struggle for LGBTQ rights as the next essential civil rights issue. According to records from the ACLU of Florida, she stood her ground despite the intense public opposition that threatened her safety and political future. She later remarked that she did not set out to be a crusader, but simply believed that in a democracy, everyone should be treated equally.

Beyond the halls of government, Shack possessed an eye for the city's aesthetic soul. In 1981, she championed the ordinance for historic preservation that was instrumental in saving the Art Deco District in South Beach from demolition. She also persuaded the County Commission to approve the Surrounded Islands project by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which famously wrapped eleven islands in pink fabric. She described herself as an incurable optimist, a quality that allowed her to see the cultural value in projects others found controversial. Her efforts were recognized by the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council, which awarded her the Cultural Champion Award and proclaimed February 9 as Ruth Shack Day, as reported by SocialMiami.

In 1985, Shack transitioned from the role of crusader to the North Star of Miami's philanthropic community. As President of the Dade Community Foundation for 24 years, she oversaw a period of unprecedented growth. Under her leadership, the organization's assets grew from $5 million to over $150 million. Her friend and attorney Richard Milstein described her as a force to be reckoned with who set a pattern for civic engagement. She was less interested in resume facts than in the tangible impact of her work, specifically through the Miami Fellows program she established to mentor the next generation of leaders. Her dedication earned her the Sand in My Shoes award, the highest honor for public service from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

Ruth Shack will be remembered as the woman who refused to blink when the city's conscience was on the line. She transformed Miami from a collection of neighborhoods into a cohesive community bound by a shared sense of equity and preservation. Her legacy is visible in the neon lights of Ocean Drive and the diverse leadership of the city she helped build. She proved that a single voice, backed by conviction and a love for one's adopted home, can reshape the moral and physical landscape of a metropolis.