Early in an interview yesterday afternoon, City Councilman Jim Clarke asked if his message about the late Ken Ruben had been received.
Mr. Ruben, a 72-year-old uncommonly popular landmark in Culver City, died two weeks ago yesterday morning, 10 weeks after a stroke. Shortly later, Mr. Clarke sent word that he would have liked to attend the funeral at Mt. Olive Cemetery, City of Commerce, but he was going to be on the other side of the country.
Personalities large and smaller have been mourning the extraordinary and ordinary Mr. Ruben daily since the hour of his March 12 death.
Because of his taken-for-granted qualities, devotional loyalty, dedication to causes, unusual kindness, unflappability, a blithe personality, he is being remembered more generously than publicly celebrated personalities.
An utterly committed rail and bus aficionado who traveled the length of California for these causes, he mingled equally comfortably with top tier executives and those known as working class members. He never recognized a difference or distinction between or among them.
Were there more Ken Rubens in the world, no one would have introduced a need for diversity because among his friends and contacts, they all looked alike to him.
Since the hour of his funeral, there has been a gathering movement among his dozens of closest pals to purchase a marker for his grave on the eastern side of Los Angeles.
How far did Mr. Ruben’s influence extend? Earlier this week, one Barbara Cepinko from Washington state contacted my wife about his death and a way to memorialize him.
Here is the latest correspondence from longtime friend Steve Grande:
“Funds are being raised to cover the cost of a grave marker for Ken Ruben as well as some sort of memorial tribute. What type of memorial tribute will be decided later after seeing how much is raised and how much it costs for the purchase of the grave marker and installation. For information on how to help, please visit: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/3xwC9/ab/b4dgxe
“A slide show of photos related to Ken Ruben is now posted to http://www.trainweb.com/kenruben/
“Any help you can provide I’m sure will be greatly appreciated by all of us for who Ken is still alive in our memories.”