RUTH ADLER SCHNEE

FUNERAL SERVICE: 1:00 pm WEDNESDAY 1/11/2023 at HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT THE TIME OF THE SERVICE, A LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ON OUR TRIBUTE WALL FOR A LIVE STREAM OF THE FUNERAL SERVICE. Ruth Adler Schnee, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, died on January 5, 2023, at the age of 99. Ruth was born in 1923 to Marie Salomon Adler and Joseph P. Adler of Frankfurt, Germany. The family fled to the United States just a few months after the Kristallnacht pogrom, arriving in New York in 1939. From there the family moved to Detroit, where Ruth graduated from Cass Technical High School. She obtained her B.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design, and, in 1946, she was one of the first women to receive an M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art under Eliel and Loja Saarinen. She married Edward C. Schnee in 1948 and together they founded Adler-Schnee, a design consulting firm and iconic modern design shop that brought good design into Detroit-area modern homes for over half a century. An avid lover of classical music, Ruth and Eddie were among the founders of the Detroit Chamber Music Society. Ruth received the Kresge Eminent Artist Award (2015), Woman of Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Institute of Architects’ International Color Award. Her work was featured during the Venice Biennale in 2011. Her textile designs and papers are included in the collections of the Cranbrook Museum of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan; and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. An oral history interview of her career is included within the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Significant commercial commissions included the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, Braniff Airlines, the Ford Rotunda Auditorium, the Jewish Home for the Aged in Southfield, MI, in addition to numerous private residential commissions throughout the Detroit metropolitan area. Until well into her ninth decade, Ruth was a highly sought-after consultant for projects involving the restoration of mid-century modern buildings and residences, and her fabric designs are still in production by Knoll Textiles of New York and Anzea Textiles of Texas. In 2018, Ruth moved from Detroit to Colorado Springs to be closer to family. Ruth is survived by Anita Schnee of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Jeremiah Schnee and Margaret Poswistilo Schnee of New York; Daniel Schnee and Susan Maldegen Schnee of Colorado Springs; grandchildren Tona (Irene), Roderick (Mara), Sarah (Jesse Hulsing), Jacob (Ashley), Rebecca (Joel Pratt), Ariel, and Dana; and great-grandchildren Hazel Pratt, Aiden, Oliver, Amelia, and Sydney Schnee and Clay Adler Hulsing. In lieu of flowers, monetary contributions in memory of Ruth Adler Schnee will gratefully be accepted by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit (Detroit, Michigan), the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, Rhode Island), the International Cultic Studies Association (Bonita Springs, Florida), Temple Shalom (Colorado Springs, Colorado), or the charity of your choice. OFFICIATING: Rabbi Joseph Krakoff INTERMENT: Machpelah Cemetery SHIVA: The family will observe Shiva on Sunday at the home of Daniel and Susan Schnee 3007 Springmeadow Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906 CONTRIBUTIONS: If you would like to further honor the memory of RUTH ADLER SCHNEE you may do so by making a contribution to: Chamber Music Society of Detroit (Detroit, Michigan), or the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, Rhode Island), or the International Cultic Studies Association (Bonita Springs, Florida), or Temple Shalom (Colorado Springs, Colorado), or the charity of your choice.

RUTH ADLER SCHNEE

May 13, 1923 - January 5, 2023

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RUTH ADLER SCHNEE

May 13, 1923 - January 5, 2023

Obituary Notification

Explore

Donations

Grief & Healing

About Us

Obituaries

Plan Ahead

Resources

Contact Info