“During these dinners, she would inquire about my life with a mix of concern and affection, sharing unfiltered stories of our grandparents and expressing her pride in our family. ”

“Ruth was a force of nature and I took great joy in watching how much respect - and even fear - she would elicit from people wherever she went.”

“Mom Boss was a Bronx Girl and did not accept bull from this or that guy. I've even witnessed Mom Boss make a Teamster cry.”

“We talked about everything, you expanded my mind with conversations, museums, books, art. I loved our conversations.”

“We were now a tribe of four, continuously touring America and Europe, city to city. Days were spent in museums and cafes, on trains and airplanes while our nights were spent at art house cinema, dinner parties or poetry readings.”

“The Hirschman family is like a pinball running amok in a machine, and you are unsure where it will hit or land.”

“She could be ferocious, calling me after-hours to yell at me for something I did that upset her, she did that several times until I told her that I worked long hours at the station and that if she wanted to yell, she could do that during working hours but not to call me at home anymore.”

“The truth is that even though I can be very brave, Ruth scared the hell out of me.”

“She wanted it now.  With one caveat.  I had to change the name.”

“I was so lucky to be exposed to a person of her soul and stature so early.”

“Ruth created it personally...was its heart, it was her life.”

“Not only through her magnificent career, by which she ‘made a name for herself,’ as they say, but because of the tremendous compassion, sensitivity, and humanity underneath her powerful personality.”

“I said, ‘Ruth. I have always been honored to be a part of KCRW. But to now know that I have been part of your honoring your son all these years. I can't believe it.’”

“A one-of-a-kind who created public radio’s most dazzling station! A tough cookie with an unerring eye for talent!”

“As we started talking she stopped us. ‘Forget about it, I hate computers.’”

“That meeting was the beginning of one of my most important, lasting and meaningful relationships.:

“Her caring, impassioned, urgent, disentangled voice. It’s still in my head.”

“Ruth’s ability to turn any context into an appeal for funds was poetic, it was over the top, it took our breath away with both her chutzpah and her acumen, and it was memorable for our lifetimes.”