Ruth R. Mock of Yachats
June 1, 1938 – July 16, 2025
Ruth R. Mock, a world traveler and a guitar and violin music publisher and instructor who delighted the Yachats community as “Fiddlin Ruth” for 10 wonderful years, passed away July 16, 2025, in Albuquerque, N.M. surrounded by music and visits from her children and grandchildren.
Ruth Elaine Ray Mock was born June 1, 1938, in Paterson, N.J., the daughter of Rev. Mark Scott McGee Ray and Anna Elizabeth (Morgan) Ray.
She grew up in Oneonta, N.Y., where her family, including siblings Dorothy Anne and Mark, lived in the church parsonage and shared a deep love of music. Summers were spent in Ocean Grove, N.J., and Northfield, Maine, where their father had a summer faculty position at the Northfield School for Girls.
After graduating from Oneonta High School, Ruth attended Muskingum College in Ohio where she studied violin and cornet under the influential John Kendall, who introduced her to the Suzuki method. This teaching philosophy would shape Ruth’s music education style.
Following college, Ruth taught music from 1959 to 1962 in Cairo, Egypt at the American College for Girls, traveling extensively during breaks, including hitchhiking in Europe and visiting countries across Asia. She later pursued graduate studies at Florida State University, where she met Jeremy “Jerry” Mock, a fellow student with a shared interest in Japan and Egypt. She earned a master’s degree in Music Education in 1964, and she married Jerry in Oneonta the same year, with her father presiding over the ceremony.
On their honeymoon, a twister in south Texas overturned their Airstream trailer, leading to unexpected teaching jobs in McAllen, Texas. This launched a lifelong partnership of musical teaching and performance.
Ruth and Jerry studied classical guitar in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, and soon began teaching music and building their family — daughter Melody, followed by sons Nelson and Julian.
In McAllen, they built a Japanese-style home they called Shoji View and began teaching music using their own method, influenced by Suzuki principles. They later moved to Corpus Christi when Jerry accepted a position with the Corpus Christi Caller Times, and then Edinburg, Texas, where they opened the Mock Music School and authored The Mock Family Classic Guitar Method. They also published Creative Guitar International, a magazine distributed globally from 1973-1979, produced from their home print shop with help from their children.
Ruth and Jerry formed a classical guitar quintet with their children, the Mock Family Guitarists. Using contacts they made through their magazine to book concerts, they began touring in 1975, performing across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, including notable tours in 1976, 1978, and 1979. In 1976, they settled in Alpine, Texas, where they opened a music school and developed a guitar orchestra program. Performances and workshops continued through the late 1970s and into the 1980s.
In addition, they ran the Health Basket and Music Center, a store where they sold health foods and frozen yoghurt, as well as camping gear and musical instruments.
In 1979, Ruth and Jerry spent six months teaching at Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogotá, Colombia. Ruth later fondly recalled meeting the guitarist Julian Bream there — the musician after whom they named their youngest son. Adventures continued with a 1984 European street music tour with their son Julian, and a year in Antigua, Guatemala where Ruth studied Spanish and climbed the Agua Volcano. In 1992-1993, Ruth and Jerry taught English at schools in China, where they built lasting friendships.
In the early 2000s, they traveled the western U.S. in a VW Vanagon camper, volunteering as park hosts, especially enjoying the Oregon coast near Yachats.
Ruth was in her element when she was outdoors, whether walking, hiking, or biking. An avid cyclist, she was known to bike daily up “Big Hill” south of Alpine. One summer she joined her son Nelson on a multi-day bike camping trip to Big Bend National Park, capping off the trip with a trek to the South Rim in the Chisos Mountains.
Ruth and Jerry spent a lot of time in Yachats in the late 1980s and early 1990s, camping at Tillicum or at Cape Perpetua, where they were camp hosts. They would walk to Yachats and use the computers at the library to email the family. After Jerry’s passing in 2008, Ruth returned to Yachats in 2011.
What began as a short visit became a new chapter of joy, music, and friendships. Known locally as Fiddlin’ Ruth, she became a fixture in the community, playing her violin at farmers’ markets, the Heceta Lighthouse Christmas concert, and monthly open mics at the Green Salmon coffeehouse.
Rain or shine, she walked daily along the 804 Trail with her violin, offering music to both ocean and passersby. Her family treasured their visits to her Yachats, with time always filled with music and walks.
Ruth moved to Austin, Texas in 2021 to live with Nelson and his wife Ann, continuing her daily walks and violin and guitar duets with her son. In 2023, she relocated to Albuquerque to live with her daughter Melody and spent her final two years surrounded by love and music.
Just a week before her passing, she performed on her violin a touching version of “Maria Elena,” one of her favorite songs.
A passionate believer in the power of music for all, Ruth often said, “A child ready to learn with a parent ready to help needs a teacher ready to teach.” She taught students of all ages and inspired countless people through her joyful spirit, generosity, and music.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Dorothy Anne Ray, and her beloved husband Jerry. She is survived by her brother, Mark M. Ray; daughter, Melody Mock (Keith Lee) and grandchildren Paloma and Oliver Lee-Mock; son, Nelson Mock (Ann Baddour) and grandchildren Sofia and Jeremy Mock; and son, Julian Mock (Alyce Santoro).
In Ruth’s memory, donations may be made to the Friends of Yachats Library, to your local public library, or to a charity that supports musicians.
The community is invited to her celebration of life from 2-4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church.
I have fond memories of Fiddlin’ ’ Ruth. Last time I talked with her she was sitting on the bench as pictured above and explained that she was moving to Texas to live with her son. Every time I past that bench I think of her. She brought magic wherever she played. I am sure she is still fiddling in her life beyond.
Yes, I remember her as ubiquitous magic and an inspiration. So grateful to read the rest of her story.
I met Ruth on the 804 Trail when she first moved back to Yachats. She told me some of her amazing story. She is an inspiration for living your life to the fullest. Rest easy, Ruth.