Longtime Newport Beach activist dies of cancer

June Casagrande

Even as the end of her life loomed just around the corner, former

Newport Beach Mayor Ruthelyn Plummer kept looking straight ahead,

eyeing the future with the anticipation of a young woman with her

whole life yet to live.

Plummer died Thursday morning from cancer she knew would be fatal.

Yet just two weeks before she died, she was having new wallpaper put

into her home. She was 79.

“She’s been such an inspiration to everybody,” said Janie Arnold,

a longtime friend of Plummer’s who stayed close by her side until the

end.

Plummer had been in hospice care since shortly after she was

diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. She leaves behind six

grown children, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and a

legacy of service to her community.

Plummer grew up in Newport Beach and was living on Newport Island

when she won a seat on the City Council in 1980 representing West

Newport and the Balboa Peninsula. At the time, developments were

cropping up in the undeveloped parts of town and city officials were

cutting deals with developers to require them to build parks and

other infrastructure. But those parks and improvements were all going

into the newer parts of town and Plummer believed older West Newport

Beach should enjoy some of the improvements, too.

Several small parks in the older parts of town now stand as a

permanent tribute to her efforts. In 12 years on the council, which

included a term as mayor from 1989 to 1990, Plummer also helped get

restrooms built on the beach in West Newport as well as bus shelters

and street improvements throughout the area.

During World War II, the 18-year-old Plummer worked as a riveter

in the McDonnell Douglas plant in Long Beach.

“She was such a cool lady who did so much for the city of Newport

Beach,” Arnold said.

Theresa Smith, Plummer’s daughter, described her mother as a

person who loved life and who was determined to live it to its

fullest right up until the end.

“She had an incredible passion for life,” Smith said.

Plummer will be laid to rest in a family plot in Hollywood

Cemetery; services will be private. In addition to Smith, Plummer is

survived by sons Lance Collins, Michael Collins, Alan Collins, David

Smith and Clay Smith and brothers Reid and Kenneth Plummer.