Sandra Sue "Ru" Otto

Sandra Sue Otto, affectionately known as "Ru" for most of her life, passed away on July 10, 2026, at 6:33 p.m. at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, at the age of 80. Her death was precipitated by injuries she sustained in an accident at the airport on Memorial Day.

Ru was born on May 9, 1946, in Defiance, Ohio—a city whose name would later become a fitting reflection of the life she lived. Throughout her eighty years, she met extraordinary challenges with determination, creativity, and resilience. As a young child, she contracted polio, an illness that shaped much of her life but never defined her spirit. She watched her brothers and sister walking and said to herself, "I bet I can do that." In the midst of multiple bone surgeries, she taught herself to walk.

Despite severe arthritis and limited mobility, she refused to let her disabilities extinguish her creativity. She taught herself to paint by steadying the hand that held her brush with her other hand, producing works that reflected both determination and imagination.

In her young adult life, Ru loved to travel. She loved camping in nature, and once she had a destination, nothing would stop her. She would hitchhike just like so many of her generation did. She even spent a year in Spain on nothing more than a whim and a prayer.

She also enjoyed singing and dancing, in pure defiance of the limitations her disability presented. She loved music festivals, loved to laugh, and possessed a sharp wit that was second to none among those who knew her.

For the last fifteen years of her life, Ru made her home as an original member of the creative community at Artspace Everett Lofts, on Hoyt Avenue in Everett, Washington. There she found not only a place to live but a true community. She became a beloved matriarch within the building, forming deep and lasting friendships with fellow artists whose lives were enriched by her encouragement, wisdom, humor, and compassion.

A gifted writer and renowned poet, Ru devoted much of her later years to preserving her story. She authored her autobiography, Born in Defiance, a deeply personal account of growing up with polio and the challenges of living with a disability during a time when childhood illness was often misunderstood and unfairly stigmatized. Through both her writing and her artwork, she transformed hardship into beauty, leaving behind a legacy of resilience, honesty, and creativity.

She is survived by her daughters, Rachael Otto and Ariel Layton; her brothers, Larry Otto and Jim Otto; and her sister, Deborah Lienau. She also leaves behind many cherished friends, neighbors, and fellow artists whose lives were forever changed by knowing her.

RuSandra will be remembered for her perseverance in the face of adversity, her adventurous spirit, her artistic soul, her literary gifts, and her remarkable ability to inspire others to embrace life with courage and curiosity, never allowing physical limitations to define her or keep her from living life on her own terms.

She leaves behind a gift to everyone who knew her: the lesson to look at every obstacle and say, "Yes, I can do that!" She will be deeply missed by her family and the many friends whose lives she touched with her unique humor and adventurous spirit.