Scripps College remembers Ruth Markowitz Owades ’66, an entrepreneur, corporate director, and passionate advocate for liberal arts education. A Life Trustee of the College, Owades has left a legacy of innovation and generosity at Scripps and beyond.
Born in Los Angeles, Owades began working after school at age 12 and worried that college would be financially out of reach. Yet a scholarship to Scripps made her dream possible, and she often credited the College with shaping her life and career.
She studied comparative literature and French, developed her confidence, and discovered the importance of perseverance. A Fulbright grant enabled her to study in France, where she worked with playwright Eugène Ionesco. She later attended Harvard Business School at a time when women represented only 10 percent of her class.
Owades built a distinguished career by identifying new opportunities in consumer business. She founded Gardener’s Eden, a catalog business specializing in garden tools and accessories. After Williams-Sonoma acquired the company, she continued developing the business, expanding into e-commerce and retail stores.
She subsequently founded Calyx & Corolla to establish a new approach to flower delivery. The model changed the way Americans purchased flowers.
Throughout her career, Owades served on corporate boards and mentored emerging business innovators. She remained committed to increasing educational opportunity and endowed a scholarship at Scripps to give others access to the same experiences that made such a difference in her own life.
In 2013, Owades returned to Scripps as Commencement speaker and urged graduates to acknowledge their fears, persevere, and be bold. She spoke of the lasting value of a liberal arts education and the importance of friendships formed at college.
“It was here that I gained the self-confidence to compete, where I learned the skills to analyze and synthesize data, to deal with ambiguity, and to take risks,” she said in her speech. “Perhaps most importantly, it was here that I learned to ask questions and to express myself clearly.”
Her story exemplifies the courage to try, the determination to build something new, and the generosity to help others follow their own paths. Through her entrepreneurial achievements and support for future students, Owades leaves a lasting imprint on the Scripps community.