Robin Riutta

Robin Riutta

Robin (Barbara Starr Kramer) Riutta passed away on  May 8^th, 2026, at her home in Emerald Heights, Redmond, Washington after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.

Robin was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on February 22^nd, 1946, to John Frederick and Barbara Starr Kramer.  She grew up on the family farm in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.   She loved riding horses around the family farm and taking long walks with her German Shepard named Admiral.  She attended school in Chester Springs and graduated from Cazenovia College in New York.

She met her husband, Ray, in Monterey, California where he was stationed in the Coast Guard and she was working for Wells Fargo Bank.  They married on September 18^th, 1971, in Astoria, Oregon.  During Ray’s career they lived in many different places, including England and Alaska. Their oldest son, Ian, was born in London, England and their youngest son, Aaron, was born in Juneau, Alaska. After nearly 18 years living in Alaska they moved to Redmond, Washington in 2012, where they have resided until her death.

She was a devoted mother to her two sons, a wonderful grandmother to her four grandsons, Eamon, Sorin, Ronan and Dante and a perfect life partner to her husband Ray for 55 years.  The family moved over 14 times during Ray’s career.   Robin was often left to manage the household and cope with two young children in remote places, like Adak, Alaska, while Ray was off serving on one of his ships.  She never complained and was always ready for the next adventure.

Robin was a very talented artist using many different media but truly found her niche when the family resided in Juneau, where she learned to bead beautiful pieces at the Tlingit-Haida Center.  Her work in this medium is truly remarkable and every member of the family, including her nieces and nephews, all have a special picture created by her specifically for them.

Robin battled cancer for over 27 years and struggled with health problems continually as a result.  However, that did not get her down as she was always cheerful and quick with a compliment.  Her stock answer when asked how she things were going was  “Doing Great!”.  “Without a doubt Robin was the strongest, most determined and most cheerful person I have ever known,” says her husband, Ray.

She is survived by her husband, Ray Riutta in Redmond, Washington; her two sons, Ian Riutta in Durham, North Carolina and Aaron Riutta in Arlington, Tennessee; four grandchildren, Eamon, Ronan, Dante and Sorin; her older brother Jack Kramer in Chattanooga, Tennessee and her older sister Lucy Buzzard in Fort Meyers, Florida.  She was preceded in death by her youngest sister, Heather Johnson.

Robin was a lovely person who touched many lives over the years and was a very strong Christian.  While she will be dearly missed, we are confident we will all gather with her again one day in Heaven.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers a donation may be made on her behalf to the Swedish Cancer Institute at:

Swedish Cancer Institute – Swedish Hospital Foundation