Late Truckee lawyer leaves $500,000 to Humane Society

Saturday, June 25, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

Late Truckee lawyer leaves $500,000 to Humane Society TRUCKEE, Calif - The estate of a Truckee lawyer who bequeathed about $500,000 to the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe will be used to help build a regional, no-kill shelter for homeless animals, officials said.

The surprise gift from Ruth Frishman comes at an excellent time because the planning process is just starting for the shelter, said Stephanie Hiemstra, organization executive director.

In making the bequest, Frishman challenged the Town of Truckee and local Rotary clubs to match her level of support.

"We have a lot of big ideas and big plans, and if Rotary or the town or whomever steps up and really helps out, I have no doubt that we're going to have a state-of-the-art facility," Hiemstra told the Sierra Sun newspaper.

Frishman, who died June 7 of cancer, was the third woman admitted to the Rotary Club of Truckee and was its president at the time of her death. She was past president of the Tahoe-Truckee Bar Association.

"She's been a great supporter of ours for a long time. She's adopted animals from us and (her gift) was really just amazing," Hiemstra said.

The group hopes to begin fund-raising later this year for the shelter, with a goal of starting construction in 2007.

The current shelter was designed to hold no more than eight dogs comfortably and currently houses 14 dogs, officials said.

"We won't actually receive any of the money for probably about a year ... and by that point we certainly hope to be well under way with a capital campaign," Hiemstra said.

Frishman had been an advocate for affordable housing since moving to Truckee in 1986.