Ruth Anderson Lawler was born and raised in New England, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and taught fourth grade in that state for two years.

Seeking wide, open spaces with mountains, she migrated west to Wyoming and married a rancher named Jim. They moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where she also taught school.

Soon after their three children, now grown, were born, the Lawlers moved to their present home on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.