On November 3, 2011, my great-aunt Ruth Billings passed away in much the same way that she lived; peacefully and surrounded by family and music. While many of my friends in the piano community have heard stories about my Aunt Ruth, there are two things about my favorite piano teacher that almost nobody knew.

One amazing fact is that she had a massive heart attack nearly twenty years ago that destroyed 60% of her heart. Even more amazing than her survival was that the extent of the damage was not fully understood until after she died. Still, in what she described as her “bonus time,” Ruth Isabelle Billings did more with 40% of a heart than most people dream of in a lifetime.

After retiring and recovering from the heart attack, Ruth quietly resumed teaching at her church. “She taught more than 500 students over the years; it may have been 1,000,” her pastor, Wayne Van Gelderen, Jr., told me at the reception following her memorial service last month. “You could see, feel her passion for music. She just loved teaching and the kids loved her.”

During the service, Pastor Van Gelderen illustrated her love for her students by explaining why so many pianos were assembled in the sanctuary. “What none of you know is that Ruth donated these pianos,” he said. “These are not even all of them! But we thought it would be a fitting tribute to Ruth to have some of her students play for her on her pianos.” As the students performed one of her favorite hymns, my cousin turned to me and proudly said, “I never knew mom did that.”

The other surprise about my aunt is that she actually influenced more students than even Pastor Van Gelderen could imagine. After 20 years of teaching, Ruth went to work as a writer/arranger for my grandfather’s publishing company, Zeb Billings Publishing, where she worked with Keith Mardak. When Mardak moved to Hal Leonard Music Publishing, Ruth followed and spent 14 years influencing their classical music library and many of the method books used today by piano students around the world.

The day after Christmas, we were overwhelmed to learn that the International Music Products Association will honor Ruth in their annual tribute at the Winter NAMM Show. I am certain that Ruth would feel honored, but also curious as to why they would include her, a retired piano teacher from Wisconsin, among the music inventors, innovators and executives who passed away in 2011.

Aunt Ruth taught me a lot about life, loyalty, setting high expectations and pursuing excellence. And even though Ruth never gave me a single piano lesson, she will always be my favorite piano teacher.