Ronald Theodore Reuther (1929–2007) was a committed naturalist who spent decades managing and improving several major zoos, and was an aviation enthusiast.
As director of the San Francisco Zoo, Reuther was instrumental in the creation of a project to teach the gorilla Koko sign language.
As an aviation enthusiast, Reuther founded the Western Aerospace Museum and pursued the study of his personal interest in the disappearance of pilot Amelia Earhart.
He raised racing pigeons, ducks and chickens in his backyard, and would spend time at the beach with his brother and sister watching the birds at the shore.
[1] After the start of World War II, Reuther's family moved to the Bay Area where he later attended San Francisco's Lowell High School.
Ron would also spend a great deal of time at the San Francisco Zoo visiting his uncle Carey Baldwin, who was its director for 23 years.
During this period, Ron continued to work on advancing the study of wildlife by establishing the Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
In 1972, Reuther saved the life of a baby gorilla, born at the zoo, by taking her home and nursing, the pneumonia-stricken ape back to health.
"Ron was the one who was crucial to allow the project to start, and the rest is history," said Lorraine Slater, executive director of the "Gorilla Foundation of Woodside" and http://www.koko.org.
As founder, president, and executive director, Reuther was instrumental in the creation of the 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) museum, which includes exhibits on the history of Oakland International Airport, women in aviation, and notable flyers like the Tuskegee Airmen.
[5] In the museum's collection are the sister ship of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Model 10 Electra, and the "flying boat" used in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In 2002, Reuther organized a gathering in Oakland, California, and led a tour of places Earhart had visited before her final flight in 1937.