Ruth Kaplan

Ruth (Stern) Kaplan, of Belmont, on Thursday, February 16, 2017. Beloved wife of the late Irving Kaplan. Loving mother of Paul of Reddick, FL, Dan of Walnut Creek, CA, and Judy of Seattle, WA. Grandmother of four and great grandmother of two – soon to be three.

Ruth was born in 1921 in New York City and raised in NYC and Scarsdale, NY. She graduated from Barnard College with a bachelor's degree in physics, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1942 and immediately went to work as part of the war effort, eventually working at Columbia on the Manhattan Project, where she met her husband. They married in 1945 and lived first in New York, eventually moving to Belmont, MA, in 1958. Ruth lived in the same house in Belmont for the rest of her life. While raising her children Ruth volunteered for numerous PTA's, and was dedicated to the Belmont League of Women Voters, including being the president of the Belmont League and eventually a 50-year member. She was an elected town meeting member and a member of the warrant committee. She volunteered and then worked at the Belmont High School and later the MA Historical Society. She worked tirelessly to support the Belmont Public Library and helped out there as a volunteer into her nineties. She regularly contributed to various educational institutions, libraries and other non-profit organizations dedicated to keeping the public informed.

She was beloved by generations of her neighbors and will be missed by those privileged to know her.

Ruth died peacefully at home after a short illness. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, Ruth would have appreciated contributions to the Belmont Public Library.