Ruth Gertrude (Williamson) Franklin

Perhaps no better words than her own can be used to describe Ruth Gertrude Williamson Franklin, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, colleague, neighbor, and friend. Ruth died peacefully of lung cancer in her home in Burke, Virginia, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. She was 78. Her husband of 36 years, Phil Franklin, was by her side.

Ruth was born on Wednesday afternoon, July 15, 1942, at the Sloane Hospital of Presbyterian Medical Center in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Her mother was Gertrude Westmoreland Williamson, a chorus singer and foreign service reserve officer. Her father was Francis Torrance Williamson, a college instructor, author, U.S. State Department research analyst and division chief, and foreign service officer.

From the beginning, Ruth was a self-described bohemian, living for short times with her family in New York City; Alexandria, Virginia; Newport, Rhode Island; and Bethesda, Maryland. She spent some of her grade school years in Rome, Italy. That time sparked a desire in Ruth to engage with more of the world. She learned Italian and French as a child and, in her adult years, studied Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.

Ruth’s love of classic English, French, and American literature was ignited first at William S. Rogers High School in Newport, then at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School (BCC) in Maryland, where she was a member of the Classics Club, the French Club, and the Citizenship Council. She graduated with honors from BCC in 1960.

Ruth attended Bryn Mawr College during a time that later she would describe as some of the best of her life. Ruth made her closest and longest-lasting friendships as a resident of Rhoads North Residence Hall. She also attended courses at Haverford College and the University of London. During this time, Ruth’s parents and younger sister, Libby, lived in Bonn, West Germany, then again in Rome. Ruth graduated magna cum laude in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in English.

About her upbringing and her academic interests, Ruth once wrote, “My contact with European friends has often forced me to think rather deeply about America, its national character (if that can be determined!), and its culture.”

Prophetic for the time, perhaps, as after college, Ruth spent seven years working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as a report officer, where she wrote and edited reports and white papers and performed translations of Italian and French. Her work moved her to Hong Kong, then Singapore, where she married Andy Harmon Jr., a colleague. They had two children, Andrew Harmon III and Brian (Scott) Harmon.

The journey continued, taking Ruth and Andy to Istanbul, Turkey, then to Fairfax, Virginia, then Madrid, Spain. After the end of her marriage to Andy, Ruth worked in Washington, DC, as an administrative officer for the Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations, a nonprofit where she served for 20 years as a liaison to multiple trade associations focusing on defense procurement, which became her career area of expertise.

Ruth met Phil Franklin in early 1978. They married on Saturday, May 19, 1984, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. For two years, they lived together in nearby Falls Church, then in 1986 moved to their house in Burke, where Ruth spent the rest of her life. Ruth expanded her family to Phil’s native Rhode Island, as well as Florida and other locations.

In 1998, Ruth became the director of procurement policy for the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). There she connected association members with the U.S. Defense Department and other federal agencies. Her continued growth and tenacity served her well in exhaustive travel and meeting planning for military generals and Pentagon officials.

Throughout her career, Ruth balanced intelligence and defense priorities during America’s most pivotal moments in modern history. They include China’s “closed-door” foreign policy of the 1960s; the Vietnam War; the Camp David accords; the Iran hostage crisis; the Iran-Contra scandal; the fall of the Soviet Union and the communist bloc; Operation Desert Storm; the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In May 2012, Ruth received NDIA’s Howard H. Cork Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership, dedication, and important contributions to the government and industry field of defense procurement. In July of that same year, NDIA’s Legal Committee awarded Ruth an honorary doctorate of government contracts law.

After 14 years of service to NDIA and a 47-year-long career overall, Ruth retired at the age of 70.

However, as important as career, academics, and service were to Ruth, the rest of her life meant so much more. Ruth took pride in her husband and sons and, later, her daughter-in-law Senda and her two grandchildren, Adam and Nadia. She maintained a relationship with her younger sister Libby across thousands of miles, paying close attention to her niece and nephews and their families.

Ruth loved dogs throughout her life, from her and Andy’s pets Brett and Toby to the pets she and Phil shared over 36 years: April, Shaka, Daisy, and Addie.

Ruth served as an officer for the Democratic Party in Northern Virginia, an election poll worker, and chair of the board of directors of The Women’s Home of Arlington. She battled cancer four times in her life and volunteered as a counselor for other women who struggled with it.

Later in life, Ruth took cooking classes (Italian and Thai, among others) and became a regular at yoga. She was a fan of “Seinfeld” and cooking competition television shows, and she collected owl art in honor of her alma mater, Bryn Mawr. She was a supporter of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and gave to numerous charities and arts organizations, notably Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, the Nature Conservancy, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC. She was an auxiliary member of the American Legion.

Ruth traveled extensively throughout her life, from East Asia and India to Western Europe. In 1982, she went on a safari in Kenya. She wrote, “We had a game drive … and saw hartebeest, zebra (thousands of them), cape buffalo, water bucks, impalas, giraffes, roller birds. Went to Mzima Springs, where we walked along hippo trails to a pool where we saw them floating through their afternoon siesta.”

With Phil, Ruth enjoyed camping and family trips to Florida and Rhode Island. In 1997, they traveled to their ancestral homes of England and Scotland.

Also with Phil, Ruth was an ardent fan of the Washington Football Team, as well as of the Capitals and the Nationals. She was fortunate to cheer on the football team to three Super Bowl rings and, more recently, to see the Caps and the Nats win the Stanley Cup (2018) and the World Series (2019).

Throughout it all, Ruth never stopped reading and learning, first collecting a library of hardbacks, then downloading more than a thousand books on to her Nook e-reader. Her interests ranged from history to fiction. She read about the history and geography of Alaska, the court of Queen Elizabeth I, American politics, and ancient Chinese civilization, to name only a few topics. She was an avid reader of The New York Times and grew adept at its notoriously difficult Sunday crossword puzzle.

Ruth’s life was both joyfully and tirelessly lived. As if to prove her endurance and ambition, or perhaps because she simply could not escape her nature, Ruth’s last wish was for coffee.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Elizabeth Ann (Libby) Williamson Mirhadi.

Ruth will continue to be an inspiration to those still here whose lives she shaped, including her husband Phil, her sons Andrew and Scott, her grandchildren Adam and Nadia, family all over the country, and countless friends, neighbors, and colleagues. From what has been said about Ruth, the words “lovely,” “intelligent,” “unflappable,” “sophisticated,” and “survivor” ring out repeatedly. “I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences, good or bad, for anything else,” Ruth told a friend, “because they have made me a three-dimensional person.”

Ruth Franklin has finished what she started.

A celebration of life will be held from 5–7 p.m. on Monday, November 16, 2020, at Demaine Funeral Home, 10565 Main Street, Fairfax, VA 22030. Guests may arrive at any time and stay for as long as they want. Flowers may be sent there, or donations may be made in Ruth Franklin’s name to Doctors Without Borders at https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org.

Family:

Philip Jay Franklin, Husband; Andrew Joseph Harmon III, Son; Brian Scott Harmon (Senda Guidara), Son; Adam Guidara Harmon, Grandson; Nadia Yasmine Harmon, Granddaughter; Sara Mirhadi Offen (James), Niece; David Karim Mirhadi (Hollie Street), Nephew; Michael Reza Mirhadi (Allison Armstrong), Nephew