Ruth Joan Penn

Ruth (Gunn) Penn, beloved and admired for her strength, style and grace, passed away in Sarasota at the age of 93. A family woman and a career dynamo in a world that didn’t make it easy to do both, she made her mark in the fields of market research, public service and the apparel industry, before turning to jewelry design in recent years.

Ruth’s creative vision was a source of joy in so many parts of her life, from her home to her gardens to her dinner parties. Entertaining was her love language; she put such care into crafting the guest lists, planning the menus, decorating the tables and arranging the flowers—it was her way of letting friends and family know their special place in her world. Supremely warm and gracious, she had an easy laugh and a way of tuning into the best qualities in others. When she looked in your eyes and smiled, you felt seen.

She dressed impeccably even for a day at home with her husband Arthur, who was infatuated with his wife until the very end. If you ventured out with Ruth, you had to be prepared for people to stop you on the street to compliment her sparkling blue eyes, chic outfits, trendy glasses or show-stopping necklaces—the more sculptural, the better.

Ruth was remarkably positive, though things weren’t always easy. The second child born to Faye (originally Levine) and William Gunn during the Depression, Ruth spent her earliest years in the small town of Mount Forest, Ontario. Those were difficult times for Jewish families as well as small business owners, but her enterprising parents always found a way. Along their journey from Saskatchewan to Toronto, they opened country stores, clothing shops, a neckwear business and even Hamilton’s once-famous Flamingo nightclub.

Ruth was 16 when they moved to the city. At first, she found her small-town wardrobe no match for the cashmere-wearing sophisticates of Forest Hill Collegiate Institute. She ultimately made inroads, but her real social lifeline was the Levine family, a large but close-knit bunch descended from her mother Faye’s nine siblings. Ruth’s Levine cousins remained her best friends and confidants throughout her life, as was her older brother Mel, her 6’4” protector.

She attended the University of Toronto and studied public relations and communications, a field in which she later earned her master’s degree from Boston University. While there, she fell in love with Arthur, a handsome photographer—and later an extraordinary salesman—whose hustle and charm intoxicated her.

They married in Canada and traveled the U.S. selling photographic supplies together until Ruth became too pregnant with her first child to join Arthur on the road. By way of Ontario, Indiana and Texas they settled in Framingham, Ma., where they raised four children. She would say that her favorite part of parenting was when your kids grow up to become your best friends, and Ruth drew on different parts of herself to be the best friend each one needed. She was intelligent, intuitive and generous with advice that was always on point.

Framingham was where Ruth’s career took off. She developed a market research practice out of her home (to the disapproval of certain neighborhood ladies) and quickly attracted top-flight clients like Young & Rubicam, which kept her working long hours to meet intense deadlines. As a pioneer in her field, Ruth had many opportunities to expand, however Arthur’s non-stop travel and four kids at home accounted for most of her time.

When the kids got older, she took on a role as the volunteer coordinator for the town of Framingham, where she enlisted private citizens to help neighbors in need. She made full use of her communication chops to navigate local politics, and was especially proud of the Human Services Forum she launched, connecting 75 town government entities, elected officials and non-profit service providers into a consortium designed to expand their collective impact.

When Ruth was in her 50s, she joined Arthur and their daughter Rhonda in the women’s apparel industry. She helped propel the family business to new heights with a flair for styling and talent for sales she inherited from her clothier parents. The clan—later joined by Sharon—became a top-performing team, respected equally for their industry smarts and menschy, honest approach.

When not working, Ruth adored gardening. She surrounded her Framingham home on all sides with sculpture-filled gardens that attracted frogs, birds and squirrels that delighted her. When weather permitted, she swam daily laps in their swimming pool, a practice she maintained for decades. As the years went on, she and Arthur found a second home in the artsy, seaside city of Sarasota, and began dipping down for winter stretches that grew ever longer.

When they went from snowbirds to full-time residents a decade ago, she played bridge, hunted bargains at the Women’s Exchange, took in the opera with Arthur and hosted social gatherings when they could. When they couldn’t, she studied the stock market, discovering, in her 90s, an acumen for picking winners. She also cultivated a talent for necklace design and did a nice business selling her one-of-a-kind creations in Sarasota galleries. At sunset, she and Arthur would sit on their balcony overlooking the bay, drink Sauvignon Blanc (her) and root beer (him), and marvel over their many blessings.

Those blessings include her surviving brother Mel and sister-in-law Jan; her children and their spouses Sharon (Tim), Rhonda (Harvey), Allan (Lisa) and Faye (Joel); her grandchildren Griffin, Charlotte, Jax, Nick, Raya, Zeke, Ezra and Sami; special friends including Sandy and Michael Koolkin; the many members of the Levine family who enriched her life and the devoted caregivers who helped the family through Arthur’s passing in July 2022 and then her own. She will be deeply missed. For those who wish to donate in Ruth’s honor, the family has selected Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: https://www.lls.org/