By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
PORTSMOUTH – Republican operative and dedicated public servant Ruth Griffin, 99, has died. She died Saturday at her home after a lifetime of service at both the local and state levels.
Griffin was an institution in the City of Portsmouth where she lived and served and could be found at her Half Acre Farm downtown, feeding her geese, lambs and goats.
A member of the state’s Executive Council from District 3 for 30 years, Griffin retired, allowing a young Chris Sununu to run for the seat, which he won and eventually became the state’s current governor.
Griffin strongly supported Sununu and can be considered perhaps his political godmother of sorts.
But she was an ally to all Republicans with a deep knowledge of how to get things done.
“Ruthie” as she was known, was a force to be reckoned with for her opponents and she did not suffer fools.
She lived in the downtown of Portsmouth on what she called “Half Acre Farm” near the cemetery with geese and other livestock and last attended the Aug. 23, 2023 Executive Council meeting at Hampton Beach State Park where Sununu knelt by her wheelchair, relaxed an arm along her armrests and spoke to her at length before the meeting, with her daughter, Joan by her side.
“She passed peacefully at home with her family around her, which is what she requested, so we made that happen for her,” said Joan, her daughter.
Accolades began pouring in from all sides of the political circles of New Hampshire.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, a fellow and long-time Seacoast politician, though a Democrat, said “Ruth was a pillar of the Portsmouth community. Her long record of public service is a model for many serving in office today. She was dedicated to the City of Portsmouth and to the people of New Hampshire…She will be deeply missed.”
She embodied the spirit of public service, former U.S. Senator, attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte said.
Ruth Griffin served 42 years on the Portsmouth Housing Authority board until 2020.
A parade was held in her honor here and they named a set of apartments for her, the Ruth Lewin Griffin Place apartments on Court Street.
Her name is also on the Little Bay Bridge between Newington and Dover.
