RUTH PULLEN

CAMDEN – Ruth Pullen, 98, died peacefully Dec. 4, 2007, at Windward Gardens, Camden, with her niece, Kathryn, at her side. In her long life, Ruth did a great deal of good for many people. She had a lot of fun too. Ruth began her life on a farm in North Amity in Aroostook County, the daughter of Grace Della Reed Pullen and Orrin Willis Pullen. All of the five Pullen children, Hope, Ruth, John, Olive and Varney were bright, lively and had distinguished academic careers. All of them attended Reed School, a one-room grammar school in North Amity and all graduated from Ricker Classical Institute, Houlton. All but Varney, who went to Northeastern University, went on to graduate from Colby College, Waterville. The five brothers and sisters remained close friends all their lives. After graduating from Colby in 1933, Ruth devoted her career to improving the lives of women and their families. Ruth began as a teacher in Camden and Hallowell, and then became a child welfare worker in the Lincoln area. She also worked briefly as a parole officer before beginning a 20-year career as an administrator at Maine State Women’s Reformatory, Skowhegan, where she retired as superintendent in 1961. Colby College recognized her achievements with the honorary master’s degree it awarded her in 1961. The citation read in part: “numberless individuals and families who have had major problems of adjustment now count themselves in your eternal debt. You have dealt with those committed to your charge with wisdom and with compassion… Colby takes special pride in one of her own graduates whose unselfish labors have conspicuously benefited society.” After her retirement, Ruth went to live with her brother, John, the noted author, in Haverford, Pa., in order to attend law school at Temple University, Philadelphia. She graduated with a J.D degree in 1964. Returning to Maine, Ruth became the first woman to practice law in Franklin County. Ruth worked in the general practice of law in Farmington, in the office of Peter Mills, an old family friend from Colby days. Ruth worked hard to make sure that the progressive credit and bankruptcy laws Peter spearheaded in the Maine legislature benefited the people in Maine that they were intended to help. She retired for a second time in 1979. Throughout both of her two careers, Ruth was active in a number of state and local civic organizations. She was very proud of the role that she and her friends in the American Association of University Women and the Business and Professional Women played in supporting Margaret Chase Smith in her election to the U.S. Senate. Ruth was also active in Central Maine Chapter of the Maine State Employee’s Association, Colby Alumni Association and Franklin County Bar Association. She was a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on mental health from 1965 to 1971 and a trustee of Ricker College. In the last three decades of her life, after her second retirement, Ruth enjoyed spending time at her summer cottage at Lake Wesserunsett in Madison, often in the company of her brothers, sisters, niece and nephews. She became a second grandmother to her flock of great-nephews and great-nieces. Ruth also maintained a residence in Camden, near her sister and life-long best friend, Hope Gillmor. The two sisters traveled widely throughout Florida, the Caribbean, Central America and also in England. At various times, Ruth also lived with her brother, John, in Old Saybrook, Conn., her sister, Olive, in Bath; and her brother, Varney, in Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. Throughout her life, she retained strong ties to her birthplace, North Amity, especially to the farm which remain-ed in the family into the 1990s. Ruth was predeceased by her sister, Hope Pullen Gillmor; her brothers, John and Varney Pullen; and her nephew, Arthur Gillmor. She is survived by her sister, Olive Pullen Palmer of St. Albans; her niece, Kathryn Palmer Downing and husband, Richard Downing, of Winthrop; her nephews, Keith Palmer and his wife, April Palmer, of St. Albans, George Gillmor and his wife, Teresa Gillmor, of Aurora, Ill., John Gillmor and his wife, the Honorable Helen Gillmor of Honolulu and Robert Gillmor and his wife, Suzanne Coolidge, of Blue Hill. She is also survived by her great-nephews, James Downing and his fianc?e, Amy Crist of Waltham, Mass., Alex Gillmor and his wife, Anna Gillmor, of Chicago and Max Coolidge and his wife, Jen Coo-lidge of Orland. She leaves seven great-nieces, Lydia Downing of Colorado Springs, Colo., Renee Simonitis and her husband, Peter Simonitis, of Freeport, Nora Wilson and her husband, Calvin Wilson, of Topsham, Jennifer Bowden and husband, Douglas Bowden, of Aurora, Ill., Zoe Gillmor of Aurora, Ill., Reed Bowman of Boston and Jessica Adams and her husband, James Adams, of New York City. Ruth also leaves nine great-great-nieces and four great-great-nephews. She is also survived by her dear friends, Norman and Mary Cote, and James Elliott, all of Camden. A private memorial was held in Camden. Interment will take place in the spring in North Amity. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ruth’s memory may be made to The Reed School Project, care of Vital Pathways, 37 Bangor St., Suite 9, Houlton, ME 04730 or Amity Baptist Church, Amity, ME 04465. Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain St., Camden.