Becoming Ruthless
Ruth Marguerite Finney Laughlin, age 95, formerly of Mansfield Center, Connecticut, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on January 30, 2018 at Hallworth House Nursing Home.
Born in Harrison, Idaho, daughter of the late Gertrude Elva Bridgeman Finney, a fiction author, and Doctor John Montford Finney. Ruth studied and received a degree in social work at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon in the 1930's where she met her future husband and Physical Anthropologist the late William Sceva Laughlin.
Ruth spent her long and progressive life as a sculptor, sophisticate and world traveler. She actively encouraged eccentricity and creativity. She could rough it on archaeological digs in the challenging and most-loved Aleutian Islands; or make camp with two young daughters in the deep woods of Spirit Lake, Idaho for months at a time while her husband was conducting research abroad. Ruth developed a passion for pottery sculpture in college and created countless sculptures, tall vases, and kitchenware. She was pleased to be awarded Wesleyan Potter status. Ruth’s diverse works in pottery were a reflection of her free spirit and respect for the human form.
She was also an active volunteer at her local library repairing books. She enjoyed teaching golf and tennis to her grandchildren and was an avid fan of the University of Connecticut Women's Basketball team.
Ruth was mother to the late Leslie Finney Laughlin and is survived by daughter Sara Burke Laughlin, her grandsons, Jonathan Laughlin Garrison and Christopher William Garrison, and her great grandchildren Ian Mitchell Garrison, Camilla Imogen Garrison, and Isaac Bright Garrison. They send her “Mad Love” on her journey.
Arrangements were privately held. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to your charity of choice or the Museum of the Aleutians: http://www.aleutians.org/membership.html
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