Ruth Ann Bramson, 79, passed away in her home surrounded by her family.
Raised in Oceanside, Ruth Ann attended Long Island schools where her father served as the principal of Oceanside High School for more than 30 years. She left Long Island for college in Iowa and graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. She went on to receive an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and ultimately received a Ph.D. in public administration.
Ruth Ann’s professional career started with teaching high school in various locales in the U.S. and Japan –— teaching both history and government. In the early 1970s she settled in Florida with her young family and became interested in driving change in her community. The League of Women Voters of Florida elected her state president. The National Democratic Party appointed her the Florida state director of the Mondale-Ferraro presidential campaign in 1984.
Ruth Ann worked as the deputy county administrator of Hillsborough County , Fla., (Tampa) for several years. She was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court as the first non-attorney ever named to the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar.
After moving to Boston in 1992, Ruth Ann returned to teaching and taught graduate students in the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University atop Beacon Hill, where she lived for 30 years.
Ruth Ann raised three children, who survive her, along with seven grandchildren. Her family owned a vacation property on the eastern end of the North Fork of Long Island in East Marion. She spent virtually every summer of her life on this East Marion property and made many friends over the years, including neighbors and families who rented homes on her family’s property. Her love of East Marion and the East Marion life led to her authoring two books: a history of Plum Island (“A World Unto Itself: The Remarkable History of Plum Island, New York”) and “Charles Henry Miller, N.A., Painter of Long Island,” about the “artistic discoverer of Long Island,” the painter Charles Henry Miller, Ruth Ann’s great-grandfather and the first family member to live on her family’s property in East Marion.
Ruth Ann was one of the co-founders of the East Marion Community Association, served as its first president, and was engaged in the activities of the organization until her death. She was one of the leaders in establishing the Main Road in East Marion as a New York State Historic District. In addition, she served as president of the Oysterponds Historical Society for several years.
Her gregarious personality and willingness to work to improve the community around her led to her involvement in various activities over her life and made her many friends around the country. Until her death she communicated with close friends from Florida, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts, and constantly enjoyed exchanging ideas for projects. Her family and friends will miss her dearly.
A memorial visitation for family and friends will be held Saturday, Aug. 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home, Greenport, followed by burial of the urn at East Marion Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly request donations be made in Ruth Ann’s name to the Peconic Land Trust, East End Hospice or the League of Women Voters.
This is a paid notice.