Ruth Griffin dies at 99, a legend in NH and Portsmouth for public service

PORTSMOUTH — Ruth Griffin, a pioneer in New Hampshire politics known equally in the city for her public service, died Saturday at age 99.

“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.

Ruth Griffin was elected to and served in New Hampshire’s House, Senate and Executive Council. She’s a Republican legend in heavily Democratic Portsmouth, where a public housing apartment building is named in honor. She served 42 years on the Portsmouth Housing Authority board, a tenure that continued until 2020, the year she turned 95 and a parade was held in her honor. She served on the Executive Council for 30 years, ending in 2007. 

She was in attendance in 2022 for the opening of the PHA’s Ruth Lewin Griffin Place apartments on Court Street. In 2018, Gov. Chris Sununu successfully pushed for the Little Bay bridge connecting Dover and Newington to be named Ruth L. Griffin Bridge.

Griffin’s support was sought by Republican presidential candidates for decades in the first-in-the-nation primary state. Griffin served two terms as Republican National Committeewoman, was a member of the selection committee of the Republican National Convention for the 2000 convention, and served many times as a delegate to the RNC, starting in 1972.

Born July 9, 1925, Griffin moved to Portsmouth from Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1938, and was well known for living in the farmhouse built in 1896 by “Grandpa Griffin” on the corner of Richards Avenue and South Street. She was known for the lambs and goats on what is known Griffin’s Half Acre Farm, popular with locals who stopped by to see the animals.

After attending Portsmouth schools, she graduated from nursing school. She was elected to and served on Portsmouth’s School Board and Police Commission as well.

Look for additional coverage of Ruth Griffin’s passing in the coming days. Material from Seacoastonline and Portsmouth Herald archives was used in this report.