Ruth Virginia Benjamin

Ruth V. Benjamin was born on October 20, 1942, to the late Kenneth A. Benjamin and Elizabeth O. Benjamin (nee Yancey) in Boston, Mass.  She was the fourth of their five children (Janet, Elizabeth, Kenneth, Jr., Ruth, and Frederick) and the last to transition to be with her ancestors.  She was known to most as Ruthie or Aunt Ruthie. She was the mother of Kent A. Benjamin, known to her as Mark (but with a Boston accent). She leaves 13 nieces and nephews, and many more grand nieces and nephews, and cousins whom she loved unconditionally.

A quiet cornerstone of her life was her faith and spiritual practice. She was baptized and raised in the Episcopal traditions often attending, and at one time teaching bible study at the St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Mass. which was started by her grandfather and Great Grandfather in 1908.  In her later years she embraced non-denominational Christian studies and practices in the Alpha and Omega Ministries of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She often spent time expanding her knowledge and love of God in an active and scholarly manner.

Ruth was an independent, strong, and determined woman.  Beginning around age 29, she put herself through college as a single mother. Ruth spent went to college part-time at night, for nearly seven years eventually receiving her bachelor’s degree from the College of Public and Community Service at UMass Boston in 1979. CPCS is the college “for people who are seeking to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others.” That description is a perfect reflection of much of her work and personal life. Some of the things she would accomplish in her early career before and after completing college.

•              Was appointed to Gov. Dukakis’ Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women

•              Briefly served as the executive director of a Manhattan household workers union, so she could and would get them paid at the prevailing minimum wage.

•              Made opportunities for women and minority men in the 1970’s in the construction and building trades as well as the MBTA.

She was loved and respected by those who knew her. For many, she was a trusted advisor and mentor to many people over the years. She was always available to provide encouragement and a moderately filtered opinion. She was a confident person who was not afraid to share her view. She was the epitome of speaking her mind. Her sense of humor was a cornerstone of her friendship. Her laugh was readily shared and easily recognized before you saw where it was coming from.

 Completing her bachelor’s degree was a bit of a mile marker in her life. She bought her first house just two years after completing her degree (and was undaunted by the prevailing 1981 interest rate of 16%). During this period, she joined the Women’s Bureau at the Dept. of Labor and served there enthusiastically, until the agency was abolished during the Reagan Administration. (She was not a fan of Reagan before or after that.)  Her career would never reach the same heights after that, but she maintained a desire for excellence wherever she worked. She proud of all her accomplishments great and small.  Among those was her determination to continue her education. At 46 years old, she enrolled in Cambridge College where she would earn a master’s degree in management the following year.  

A less formal part of her education took the form of being family historian for the Bosfield, Yancey, and Benjamin families. She made an effort to connect to relatives who had remained in the Bahamas after her great grandfather left for Boston with his growing family. She would attend family reunions and gatherings with her Bahamian relatives and got inspired to organize a reunion in Boston, Mass. In 2016.  That gathering attracted members of the Nassau clan to party with their Boston relatives.  The reunion weekend culminated in a commemorative service at the Episcopal church (St. Bartholomew’s Church in Cambridge, Mass. The very church her grandfather and great-grandfather had started more than a century earlier as a place for black parishioners to worship in peace.

 The last days of her working life were spent working on crafting and reviewing medical grants at what would become the Brigham General Hospital group.  Not long after retiring in 2007, she would relocate to Maryland.  Her retirement would not see her lose the activist parts of her. In Maryland, she formed a tenant’s association in the senior building where she resided. She tutored Prince George’s County elementary school students after school. Formed writing campaigns to promote the needs of seniors to elected officials. But her greatest effort was centered on increasing her Christian knowledge and spiritual practices. She joined the Alpha and Omega Ministries, where she dived enthusiastically in bible study -even through the covid era when it shifted to conference calls. She took detailed notes at the Sunday services and devoured books that would help grow her faith and understanding of Christ.  Her faith was unwavering even in the face of her lung cancer diagnosis in February 2024.  She proclaimed to her physicians and nurses that God was with her, and she was not worried about the future.  She would hold onto that faith to and through her transition.

She is at peace and rest now. She would want all who knew her to remember her joyfully. “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

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