Ruth Hewitt Trojan

Middletown, RI - Ruth Hewitt O?Connell Trojan, 85, widow of Henry B. Trojan, died Saturday, July 1, 2006, surrounded by her loving family, at Grand Islander Health Care Center, Middletown, RI. Born in Attleboro, MA on June 7, 1921, she was the daughter of the late Lester E. and Ilene Barton O?Connell and lived in the Point Section of Newport from the age of 2 weeks, until moving to Middletown in 1973.Mrs. Trojan was the Democratic candidate for the 95th District House of Representatives in 1984 and had been a realtor for Heritage of Newport for several years. Mrs. Trojan was a member of the Daughter?s of the American Revolution, the Society of Mayflower Descendants, The National Society of New England Women, the Policy Council of the Women?s Political Caucus, the League of Women Voters, and she was elected to the Middletown Board of Tax Assessment Review but had to retire due to ill health. She was also a former member of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee, the Thomas Rogers Society, and was the senior advisor to the Newport Junior Horseman?s Association. Ruth was co-founder of the Middletown Historical Society, and a member of the National Association of Realtors, and of Trinity Church, and had been an officer of Rainbow for Girls, Newport Assembly. She was the great, great-granddaughter of Colonel Silas Pierce Richmond of Freetown, Mass, a Civil War hero whose biography has been published. She also founded the Richmond Family Association and hosted the Richmond Family Reunion in Newport in 1976, which was attended by several hundred decedents from all over the country. An avid reader, she was interested in genealogy, politics, and history, especially of Aquidneck Island. She was also an animal lover, and especially enjoyed the constant companionship of her little Maltese dog, ?Cuddles.? She is survived by three daughters Ruthann Vergara and her husband Fel of Portsmouth, RI, Linda H. Sheehan and her husband John of Newport, RI, and Karen E. Santa and her husband Gene of Middletown, RI, and four grandchildren Patrick Condry, John Sheehan and his wife Abigail, Lissa Smith and her husband Jeffrey, Jeffrey Sheehan and his wife Samantha, and four great-grandchildren Riley Miller, twin girls Brooke And Madison Sheehan, and Christian Sheehan, all of Newport. She also leaves her beloved dog ?Cuddles? Her funeral will be held on Friday, July 7, 2006, at 2:00pm in Trinity Church, Queen Anne Square, Newport. Burial will be in Island Annex Cemetery in Newport.Calling hours will be held on Thursday, July 8, 2006, from 5-9 in the Memorial Funeral Home 375 Broadway, Newport. Memorial donations may be made to Robert Potter League For Animals, PO Box 412, Newport, RI 02840 or to the Middletown Historical Society Paradise Ave Middletown, RI 02842.