Ruth du Pont Lord

Ruth du Pont Lord (1922–2014) was a writer, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and supporter of the arts.

Lord was also the last private resident of Winterthur, a 175-room mansion and large estate that her father used to house his collection of American decorative arts; to breed cattle; and to develop horticulture. Winterthur became a public museum and program for conservation in 1951; as had long been her preference, Lord maintained a small, simple house on the estate (along with residences in New Haven, New York, and Florida).^[1][2]

Early life

Born January 14, 1922, in New York City. One of two daughters of Ruth Wales and Henry Francis DuPont. Her older sister was Pauline Louise du Pont (1918–2007).

Lord grew up in Winterthur, Delaware; Boca Grande, Florida; and New York City. She attended Miss Chapin's School and graduated from the Foxcroft School.^[3]

Lord grew up in an era where wealthy women were generally expected not to go to college but rather to focus on obtaining a suitable husband and then raising a family. She was apparently hesitant to ask her father to attend college, but he acquiesced. She then went to Vassar, where she graduated valedictorian of the class of 1943. She later received a master's degree in Education from Yale.^[4]

Personal

Married George de Forest Lord, a Yale English professor. Divorced 1977. They had four children: Pauline, George (Woody), Henry, and Edith, who died in infancy

Married John Grier Holmes, 1981–1997, until his death. Holmes was the former chief of the Yale Whiffinpoofs.

Partnered with Harry G. Haskell, Jr. (? 1999) until her death in 2014. The two had been childhood friends but did not met again until both were in their 80's. Their commitment ceremony included only themselves and two ministers.^[4]

Professional accomplishments

Co-founder of the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, in 1964. She became deeply involved with the theater's founding after being introduced by William Sloane Coffin to other Yale graduates who were interested in starting a local theater (Harlan Kleiman, Jon Jory, Newt Schenck and Betty Kubler). Lord was the president of the board of that theater from 1964-1990.^[5]

She began work at Yale in 1970. She later became a research associate at the Yale Child Study Center, where she focused on child custody issues. At Yale, she performed a variety of roles, including co-leading support groups for parents of severely-ill children. She also wrote papers on various topics, including a teenage girl's right to refuse dialysis and the effect on the patient when the psychoanalyst dies.^[6]

She wrote a well-received biography of her father that was published in 1999, when she was 77.^[7] The first chapter of the book is accessible online. At the time of her death, she was apparently working on a biography of her mother.

Books

When Home is No Haven, 1994, a book on foster children (with Albert Solnit and Barbara Nordhaus, also members of the Yale Child Study Center).

Henry F. du Pont and Winterthur: A Daughter's Portrait, 1999, Yale University Press

References

1. "At home with Ruth Lord". New York Times. April 1, 1999. Retrieved July 19, 2016.