Kathleen Peratis, who succeeded RBG as director of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU, said years ago, “Ruth is almost pure work. The anecdote that describes her best is that there are no anecdotes.” (The second part is not strictly true.) She has survived tragedies and calamities. People have found her somber, but it is sometimes because her humor is so deadpan dry that it escapes many. She can be exacting, but rewards with loyalty and generosity. She had a passionate love affair with her husband that lasted almost sixty years.
