Columns:: Former UGA First Lady, Ruth Stanford, dies in Americus

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Columns::April 8, 2002

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Campus News

Former UGA First Lady, Ruth Stanford, dies in Americus

By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu

Ruth King Stanford, the wife of University of Georgia President Emeritus Henry King Stanford, died March 31 in Americus.

Ruth King Stanford

Mrs. Stanford, 87, had been in failing health for some time.
There will be no funeral or memorial service.
Ruth Stanford was UGA’s First Lady from June of 1986 until July of 1987, the year in which her husband led the university between the administrations of Fred C. Davison and Charles B. Knapp.
Known for their friendliness, high energy and good humor, the Stanfords earned a reputation as goodwill ambassadors for UGA, travelling the state to tout the university’s growing academic excellence and urge alumni and state leaders to support the institution.
President Michael F. Adams said Mrs. Stanford was a “keenly intelligent and gracious person who, along with her husband, made exceptional contributions to the university. She served as our First Lady with warmth, charm and energetic grace. She was part of our family, and she will be missed.”
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Stanford is survived by three sons and a daughter, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Memorial contributions can be made to Magnolia Manor, League of Good Samaritans, 2001 Lee St., Americus GA 31709.
Mrs. Stanford, whose maiden name was King, was born in Atlanta Dec. 18, 1914. She knew Henry King Stanford, who was from a different family, when they were students at Emory University. They both graduated from Emory in 1936, and were married Sept. 19, 1936. She later earned a master’s degree from Birmingham Southern College in Alabama.
She was also First Lady at four other schools at which her husband served as president during an educational career that spanned more than four decades. Stanford was president of the University of Miami from 1962 to 1981; Birmingham Southern College from 1957 to 1962; Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville from 1953 to 1956; and Georgia Southwestern College in Americus from 1948 to 1950.
The couple also lived in Valdosta, Atlanta, Denver and New York when Stanford worked or attended school in those cities. Inveterate travelers, they took trips to South America, Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle, Near and Far East.
The Stanfords settled in Americus when Stanford retired from the University of Miami. He was persuaded to come out of retirement to lead UGA during a transition year after Davison resigned following a highly publicized court case involving allegations of preferential treatment for athletes.
After Stanford left UGA, the regents named him president emeritus. The Stanfords returned to Americus following their year in Athens and had lived there since.

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