Deceased September 13, 2019
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In Memory
Franklin—lawyer and adventurer—died at home Sept. 13 after a short battle with leukemia. Born in New York City, growing up in Riverside, Conn., he is survived by brother Kent; daughters Sarah, Gail, Leslie, Kate and Alice; and seven grandchildren.
He matriculated to Amherst from St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Conn. After several years in the navy and a few more in the family business, Franklin pivoted to the legal profession, garnering a 1967 Columbia law degree. Franklin lived in Riverside his entire life, except when he worked as a lawyer in Saudi Arabia and London. He retired as a partner at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius.
Franklin’s sizeable bucket list included sailing, hiking, running, canoeing, kayaking, Nordic skiing and bicycling. He traveled to all seven continents and ran six marathons. He sailed all his life, both racing and cruising, including piloting a 29-foot sloop across the Atlantic in 1987. He hiked the Appalachian Trail, cycled across the United States and skied annually in Scandinavia. His most unique trip was paddling around Baffin Island, Canada (the world’s fifth largest island!), in a kayak in 1974. Planning each adventure gave him as much delight as the trip itself.
Franklin loved opera and choral music. He sang in London, Saudi Arabia, New York City and at home, as a longtime member of the Greenwich Choral Society; he also sang with the Berkshire Choral Festival and New Rochelle Opera.
Franklin was elected to the Greenwich Town Council for 14 two-year terms. Serving on advisory bodies focused on transportation, he started a Mother’s Day bike ride, designed bike routes for the East Coast Greenway and helped found a national wildlife refuge off Greenwich. Franklin realized most of his bucket list but always said his “greatest achievement was my five wonderfully accomplished daughters,” who were by his side when he passed away.
Sarah Bloomer