Rufus Matteson Franklin, 75, of Holden, Massachusetts, died Dec. 22, 2003, of complications from heart bypass surgery in Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston.

He was born on Feb. 22, 1928, in Providence, Rhode Island, and had lived 42 years in Holden. Mr. Franklin worked as a patent attorney for 32 years at the Norton Company in Worcester, Mass., retiring from there in 1988. After his retirement he was employed as a fitness instructor at the Worcester YMCA until a month before his passing.

Mr. Franklin graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in chemical engineering and from George Washington Law School. During the Korean War, he served in the Germ Warfare Unit at Camp Derrick in Maryland. He was a licensed ham radio operator who built his own equipment.

Mr. Franklin was best known as the longtime director of the Worcester Chess Club, where he taught chess classes and was a local tournament director for more than three decades.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Living Memorial Chess Fund (LMCF), c/o Robert Messenger, Mass. Chess Association Treasurer, 4 Hamlett Drive, Apt. 12, Nashua, NH 03062.

Submitted by
George Mirijanian
Vice President
Mass. Chess Association (MACA)