Ruth Paine
Ruth Hyde Paine (born September 3, 1932) is a former friend of
Ruth Paine answered more than 5,000 questions for the Warren Commission.[citation needed] There were over 500 witnesses for the Warren Commission, and the average number of questions asked for each witness was less than 300.[citation needed] Furthermore, Ruth Paine has given more interviews than any other Warren Commission witness, always consistent with her Warren Commission testimony.[citation needed]
Background
Paine was born Ruth Avery Hyde in New York City, to William A. and Carol E. Hyde.
In 1959 Michael Paine got a job with
Ruth Paine had been studying Russian since 1957. In the late 1950s she participated in Quaker pen pal programs and the East-West Contact Committee, which sponsored visits by three Soviets to the US. In 1963 she signed up to teach a summer class in Russian at
Ruth Paine met the Oswalds through her interest in the Russian language. She had learned to read Russian, but she had difficulty with conversational Russian. Also, she and Michael Paine were separated at this time. A mutual friend from their Madrigal singing group, Everett Glover, invited her to a party at his apartment on February 22, 1963, because he thought she would be interested in meeting two interesting people who spoke Russian.[4]
The attendance of the couple, Lee and Marina Oswald, was arranged by Oswald's friend, 51-year-old
John F. Kennedy assassination
Involvement with Oswald family
Ruth Paine drove Marina Oswald to New Orleans when the Oswalds moved there in May 1963[10] and back to Dallas when they moved again in September 1963.[10][11] When the Oswalds resettled in the Dallas area, Marina and her child with Lee, June, moved in with Ruth Paine in the suburb of Irving, Texas, while Lee stayed in a boarding house under the name O.H. Lee. The second Oswald child was born after Marina moved in. Marina helped with the housework and Ruth's Russian studies while Lee visited on weekends. Michael and Ruth had long been separated, but remained on good terms. Michael was a frequent visitor and cared for his children deeply. At the suggestion of a neighbor, Linnie Mae Randle, Ruth Paine told Lee Oswald about a job opportunity at the Texas School Book Depository.[12]
Lee Harvey Oswald stayed at the Paine home with Marina and his children unannounced on Thursday night, November 21, 1963—the night before President Kennedy was assassinated.[13] When Oswald left for work on the morning of November 22, he brought a large package that he had kept in the Paine's garage with him to work at the Texas School Book Depository. Oswald's coworker and friend, Wesley Frazier testified that Oswald told him the bag contained curtain rods.[14][15] The Warren Commission later concluded that the package actually contained the rifle used by Oswald in the assassination.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][failed verification]
Eight days after the assassination of President Kennedy, on November 30, 1963, Ruth Paine inadvertently discovered evidence possibly linking him to an
Aftermath of assassination
Ruth Paine testified before the Warren Commission and has been interviewed by a number of authors, including
After the assassination, Marina and Lee Oswald's mother Marguerite briefly stayed with Ruth Paine until Marina was taken into custody by the Secret Service. Marguerite and Lee's brother Robert did not like Ruth Paine, which may have influenced Marina Oswald. They thought Paine sought attention for herself, an opinion Marina would later express before the Warren Commission. Ruth wrote to Marina incessantly, with letters that took an almost desperate tone, but received no response except for a Christmas card. They met briefly in 1964 but have not seen each other since. Paine heard news about Marina through author Priscilla Johnson McMillan[29] until McMillan's relationship with Marina broke off in the early 1980s.
Ruth Paine returned to Pennsylvania and became principal of a Quaker school, the
The City of Irving bought the former Paine home on W. 5th St. in 2009 to restore it to its 1963 condition and turn into a museum in time for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination on November 22, 2013.[13]
In Oliver Stone's JFK, the Paines are depicted as the highly suspect Bill and Janet Williams, played by Gary Carter and Gail Cronauer. While most names in the movie JFK were not changed, the Paines were renamed to avoid potential legal action. (The name Janet Williams was used again in the 1993 TV movie Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald, in which the role was played by Quenby Bakke.)
Television and film
- 2022 The Assassination & Mrs. Paine
- 2013 Ruth & Marina
- 1986 On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald
References
- House Select Committee on Assassinations (1979), and the Dallas Police Department.
- ^ "Chapter 4: The Assassin". Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. p. 125.
- ^ CE 460, Warren Commission Hearings and Exhibits, volume 17, pg. 179.
- ^ ISBN 0-375-42117-3.
- ^ "Collection: Ruth Hyde Paine Papers on Marina Oswald | Archives & Manuscripts". archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu.
- ^ Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 2, p. 385, Testimony of Michael R. Paine.
- ^ Warren Commission Report, Appendix 13, p. 722.
- ^ Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 11, p. 396, Testimony of Ruth Hyde Paine.
- ^ Warren Commission Hearings, volume 9, pp. 190-191, Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt.
- ^ a b The Warren Report, Chapter 6, p. 284, Investigation of Possible Conspiracy; Background of Lee Harvey Oswald
- ^ Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 3, pp. 7–9, Testimony of Ruth Hyde Paine Resumed.
- ^ The Warren Report, Chapter 1, pp. 14–15, Summary and Conclusions
- ^ a b "Irving house that hosted Lee Harvey Oswald is headed back to 1963". Dallas News. December 22, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Testimony of Wesley Frazier, Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 2, pp. 226-227.
- ^ Magen Knuth, The Long Brown Bag.
- ^ National Archives, Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-393-04525-3. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ Knuth, Magen. "The Long Brown Bag: Did Lee Harvey Oswald Bring a Rifle Into the Depository Concealed in a Long Paper Bag?". Kennedy Assassination Home Page. John C. McAdams. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-59797-489-9. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ^ Manchester, William (1967). The Death of a President. Harper & Row. pp. 114–15.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-3462-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7006-1474-5. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ "I.A.". Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 66.
- ^ Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 23, p. 392–393, CE 1785, Secret Service report dated December 5, 1963, on questioning of Marina Oswald about note Oswald wrote before he attempted to kill General Walker.
- ^ a b Testimony of Ruth Hyde Paine, Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 9, p. 393–394.
- ^ a b "Oswald Notes Reported Left Before Walker Was Shot At", Dallas Morning News, December 31, 1963, sec. 1, p. 6.
- ^ Testimony of Marina Oswald Porter, HSCA Hearings, volume 2, pg. 234.
- ^ Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chapter I, Section A 1979, pp. 60–61.
- ^ "Interview: Priscilla Johnson McMillan". FRONTLINE.
Further reading
- Thomas Mallon, Mrs. Paine's Garage and the Murder of John F. Kennedy. ISBN 0-375-42117-3.
- Priscilla Johnson McMillan, Marina and Lee. ISBN 0-06-012953-0.
- James W. Douglass, ISBN 1439193886.