Ruby and Ruth Crawford honored by women lawyers

A set of Atlanta’s best known twins is being honored by the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, which has almost 1,100 members throught the state.

It is renaming its GAWL Foundation Endowment as the Ruth and Ruby Crawford Endowment.

The colorful twin sisters, who were always dressed in matchng attire, both served as president of GAWL and were “widely recognized as trailblazers for professional women in Georgia,” according to the announcement.

Ruth and Ruby Crawford were fixtures in Atlanta’s business and social community.

They were almost always together until Ruth passed away in 2005 at the age of 86. Ruby died in June of this year, making it to her 90th birthday party, which was attended by former President Jimmy Carter.

The twin sisters became bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents. They earned their law degrees from the Atlanta School of Law and their master’s degrees in accounting from Georgia State University.

Both women also were shareholders in some of Atlanta’s key companies, such as AGL Resources, brightening up every annual meeting that they attended.

In their later years, Ruby and Ruth could be found at Mary Mac’s Tea Room serving as hostesses.

The GAWL foundation works closely with charitable organizations in Georgia and encourages its members to volunteer their time and expertise to those in need.

The Ruth and Ruby Crawford Endowment will continue to provide funding for scholarships for deserving female law students in the state. The endowment also provides grants to other charitable organizations in Georgia that support women and children.

“We are pleased to rename the endowment to honor the memory of these two women who were truly pioneers in law, and who played such an important part in the history of GAWL,” said Amy Kolczak, president of the GAWL Foundation and an attorney at Owen Gleaton Egan Jones & Sweeney LLP, in a statement. “The Ruth and Ruby Crawford Endowment will inspire future women lawyers and carry on their legacy forever.”

GAWL was founded in 1928 as a voice for women lawyers and as a springboard for them to become leaders in their communities and in the legal profession.