Franklin T. “Ted” Laskin ’51

Franklin T. “Ted” Laskin ’51, an attorney, writer and longtime liberal activist, died on February 5 in Pleasanton, California. Ted entered Dartmouth after service in the U.S. Navy. His interests and talents in writing were evident even then; he was editor-in-chief of The Daily Dartmouth and received the Lockwood English Prize, the Grimes English Prize and the Frost Playwriting Award. He took special pleasure when his one-act play was produced by the Experimental Theater. He went on to receive a law degree from Yale University, where he was awarded the Nathan Burkan Memorial Prize. Ted settled in San Jose, California, where he spent 25 years in the city attorney’s office as senior deputy city attorney and city prosecutor. In 1982 he moved to Calaveras County, where he balanced work in private law practice, as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, and as a public defender. He held volunteer leadership positions with organizations in Calaveras such as the county fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, Humane Society, crisis center and Democratic organization. The central theme in his life during those years was, according to his son, Nate, his consistent rooting for the underdog. Ted never lost his love of writing. Among his books were From the Depths of the Mines Came the Law (a history of the gold country) and Chance: A Jockey’s Odyssey, which captured his love of horse racing. Ted is survived by two sons and four grandchildren.