Elizabeth Garth “Liz” Franke, who owned and operated a linen and lingerie business, died of heart failure June 29 at Blakehurst Senior Living in Towson. The former Ruxton resident was 98.
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, she was the daughter of Florence Brown Smith and James Wood Garth, a thoroughbred horse trainer. Her grandfather was also the trainer and part-owner of Paul Jones, the 1920 Kentucky Derby winner.
She moved with her parents to Baltimore when she was 12 and lived in Roland Park while attending Roland Park Public School and Notre Dame Preparatory School.
She met Edward Philip “Buddy” Franke Jr. at a tea dance at the Baltimore Country Club in 1946. They were married the following year.
While raising her family, she was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland and the Florence Crittenton Home.
Mrs. Franke served on the Women’s Board of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where for several years, she organized the annual Christmas show and sale at the carriage house at Evergreen House on Charles Street.
“She noticed that one of the biggest sellers was the fine linens from the Gattle’s shop in Florida. This experience gave her the idea that there was a market in Baltimore,” said her son, Edward Philip Franke.
When her husband died in 1981, she decided to open a retail shop in Ruxton on Bellona Avenue.
She named it Linens and Lingerie and sold imported linens and custom-made sheets, towels, and children’s clothes successfully there for over 25 years.
“She enjoyed a reputation for great style and humor in her role as the proprietor of Baltimore’s finest linen shop,” said her son. “People would say she had good taste. She took out a loan for the business and paid it back within a year. She also hired her friends to work in the shop.
“She had a personal style too and worked with decorators to outfit their clients’ homes,” her son said.
Mrs. Franke was quoted in The Baltimore Sun in 1990 about her top-quality table linens: “I found that people like pretty things and they are willing to pay for them.”
An Episcopal service will be held at 11 a.m. July 30 at Roland Park Community Center, 5802 Roland Ave.
Survivors include her three daughters, Blair Garth Franke, of Baltimore, Elizabeth Franke Deford, of Glen Arm, and Anne Franke Porterfield, of Baltimore; a son, Edward Philip Franke, of Hobe Sound, Florida; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Her husband, who owned a Christmas ornament importing and manufacturing business, died in 1981.
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