Judith Ruhe Diehl, 89, died peacefully May 6, 2016, at Luther Crest, Allentown, following a brief illness. She was the daughter of Percy Bott Ruhe, long-time editor of the Allentown Morning Call and Amy Sieger Ruhe, community leader and one of the first suffragists in the Lehigh Valley. She was the wife of William E. Diehl, also of Luther Crest, for 68 years, and they shared a deep commitment to family, faith and causes that promoted social justice and equity.

She was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania on a full scholarship. She was an accomplished activist, writer, singer, matriarch and public servant. She especially dedicated her considerable energies to work on behalf of the voiceless and disenfranchised and for full equality for women. She was a force in Lehigh Valley politics. She was part of a government study commission which recommended the change in Lehigh County from a three commissioner form of government to an elected executive plus a nine member board of commissioners. When the voters agreed to the change, she won a seat on the legislative body and served as county commissioner for seven years. She was among the first women to hold elected office in the county. A long-time volunteer for the Democratic party and for progressive causes, she served as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Her service to the Lehigh Valley was prodigious. She served on many boards of directors. Even in her later years, she served as president of the Luther Crest Residents’ Association and associate editor of Luther Crest’s publications.

She worked with the League of Women Voters and American Association of University Women on advocating for improved conditions for women in the Lehigh County prison. She and her husband helped sponsor refugee families, including German, Cuban, Indian and Ugandan families.

She prided herself on being a feminist before it became a movement. She was also the author of two books– “A Woman’s Place: Equal Partnership in Daily Ministry” and “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over.”

In recognition of her many services, she was honored with many awards.

A long-time member of The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, Emmaus and, most recently, the First Presbyterian Church, Allentown, she served on the social ministry committee for Holy Spirit, was a relational sponsor for the Interfaith Coalition on Poverty in the Lehigh Valley and was a member of the Lutheran Laity Movement.

She loved to sing and participated in many choirs, including Camerata Singers.

She is survived by her husband; children, Shelley and her husband Gordon Geballe, of Stony Creek, Conn., William A. and his wife Jeanne Birdsall, of Northampton, Mass.; Georgia Rackley, of Enola and Jennifer Welborn and her husband Carlos Gradil, of Amherst, Mass.; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Contributions may be made to Muhlenberg College (Attn.: Judith Ruhe Diehl Memorial Fund), 2400 Chew St., Allentown, 18104, or to the Community Music School of the Lehigh Valley, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown, 18101.

Arrangements were made by the J.S. Burkholder Funeral Home Inc., Allentown.