Martha Franc Ruggles Bernhard Updike (October 18, 1937 – October 9, 2023) was an American social worker and the widow of author John Updike. She served as a model for several of his fictional characters, including in his story "A Constellation of Events", which was loosely based on the initiation of their relationship.

Early life and education Martha Franc Ruggles was born on October 18, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, to Frederic Stanbro Ruggles and Margaret Meyers Ruggles.Illinois Birth Registry available on familysearch.com She spent a large part of her early childhood in Chicago,Chicago Tribune September 21, 1965, (Chicago, Il) p. 41 and the family lived with her paternal grandfather, Charles Ruggles, a textile manufacturer, during her early years.1940 US Census, Accessible on familysearch.com1950 U.S. Census, Chicago, IL: Enumeration District 16-237Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum Chicago Gravestone Records After leaving Chicago as a child, Ruggles largely grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut.Cornell University, Directory of Students, 1956-57 and 1957-1958 accessible at Cornell.edu"Martha Ruggles UPDIKE" https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/martha-updike-obituary?id=53329288 (accessed 2/1/24) She then attended Cornell University as a member of the class of 1959 where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.Cornell Alumni news May 13, 1956, Volume 58, Number 16, p. 551 accessible at cornell.edu At Cornell she studied under Vladimir Nabokov, who considered her a star pupil, and she largely adopted Nabokov's perspective on literature.Ben Dhooge, Jürgen Pieters, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature: Portraits (2017), p. 213 She received an M.Ed. from Harvard University in 1964 and an M.S.W. from Simmons University in 1988.Jack De Bellis, The John Updike Encyclopedia, (2000) p. 473

First marriage and family In 1959 in Groton, Connecticut,Connecticut Marriage Index on familysearch.com Martha Ruggles married Alexander Bernhard."Obituary DORA BERNHARD" Salisbury, Somerset County, PA (1942) http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/obits/b4/bernhard-dora.txt ((Alexander Bernhard was born 1936 in New Orleans), the son of John Helanus, a civil engineer originally from Holland, and Dora (Solosko) Bernhard (1903-1942), a podiatrist originally from Latvia) Bernhard was a 1957 graduate of MIT and 1964 Harvard Law School graduate and Navy reserve submariner from 1957 to 1961. The Bernhards had three sons together, John, Jason, and Frederic."Myra Mayman Weds Alexander Bernhard," The New York Times, Nov. 3, 1986 https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/03/style/myra-mayman-weds-alexander-bernhard.html From 1965 to 1966 they lived in Eugene, Oregon, while Alexander worked for a firm there after clerking for Judge Charles Merton Merrill of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1964 to 1965."Alexander A. Bernhard: RETIRED PARTNER" https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/people/alex-bernhard (accessed 8/18/2022)

Relationship and marriage to John Updike

In 1966 the Bernhards moved back to the Boston area and were living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1970 when they purchased John Updike's house (Polly Dole House) in Ipswich, Massachusetts, when the Updikes moved to a larger home in town.John Updike, Christopher Carduff, Selected Poems (2015) p. 282Salem (Essex) Registry of Deeds, Deed accessible online at BK 5686, PG 151 https://salemdeeds.com By at least 1975 Martha had developed a relationship with John Updike, and they appeared publicly together.Nathan Scott McNamara, "When Updike Met Barth" The Millions, October 27, 2014 https://themillions.com/2014/10/when-updike-met-barth.html (accessed August 15, 2022) The Bernhards divorced, and by 1976 Alexander Bernhard became the sole owner of Updike's former house.Salem (Essex) Registry of Deeds, Deed accessible online at BK 6257 PG 124 (1976) and BK 06722 PG 502 (1980). He sold the house in 1980 to a new owner. Martha married John Updike in 1977 at Clifton Lutheran Church in Marblehead.Adam Begley, Updike (Harper Collins: 2014) Just before their wedding, Bernhard married Joyce Harrington, an ex-mistress of John Updike.Adam Begley, Updike (Harper Collins: 2014) John and Martha Updike resided in Georgetown, Massachusetts, until 1982, when they moved to Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.Salem (Essex) Registry of Deeds, Deed accessible online at BK 6921 PG 697 https://salemdeeds.com (provides a 1982 deed) Although John Updike often borrowed experiences from his family life in his writing, Martha's ex-husband threatened legal action if Updike wrote about his stepsons in his thinly fictionalized writing, so Updike largely refrained from doing so. But Updike did borrow from Martha's experience with Nabokov in his fiction, and dedicated several pieces to her.Ben Dhooge, Jürgen Pieters, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature: Portraits (2017), p. 213Jack De Bellis, The John Updike Encyclopedia, (2000) p. 473 Martha Updike attended church with John at St. John's Episcopal Church in Beverly. The Updikes remained married until John's death in 2009.

After his death, Martha Updike moved to a Wenham condo until leaving in 2016 to move into assisted living. During John Updike's life, Martha Updike largely served as self-appointed gatekeeper for his writing, and after his death Martha shared decision-making about his copyrights with his children.Adam Begley, Updike (Harper Collins: 2014) She died in New York City on October 9, 2023, at the age of 85. She had been suffering from dementia for several years.

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