* Ruth Abraham; Led Expansion of ACLU in Southland

Ruth Abraham, 84, former chapter director of the Southern California affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. Abraham led the expansion of the ACLU in Southern California from five chapters in 1963 to 30 chapters in 1981, when she retired. Among the chapters she helped organize were those in Hollywood, Brentwood, Inglewood and Beverly Hills. The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants who settled in New York City, Abraham got an early taste for politics from her mother, a garment worker and supporter of Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs. She joined the ACLU shortly after moving to California in 1951. She was active in the Democratic Party, including campaigns of Alan Cranston, Edward Roybal, Julian Dixon and Tom Bradley. On Jan. 2 in Los Angeles.