Meeting. Franklin returned to Philadelphia in November 1762. He tried to persuade Read to accompany him to Europe, but she again refused. Franklin returned to Europe in November 1764 where he would remain for the next ten years. Read would never see Franklin again. In 1768, Read suffered the first of a series of strokes that severely impaired her speech and memory. For the remainder of her life, she suffered from poor health and depression. Despite his wife's condition, Franklin did not return to Philadelphia even though he had completed his diplomatic duties. In November 1769, Read wrote Franklin saying that her stroke, declining health and depressed mental state were a result of her "dissatisfied distress" due to his prolonged absence. Franklin still did not return but continued to write to Read. Read's final surviving letter to Franklin is dated October 29, 1773. Thereafter, she stopped corresponding with her husband. Franklin continued to write to Read, inquiring as to why her letters had ceased, but still did not return home. On December 14, 1774, Read suffered a final stroke and died on December 19. She was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. Franklin was buried next to her upon his death in 1790. References Sources External links Benjamin Franklin FAQ from the Franklin Institute Deborah Reed Franklin from History of American Women 1708 births 1774 deaths 18th-century British North American people 18th-century American women 18th-century Quakers American Quakers Benjamin Franklin Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia Colonial American women English emigrants to British North America English Quakers Franklin family Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies People from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Philadelphia People of colonial Pennsylvania