UMass Magazine Online

Winter 2002

Departments

Extended Family

Features

Extended Family

OBITUARIES: 1928-45

ELIZABETH M. KAY ’28, 93, died September 16, 2001, at her home.
Born in Wollaston, MA, a daughter of Fred Wilson and Arvilla May Stiles Morey, she graduated from Quincy High School at age 16 and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, majoring in education and English.
She worked in the editorial department of Babson Reports and Addison Wesley Publications of Reading, MA. She sold the Foreign Readers Digest to schools in several languages. She taught herself to stenotype.
During her 80s she began to draw and sketch, advancing to the art of Chinese brush painting. At age 87, her family said, she wrote and published a book title "Dog Daze and Cat Tales Too," humorous stories about pets.
Surviving are two daughters, Janet Kay Powers and Judy Ingraham of Cumberland; a son, N. Bruce Kay of Durham, NC; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. . .

(Portland Press Herald,9/19/01)

RUTH SHAINE ’30,92, of Springfield, died on Thursday at Baystate Medical Center. Born in Holyoke, she lived in Springfield since 1939. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was a member of Temple Beth El, its Sisterhood, and the Springfield Jewish Community Center, and was a past president of the National Council of Jewish Women. Her husband, Samuel Shaine, died in 1989. She leaves a son, Norman, and daughter, Dorothy Shaine, both of Springfield. . .

(Union News,6/30/01)

WILLIAM E. BOSWORTH, JR. ’31,93, a resident of Lake Shore Drive in Wales, Maine, died Friday (8-31-01) at Nicolson’s Nursing Home in Winthrop, where he was a resident for several days.
Bosworth was born in Holyoke on Sept. 4, 1907, the son of William E. Sr. and Sarah Maude (Walsh) Bosworth.
After attending Holyoke High School and working at his father’s restaurant, The Spa, in Holyoke, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1931. He subsequently received a master’s degree from the college in 1935.
He taught mathematics and other subjects and coached golf and Hockey at South Hadley High School during the 1930s. In 1942, he trained for the ski troops, and switched to military intelligence until his honorable discharge in 1946. After World War II, he resumed teaching math, this time at Holyoke High School, until his retirement in 1974. He was chairman of the Math Department there for 24 years and also taught at Holyoke Jr. College (now Holyoke Community College).
He also studied at summer institutes at the University of Maine, Princeton University, Franklin and Marshall College, Drew University and the University of Illinois.
Bosworth worked for many years at summer camps in New England. This included summers spent at Camp Najerog in Vermont, camp Sumner in Pittsfield, Camp Sis-a-gie in Maine, and at Camp Belknap in New Hampshire. A Camp Sis-a-gie in 1941, Bosworth met his future wife, Marjorie Heck, and they were married in April 1943. She predeceased him in April of 1992.
He also headed the effort to build three vacation retirement homes: Aftermath I in Stratton, VT; Aftermath II in Brewster, MA; and Aftermath III in Wales.
He also kept active in retirement through volunteer work at Cape Cod Hospital and at St. Mary’s Hospital of Lewiston, and through tutoring a number of students at Nauset Regional High School and Harwich High School on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
He was a communicant of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sabattus. While living in Brewster, he was a reader and an extraordinary minister of communion at the local parish there.
He is survived by one daughter, Nancy Walsh of Monmouth; one son, Michael of Montague, MA; two sisters, Loise Treadway of Williamstown, MA, and Joan Bevan of Holyoke; five grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. . .

(Recorder,9/4/01)

THELMA L. TAFT ’32,90, died at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA on June 8, 2001. She leaves her husband, Roger S. Taft ‘30, of Sterling, two daughters, Jacqueline Taft Provencher ‘58 and Julia F. Taft Gauld ‘72, both of Sterling; a brother, Harvey Dickinson of Belchertown; six grandchildren, one of whom, Jenny A. Provencher, also graduated from UMass Amherst. Thelma was known as Dickie to her college friends. She was born in Greenwich, a part of the valley now under the Quabbin Reservoir, and always remembered the beauty of the area.

(Submitted by Julia Gauld)

DONALD E. BALDWIN ’37,84, of Holyoke, died Monday at a local nursing home. He was a salesman for Tyco Co. (formerly Marvellum Co.) for many years, and retired in 1980. Born in the Chicopee Falls section of Chicopee, he was a graduate of Chicopee High School and the Stockbridge School at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and also attended Northeastern University in Boston. He was a communicant of Holy Cross Church. He leaves his wife of 60 years, the former Elizabeth A. Cronin; a son, David J. of Wilmington, Del.; three daughters, Carol Murphy and Martha Healey, both of Holyoke, and Jane Mikula of West Dennis; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. . .

(Union News,6/12/01)

EMILY M. JORDAN ’37,87, of Easthampton, a former area teacher, died Tuesday at Holyoke Hospital.
She taught junior English at South Hadley High School for 20 years, and retired in 1982. She was previously a nurse for the Easthampton Helping Hand Society.
Born and schooled in this town, she earned a registered nursing degree from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and her BA and MA in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
She was a communicant of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. She was a member of the Eat Mountain Country Club in Westfield, and was its women’s golf league champion in 1987.
She also was a volunteer at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum in Springfield and the Hampshire Care Nursing Home in the Leeds section of Northampton.
Her husband, William W. Jordan, died in 1983. She leaves two daughters, Judith G. Jordan of Easthampton. With whom she lived, and Jean P. Cooney of the Florence section of Northampton; a brother, John G. Healey of Brattleboro, Vt.; two sisters, Elinor Lux of Southampton and Katherine Fickert of Easthampton; and a granddaughter. . .

(Union News,8/10/01)

FREDRICK L. DICKENS ’38,86, died Friday, June 15, in Quabog on the Commons Nursing Home, West Brookfield, after a long illness. He leaves a daughter, Susan L. Stukuls of Hardwick; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren. He was born in Ashland, son of Charles and Alice (Holbrook) Dickens. He received a master’s degree in agriculture from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mr. Dickens was a self-employed sales representative in the animal feed retail industry. . .

(Worcester Telegram & Gazette,6/17/01)

PHILIP A. SMARDON JR. ’38,86, died Thursday, September 13, 2001, at his home.
Phil was born in Portland, Maine, on July 7, 1915, the son of Philip A. and Dorothy (Clay) Smardon.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1938 with a degree in landscape architecture.
Phil was a U.S. Army veteran, having served his country in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1943 and duty in Europe, 1943 to 1945, with the 602nd Engineer Battalion, VII Corps, 1st Army.
January 7, 1943, he married Louise G. Peters of Bradford in New York City during his tour of duty. His loving wife predeceased him in 1981.
After his tour of duty, he worked at Gardenside Nurseries as a landscape architect. Later, Phil served as a rural mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for more than 25 years, delivering mail to Shelburne residents.
He is survived by his sister, Sally Whitehead and her spouse, Robert, of Winter Haven, Fla.; his son, Richard Smardon and his wife, Anne, of Syracuse, NY; a daughter, Dorothy (Sandy) Haddock and her husband, Jeff, of Shelburne; five grandchildren, Regina Smardon of Philadelphia, PA, Andrea Smardon of Seattle, Wash., Sarah Haddock of St. George, Kristen Haddock of Bristol, RI, and Lindsey Haddock of Shelburne.
Phil was always actively involved in serving the Shelburne community. He participated in many appointed town offices such as school board, auditor, founding member of the Optimist organization, and Shelburne cemetery commissioner for 24 years. The Vermont Cemetery Association awarded Phil the Cemeterian of the Year 2000.
His creative landscape background is a landmark in Shelburne’s cremation garden, which other towns have used as a model. Phil also participated in a ceremony and received a plaque of appreciation of town and state service in 1995 for Shelburne and the state of Vermont.
Phil built many connections and friendships over time, and he always had ideas and a lending hand for anyone who wanted to listen. He never really retired from his numerous interests. He cherished friends and memories of his other attachment to growing up in Maine before establishing roots in Vermont. There was always a passion for gardening, chatting with anyone who stopped by. He also loved photography, which enriches many memories and lives. . .

(Burlington Free Press,9/17/01)

BERTHA (BORON) REISS ’39,84, of Easthampton, a retired schoolteacher, died Thursday in a Northampton nursing home. Born in Chicopee, she moved to Deerfield in 1918. She was valedictorian of her Deerfield High School class and graduated with honors in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1939. A Lieutenant (jg) in the Navy WAVES during WW-II, she served at the Memphis Naval Air Center, teaching Morse Code to aviation radiomen, and for more than a year in Washington, D.C. as an operator of special radio equipment. She served in the Naval Reserves until 1950. She leaves her husband of 55 years, Walter Reiss; one son, John G. Reiss of Gainsville, FL; two brothers, Raymond and Frederick of South Deerfield; five sisters, Mary Haigh of South Deerfield, Victoria Jaroway of Hampden, CT, Helen Cady and Evely Anton of Palmer, and Patricia Zach of Wilmington, VT; and two grandchildren. . .

(Sunday Republican,11/25/01)

RITA SOUTHWICK ’39,83, of Amherst, died Wednesday (10-31-01) at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. She was the mother of Donald Southwick of Leverett.
Born in Proctor, Vt., December 22, 1917, she was the daughter of Charles and Hulda (Ericson) Anderson. She spent her early years in Easthampton, where her family operated a floral business.
She graduated in 1939 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in home economics.
Southwick was a member of the North Congregational Church for more than 50 years.
She was a member of the Amherst Women’s Club.
An avid gardener, with a special interest in flowers, she did the arranging and designs for special occasions at Silverscape Designs for many years.
She was a longtime supporter of Oxfam International and the Home for Little Wanderers.
Besides her son, she leaves her husband of 61 years, Franklin W. Southwick; three other sons, Donald of Haydenville, Peter of Amherst and Stephen of California; a brother, Leonard Anderson of Eugene, Ore.; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. . .

(Sunday Recorder,11/2/01)

MYRA HOULE ’40,83, of West Tisbury, died at home on August 4. She taught at Parker Memorial Grammar School in Tolland, Conn., and previously at the Coventry (Conn.) Day School for a total of 25 years. Born in Sunderland, she was a graduate of the Massachusetts State College (now the University of Massachusetts at Amherst). She lived in Andover, CT, for 30 years, and on Martha’s Vineyard for 24 years. She leaves her husband of 59 years, Raymond P. Houle; two sons, Peter of Andover and Mark of Hebron, CT; a daughter, Elisabeth "Betsy" Houle of Andover; a brother, Richard Graves of Sunderland; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. . .

(Union News, 8/23/01)

GEORGE C. FEIKER ’41,66G, 83, of Williamsburg, died June 14 at Sunbridge Nursing Home in Hadley.
Born in Bronxville, NY, January 9, 1918, he was the son of the late Frederick Morris Feiker and Elizabeth (Baker) Campbell.
He had lived in Northampton and Washington, D.C., before moving to Williamsburg, where he lived for 45 years.
A 1941 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he later received a master’s degree in guidance psychology from UMass.
Mr. Feiker taught at Smith Academy in Hatfield and Hopkins Academy in Hadley, where he began the first vocational agriculture work-study program in the state. He was also a guidance counselor at Williamsburg High School and later was guidance director at Hampshire Regional High School.
He received the state award for guidance director of the year in 1971.
Mr. Feiker was on the board of directors and board of deacons and taught Christian education classes at Williamsburg Congregational Church.
A naturalist and environmentalist, he wrote a weekly column for the Country Journal newspaper and was a member of the Franklin Harvest Club for 50 years.
A former member of the Williamsburg Grange, he received its Citizen of the Year award in 1987. He was on the building committee for the Ann T. Dunphy School and helped establish Cub Scouts in Williamsburg.
He was a member of the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
He leaves his wife, Elizabeth Ross Feiker; a son, Frederick C. Feiker of Keene, NH; two daughters, Deborah Hollingworth of Williamsburg and Betsy A. Feiker of Hollis, NH; two sister, Janet Delaney of Garden City, NY, and Barbara Barrus of Greenfield; a brother, William Feiker of St. Charles, Ill.; and five grandchildren.
A daughter, Elizabeth Ellen Feiker, died earlier. . .

(Daily Hampshire Gazette,6/20/01)

RALPH E. TOWNSLEY ’41,79 of Ashfield, who went to college in Amherst, died October 2 in Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
Born Dec. 23, 1921, in Ashfield, he was the son of the late Fred R. and Alta (Williams) Townsley.
He was a 1939 graduate of Sanderson Academy in Ashfield and a 1941 graduate of Stockbridge Agricultural College in Amherst.
Mr. Townsley was the fourth generation to operate his family dairy farm in Ashfield.
He was chairman of the Ashfield Burial Ground Association and had served as burial agent for the town of Ashfield since 1989. He was a former member of the Ashfield Board of Appeals and had served on the local Agway committee for several years.
He was an honorary member and past president of the Ashfield Rod and Gun Club and a former member of the Western Massachusetts Rod and Gun Club in Shelburne Falls. He was also a member of the Hampden Harvest Club.
He was an amateur poet.
He leaves his wife, Martha (Deane) Townsley; two sons, Roland E. Townsley and Raymond F. Townsley, both of Ashfield; a foster brother, Charles E. Groff of Walpole; three granddaughters; and several nieces and nephews.
A son, Richard L. Townsley, died in 1951, and another son, Russell D. Townsley, died in 1968. . .

(Gazette,10/4/01)

ELEANOR E. WENTWORTH ’41,82, of Agawam, formerly of Greenfield, died Friday (9-21-01) at home.
Born in Amherst, November 21, 1918, she was the daughter of Edwin A. and Lucia (Cowles) Wentworth. She graduated in 1936 from Amherst High School and in 1941 from Massachusetts State College, now the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also took graduate courses from 1941 to 1946 at George Washington University.
Wentworth was an elementary school teacher in Sunderland for many years until her retirement. During World War II, she lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Upon her retirement, she lived in Greenfield, West Swanzey, NH, and Jensen Beach, FL.
She was a member of the Jensen Beach Community Church and the former Second Congregational Church in Amherst. She was a longtime member of South Amherst Grange 16.
Survivors include a brother, Donald E. of Vero Beach, FL; two sisters, Alice W. Owen of Greenfield and Marion Wade of Springfield; nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. . .

(Recorder, 9/22/01)

ANNE R. POWERS ’45,78, of South Hadley, died October 15 in SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation for Hadley.
Born January 19, 1923, in Amherst, she was the daughter of the late Thomas and Margaret (Harrington) Fay.
A lifelong resident of South Hadley, she graduated from South Hadley High School in 1940 and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1945. Mrs. Powers received a master’s degree from Westfield State College.
She was a librarian for the South Hadley schools, retiring from the high school in 1989.
She was a communicant of St. Patrick’s Church in South Hadley. Mrs. Powers was a founding sister of Sigma Kappa at UMass and an active member of the South Hadley Education Association, the South Hadley Women’s Club, the Democratic Town Committee and Know Your Town.
Her husband, Robert Powers, died in 1990.
She leaves a son, Robert C. Powers of Merrimack, NH; two daughters, Chris Blaney and Beth Standen, both of South Hadley; two sisters, Margaret Fay and Kathleen Knightly, both of South Hadley; 10 grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. . .

(Gazette,10/17/01)

[top of page]

UMass Gatherings: Ed Marathon

GATHERINGS: larger images

MARATHON LIST: Ed School Alumni at the Reunion

SOUVENIR: testing into Mass Aggie

PROFILE: Cynthia Shepard Perry '72G

PROFILE: Kathleen Mitchell ‘79

MEMOIR: Todd Russell Hill ’90

MONUMENTAL TEACHERS: your memories of professors

MOVING ON: faculty retirements

NO PLACE LIKE HOMECOMING: alumni at the ’70s reunions

UMASS MEDIA: Bruce MacCombie ’67, ’68G and Taj Mahal ’63S