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Winter 2002

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OBITUARIES: 1961-75

JEAN NORMA STANTON ’63, 59, of San Jose, CA, formerly of Hadley, died July 30 in her home. Born March 1, 1942, in Northampton, she was the daughter of Norman Meakim of Hadley and the late Louise (Dec) Meakim.
She was a graduate of Hopkins Academy in Hadley and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Besides her father, she leaves her husband, John M. Stanton; two daughters, Kelly Stanton and Kerry Stanton, and a son, Sean Stanton, all at home; two sisters, Elizabeth Sadlowski and Mary Byron, both of Hadley; a brother, William Meakim of Stafford Springs, CT; and several nieces and nephews. . .
(Bulletin8/17/01)

MARY L. FREITAG ‘64, ‘59, of North Attleboro, and formerly of Chesterfield, a former Western Massachusetts journalist, died Sunday at New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton.
She was a reporter for the Foxboro Reporter and the former Holyoke Transcript, and worked later for 15 years at the Country Journal in Huntington, where she was a reporter and writer of the "Round The Bend" column. Born and schooled in Attleboro, she graduated from Foxboro High School in 1960 and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1964. She served on the Chesterfield Planning Board.
Her husband, Charles Freitag, died in 1993. She leaves three sons, Charles of Chesterfield, Edward of Westhampton, and Benjamin of Easthampton; two daughters, Loretta Freitag of Westhampton and Sarah Freitag of Easthampton; a stepdaughter, Susan Hauschild of South Hadley; two brothers, Paul Roche of North Attleboro and Michael Roche of Plainville; five sisters, Margaret Woods, Jeanne Rush and Elizabeth Van Den Berghe, all of Foxboro, Kathleen Van Den Berghe of South Harwich, and Ann Marie Koche of Walpole; eight grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren. . .

(Union News 9/4/01)

PATRICIA THISTED ’64, passed away on May 23, 2001 after a one-year battle with cancer. She was a founder of IGU (UMass-Amherst) and a profound English teacher of high school students. She retired from Ellicott High School in Ellicott, Colorado after 21 years of impact.

(Submitted by Paul Thisted)

JOANN R. KNAPP ’66, 58, an educator for 31 years in the West Hartford and South Windsor school systems, died Monday at home in Eat Haddam.
Knapp retired in 1999 after being diagnosed with cancer. An avid golfer, Knapp continued an active work and social life for as long as she was physically able. She worked with children at the Stables in East Haddam, a business she ran with her life partner, Bonnie Buongiorne.
Knapp, a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University with a master’s from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, began her career in West Hartford as an elementary physical education teacher. After 23 years, she took a position in the state Department of Education as a health consultant. In 1990, she served as a health and physical education curriculum specialist for the South Windsor school system where she remained until her retirement.
Besides Buongiorne, she leaves her mother, Ruth Knapp of Lake Wales, FL; brothers Paul Andrew Knapp of Bridgeport and Jeffrey Lance Knapp of Sandy Hook; three nephews and a niece, cousins and an uncle, Otto Knapp of Bogota, NJ. Her father, Paul Knapp, died previously. . .

(The Hartford Courant7/11/01)

JOHN "JODY" NORTON ’66, 57, of Ann Arbor, formerly of Amherst, died May 24 in the University of Michigan Health System after a 10-month battle with cancer.
Born in Princeton, NJ, November 13, 1943, he was the son of Alison Stuart Norton and Paul Foote Norton of Amherst.
He received a degree in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, studied at Yale, and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, and received a Regents Fellowship at Berkeley.
Mr. Norton taught women’s studies and English at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti for seven years. Previously, he was a visiting assistant professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Albion College in Michigan.
He was a published author, and wrote many articles on contemporary American poetry and gay-lesbian culture and literature.
He had studied Buddhism and Asian poetry, and was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous in California, Michigan, and Vermont.
Besides his parents, he leaves his wife, Sandy Morey Norton; a daughter, Joselle James Norton of New York City; two sons, Jackson Shen Li Norton and Tayo Gabriel Norton, both of Ann Arbor; two sisters, Mary Reed Norton of Amherst and Hilary Stuart Norton of Harvard; and several cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles. . .

(Gazette6/7/01)

KENNETH W. WHITTEN ’66, 57, of Freetown, formerly of Sutton, died July 16 in Freetown.
He leaves his father, Amos C. Whitten of Sutton; a brother, Gordon W. Whitten of Littleton; two sisters, Janice A. Ferrell of Sutton and Barbara A. Badi of East Hartford, CT; and several nieces and nephews. He was born in Worcester, son of Lillian A. (Root) Whitten. He graduated from Sutton High School in 1962 and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1966. He lived many years in Sutton before moving to Freetown.
Mr. Whitten was a facilities manager, and maintained hockey rinks in New Bedford and other towns. He was also an assistant hockey coach at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He previously taught at Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, and was a hockey coach there for several years.
He was active with the Fall River Youth Hockey league in the 1970s, and was a youth hockey referee for 10 years. He was a member of Quinsigamond United Methodist Church in Worcester. . .

(Telegram & Gazette,7/21/01)

MARGARET WILLIAMS ’66,89, of Goshen, died August 31 at Hampshire Care in Leeds.
Born June 14, 1912, in Waverly, Iowa, she was the daughter of the late Oswald and Helene (Friedemann) Hardwig.
A graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., she received a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and attended the foreign language school at Middlebury College.
After moving to Goshen in 1942, she worked as an administrative assistant at Smith College. She worked from 1951 to 1979 as a teacher in Cummington and Ashfield, as well as at the former Hawley Junior High School in Northampton and Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Shelburne Falls.
In the 1930s, she edited and published, with her husband, the literary magazine Creative Writing, later known as New Horizons. Gertrude Stein and Henry Miller were among the many noted contributors to the magazine. From 1948 to 1967, Mrs. Williams and her husband directed a summer program. The Rock, in Goshen, which focused on art, writing, play productions and sports for youth.
An accomplished pianist, Mrs. Williams accompanied the Hilltown Choral Society in the early 1950s. She was the organist for churches in Williamsburg, Northampton and Cummington, where she was also choir director. Her husband, Robert Williams, died earlier. She leaves a daughter, Pheobe Williams of Goshen, and several nieces and nephews. Four brothers and a sister died earlier. . .
(Gazette9/4/01)

CONSTANCE E. BAGG ‘67G,87, of South Hadley, died November 30 in Holyoke Hospital.
Born February 1, 1914, in Norfolk, CT, she was the daughter of the late Santo and Martha (Sullivan) Italia.
She attended the Gilbert schools in Winsted, CT, and was a 1936 graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She later received a master’s degree in botany from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mrs. Bagg taught science for many years at J.F.K. Middle School in Northampton, retiring in 1982.
She was a member of First Congregational Church in South Hadley, where she was the church secretary. She was on the board of directors of Holyoke Home Information. He husband, Vernon Bagg, died in 1992.
She leaves two sons, Marshall Bagg of Amherst and Lyndon Bagg of South Hadley; and four grandchildren. . .

(Gazette12/3/01)

TIMOTHY C. ROCHE '69S, of Atlantis, Florida, formerly of Marblehead, died suddenly on December 1, 2001 from complications of cancer treatment. He was 52. He was the marketing director for Vista Center in West Palm Beach and taught several courses at Nova University. A graduate of Marblehead High School and Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he received his bachelor's degree from Barry University in Miami, and his MBA from the University of Miami.
He was a member of the board of directors of the West Palm Beach Easter Seals Society, an active member of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County, and an avid golfer.
He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Cecilia '69, and two daughters, Alaina and Desiree. He was predeceased by his father Thomas J. Roche Sr., and a brother, Thomas J. Roche, Jr. He leaves behind his mother, Frances Roche of Falmouth, and four sisters, Sandy Roche of Upland, Calif., Heidi Roche Peckham of Orlando, Fl, B.J. Roche of Rowe, and Aurelia Roche Nelson of Beverly. He also leaves 16 nieces and nephews.

JOHN W. TIERNEY ‘69, ‘72G,54, of Northampton, died October 22 in Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Born January 11, 1947, in Chelsea, he was the son of Anna Crosby of Wilmington and the late William Tierney.
He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
He had lived in Northampton for 25 years.
For the past year, Mr. Tierney had worked at Covenant House in Washington, D.C., where he taught woodworking. Before that he worked as an administrator at Hampshire College in Amherst and at Boston University and was the owner of Leeds Design Workshop, a woodworking school in Easthampton. He enjoyed playing pool and sailing and had obtained his captain’s license.
Besides his mother, he leaves a daughter, Aelan Tierney of Florence; two sisters, Joanne Greenhalgh of Franklin and Patricia Gardiner of Derry, NH; his former wives, Catherine Scott Fellenz of Worcester and Kathleen O’Masta of Northampton; and a grandmother.

(Bulletin11/2/01)

ELLEN L. PELLETIER ’70, 52, of Bernardston, an educator and town official, died on Friday at home.
She served on the town’s Select Board from 1984 to 1987, on the Recreation Commission from 1980 to 1989, on the School Committee from 1984 to 1989, and also on the School Building Committee.
She taught Physical education at the Bernardston Elementary School and previously in the Hadley elementary schools for several years. She was known to her pupils as "Mrs. P."
She later worked at GBI Marketing Co. of Bernardston from 1990 until her retirement last year. Born in Boston, she graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury High School in 1966 and received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1970.
She coached girls’ soccer, softball, and track at Pioneer Valley Regional High School for several years and was a 25-year Red Cross aquatic instructor, serving Northampton, Greenfield, Mount Hermon School in Gill and Northfield.
She also taught aquatics at the Northampton YMCA for several years. She was a former director of the Greenfield Red Cross chapter, the founding director of the Bernardston Summer Swim Program (organized in 1980), and a 10-year Girl Scout troop leader.
She leaves her husband, James Pelletier; two daughters, Amy L. Pelletier of Brattleboro, VT, and Corey L. Pelletier of St. Louis; her parents, George and Mary Buffington of Barefoot Bay, Fla.; and two brothers, David Buffington of Plymouth, NH, and Edward Buffington of Deerfield. . .

(Union News9/1/01)

PAUL D. BROWNING ‘71G,55, of Granby, an area librarian and civic leader, died Tuesday at Holyoke Hospital.
He was the librarian at Monson Junior-Senior High School, previously the head librarian at the Ludlow Public Library and the reference librarian at the South Hadley Public Library. He also served on the Ludlow Library Building Committee.
Born in Port Huron, Mich., he attended Holy Cross Catholic School in Marine City, Mich., and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Oakland University in Rochester, MI.
He received a mater of arts degree in English literature from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master of library science degree from the University of Rhode Island. He moved from Michigan to Granby in 1969.
He was a communicant of All Saints Episcopal Church in South Hadley, where he was a junior warden, a vestryman, chairman of the property committee, a building committeeman and a member of the Men’s Club.
He was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and the founder, a director and a stage director of the Exit Seven Players in Ludlow. He belonged to the Granby Lions Club and wrote the town’s proposal for a cable television connection.
He leaves his wife, the former Lorraine Lewis; a son, Try L. Dean of Danbury, CT; his mother, Nancy A. (Folkert) Browning of Marine City; two brothers, Dennis of St. Clair, MI, and Thomas W. of Marine City; and two grandchildren. . .

(Union News,7/6/01)

JACQUES A. LAUS ’72, of Amherst, died suddenly August 8 in Falmouth.
He was born in Boston, Nov. 6, 1942, the son of the late Andre and Aline (Perrin) Laus.
He worked for 33 years as a French teacher at the former Hawley Junior High School in Northampton and later at Northampton High School. He retired last spring.
He received a bachelor’s degree from St. Michael’s College of Winooski, Vt., and a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
He was a member of North Amherst Troop #504 and coached prep league and Little League baseball in the Amherst area.
Mr. Laus was past president of the Northampton Teachers Association and a member of the curriculum development and professional development boards in Northampton. He was a catalyst for starting the after-school program at Mark’s Meadow Elementary School in Amherst. He was a member of the chess club at both Northampton High Sand Hawley Junior High schools.
He served as a Town Meeting member.
He leaves his wife, Mary Jane (Hasbrouck) Laus, two sons, Alan Laus of Shelburne Falls and David Laus of Sherwood, Ore., and two grandchildren. . .

(Bulletin8/17/01)

DEBORAH L. HULL ’73, 50, who grew up in Cummington and Amherst, died July 26 after a brave fight against cancer.
Born April 23, 1951, in Pittsfield, she was the daughter of Edna (Betts) Hull of Asheville, NC, and the late Robert C. Hull.
From birth she lived in Cummington, later moving to Amherst, where she graduated from Amherst Regional High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in theater from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master’s degree in theater from Indiana University in Bloomington.
Although many professional theater opportunities were offered, she chose the simpler life in the mountains of Asheville that she had come to love. She performed for several seasons at Brown County Playhouse in Bloomington and in Asheville with the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater, Asheville Community Theater, the Thomas Wolfe Festival and in independent musical productions.
She worked most recently as executive assistant to the president of Wilcox World Travel in Asheville.
Besides her mother, she leaves two sisters, Happy Hull Timberlake of Carlsbad, CA, and Judy Hull Bailey of Blue Earth, Minn. . .

(Gazette9/5/01)

ELLEN B. SEDLIS ’74, 49, of Florence, died Wednesday (7-11-01) at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton following a lengthy illness.
Sedlis was founder, shelter-services coordinator and board member of the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition in Greenfield.
Born in Boston, June 28, 1952, she was the daughter of Herbert and Mildred Sedlis of Boca Raton, Fla., and the late Sumner C. Sneierson. She grew up in Boston, was educated in Wayland schools and graduated from Wayland High School. She moved to the Pioneer Valley to attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1970. She graduated cum laude in 1974 from UMass with a bachelor’s degree concentrating on psychology and social change. SH earned a master’s degree in social work in 1989 from Boston University, receiving the Kolodny Prize for Academic Excellence.
Sedlis also was coordinator of the Sexual Abuse Intervention Project for the Department of Social Services in the Franklin-Hampshire area offices and worked as an intern at the Northampton Center for Children and Families. Most recently, she worked as a clinician at the Children’s Clinic, affiliated with the Northampton Center for Children and Families and as a psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in work with adolescents.
She had lived in the Pioneer Valley for most of the last 30 years, with brief stays in Barrington, RI, while working in Swansea, and in San Francisco.
She was a member of the Jewish Community of Amherst and also attended services at Beit Ahavah in Florence.
For the past four years, she was involved in the Hampshire County Relay for Life, this year serving as an honorary co-chairwoman and leading the opening lap undertaken by cancer survivors.
Besides her parents, she leaves her husband, Allan Doe; a son, Samuel Thomas Doe, and a daughter, Michaela Gray Doe, both at home; a brother, Steven Sedlis of Cambridge; a sister, Shari Sedlis Beal of Bay Harbor Island, FL; a paternal grandmother, Rose Sedlis Beal of Bay Harbor, and nieces and nephews. . .

(The Recorder7/14/01)

BERTHA (GRANGE) SHAW ‘74, 62, of Springfield, was called safely home on Friday, November 30, 2001. She was born in Riegelwood, NC, the sixth of ten children born to Henry and Lula (Jones) Grange and had been a 36-year resident of Springfield. For the last 34 years, she worked for the Springfield Public School System; four years as an academic coordinator at DeBerry Micro-Society Magnet School, ten years as a reading supervisor and 20 years as a classroom teacher. Mrs. Shaw held a master’s degree from Westfield State College and an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was a member of the Black Educators of Springfield and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She served as past steward, instructor for new members, former class leader and participated in the church’s Social Action Commission. She also was the supervisor of the Martin Luther King After School Program at DeBerry Magnet School. Predeceased in 1992 by a son, Steve R. Shaw and three brothers, Curtis Grange, Louis "Joe" Grange and Morris Grange. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Sandie Shaw of Springfield; a son, Tony O. Shaw (and his wife, Regina) of Washington, D.C.; two daughters, Dianah Shaw of Washington, D.C. and Sonja Shaw Williams (and her husband, Jonathan) of Springfield; four brothers and their wives, Henry "Sammy" and Fannie Grange, James Odell Grange of Riegelwood, NC, Jimmie H. and Lucille Grange of Springfield and Derrick and Bernistine Grange also of Riegelwood; two sisters and their husbands, Lenora Workman and Otto of Jersey City, NJ and Wilma G. Daniels and Kenneth of Riegelwood; and a sister-in-law, Joyce Grange also of Riegelwood, NC; two aunts, Pearline Allen of Jersey City, NJ and Estelle Wilson of Virginia and six loving grandchildren, Benjamin and Avery Williams of Springfield, Antoine Lee of Largo, MD, Jonathan Xavier Bingham of Bowie, MD, Roshanda Tinika Shaw of Worcester, MA and Tiana Ann Shaw of Springfield. She also leaves a host of uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and in-laws. . .

(Union News12/4/01)

WENDY LEE ROBERTS ’75, 47, of Andover, died Wednesday, April 25, 2001, at her home after a lengthy illness.
She was born August 26, 1953, in Winchester, MA, the daughter of Kenneth P. and Norma (Lindstol) Roberts of Exeter and was raised in Reading, MA.
She was a graduate of Reading High School and received her bachelor of arts degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her master’s of science from Boston College.
Mrs. Roberts was employed at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston and had previously been employed at Shriner’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Boston, both in Boston.
She was a member of the American Burn Association; the American Association of Critical Care Nurses; Sigma Theta Tau, Boston College; the National Fire Protection Association; the Mass. Public Fire and Safety Education Task Force; the board of directors, education section national Fire Protection Association; Task Force, National Burn Awareness Coalition; prevention committee and advisory committee to the at-large membership, American Burn Association; a founding board member of the Boston Fire Prevention Coalition; a member of 1035 Technical Committee Standard for Professional Qualifications professional Public Fire Educator, National Fire Protection Association; chairman of the New England Burn Care Professionals; a member of the resources committee, education section of the National Fire Protection Association; local coalition advisory committee National Safekids Coalition, Greater Boston Chapter; and the Technical Advisory Council of the Learn Not to Burn Foundation. She was a pediatric advanced life support and basic cardiac life support instructor and a preceptor for students in the critical care masters degree program at Northeastern University.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by three children, Erin, Elizabeth, and Emily Daly, all of Andover, MA; one sister, Kim Beringer of Mooresville, NC; two nieces and one nephew; and her former husband, Dr. William Daly of Andover. . .

(Seacoast Newspapers Online)

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