William Lee Warner ’65

William Lee Warner, 72, passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, April 21st, 2019, after a 17 month illness. He is survived by his adoring wife of 26 years, Anita, and loving nieces, Chloe Warner, Jennifer Jarden, and her daughters, Charlotte and Angelina. Born January 20th, 1947 to William and Dori Warner of Manhattan, Lee was the ultimate New Yorker. After attending St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s, and The Williston Northampton School, he received a BA from Columbia College and an MBA from NYU Stern. Lee was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Investment Management and then at Global Investment Advisors. Following a successful career in Money Management, he and Anita fulfilled their dream of sharing their time between Manhattan and Antibes, France. Celebration Service will be held at St. Bartholomew’s Chapel, 325 Park Ave., New York, on April 30th at 3:30 pm. Donations in Lee’s memory may be made to the Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma, New York Presbyterian, Office of Development, 850 Third Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

George Alan (Al) Shaler, Former Faculty

George Alan (Al) Shaler, of Easthampton, MA and Warrensburg, NY passed away on his 84th birthday. Al was born April 4th, 1935 in Freeport, NY to George Wiltse and Mary Sue (Gillaspy) Shaler. An only child, Al grew up on Long Island, becoming an accomplished pianist and organist, excelling in academics and in running. During his youth, he spent many vacations on his maternal grandparents’ farm in Benton, PA doing farm chores and developing a profound appreciation for the outdoors. As a teen, his parents sent him Forest Lake Camp (FLC) in Warrensburg, NY, a transformative event in his young life. While at FLC, Al was exposed to outdoor adventures the likes of which he had never encountered on Long Island. He returned for several summers, becoming a counselor and head counselor at the Camp, and more importantly growing to love the Adirondacks of northern NY. After graduating from Freeport High School in 1953, Al matriculated at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY in the fall of 1953. While at Hamilton, Al once again shined in the classroom and on various cross-country courses throughout upstate NY. In his sophomore year, Al won the cross-country New York state championship. Al found great pleasure in playing the organ at Hamilton and developed a lifelong love for the instrument. Upon graduation, he headed off to the University of Wisconsin at Madison to pursue a graduate degree in English, While in Madison, he met Janet Ann James, an undergraduate from nearby Berlin, WI. They would start dating in Al’s second year, became engaged shortly thereafter and were married in 1960. Al received his Masters in 1959 and after a short job search landed a job at then Williston Academy in Easthampton. He would end up teaching at Williston Academy, later the Williston Northampton School (WNS), from 1959 through 1999. While at WNS he taught many courses in literature, including a course he created, Dissident Voices, which focused on African-American writers such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin, the first class of its kind at WNS. A passionate amateur chef, he also taught cooking classes which were enthusiastically attended. Similar to other WNS teachers, Al was also a coach for the school’s athletic program. He started out coaching football and track, and by the early 1960s had started the cross-country program. Al coached many aspiring runners and put them through many a rigorous workout. He would often show up in the middle of woods and exhort his runners, telling them to pick up the pace, and lending some timely, and sometimes off color encouragement. In the fall of 1980, his team won the New England championships. The WNS community meant a lot to Al, most importantly, after his wife died in 1973. Despite this tremendous loss, he pushed on raising his three young children, enjoying a great high school teaching career at Williston, touching the lives of thousands of young people in the classroom and on the playing fields during his 40 year teaching career (the only job he ever had), and making countless friends. His children, George, Jim and Elizabeth graduated from WNS in 1980, 1981, and 1984 respectively. Al loved playing the organ at the Williston Chapel. He often played the organ during ecumenical services and was in great demand for religious services, holiday musical programs and weddings, at Williston and all over the Pioneer Valley. Al was active in local theatre. He had starring roles in productions staged at WNS and by the Easthampton Community Theatre Association. These productions allowed Al to show off his big personality, his comedic skills and musical gifts. Later in his WNS career, he was granted the school’s first sabbatical which enabled him to live and work abroad. He used the opportunity to teach for a half year in some of Great Britain’s finest secondary schools. The experience of living abroad spurred his growing interest in foreign travel, a passion which was to continue well into his retirement years. WNS was not the only thing that defined him. He was active in local politics, serving as the Easthampton Town Moderator for several years and later as a city councilor after the city changed its charter. One of his proudest achievements as councilor was being part of the Council efforts to build the current Public Safety Complex. He never grew tired of saying how proud he was of that building. Al was also appointed a trustee of the University of Massachusetts during the mid-1970s by then Governor Francis Sargent, an undertaking he took very seriously. During the mid-1960s, Al bought some property on Kelm Lake near Forest Lake Camp and built a rustic A-Frame cabin that at the time was only reachable by rowing across the Lake. For the first ten years Al owned the cabin, the place did not have electricity. He would listen to his beloved Red Sox on a battery operated radio, sometimes not sure if they had won when the reception cut out. This rustic lifestyle suited him. He would cook the family dinners over a wood fire, using certain hard woods for various cuts of meat for added flavor. Rain or shine, Al would spend his summers by his wood fire, carefully attending to his culinary creations. He and his beloved neighbor and friend Bob Murray, another school teacher from Long Island, would swap many a good story, some not suited for print, sharing martinis, while Al smoked his ever present pipe. He enjoyed a 20 year retirement traveling all over the world, sometimes in some unusual ways, once taking a month long ocean freighter ride around the coast of South America. Al was fond of many places, but relished a chance to visit Morocco, Spain, Kenya and Britain.

However, what he enjoyed most was spending time at his cabin in the Adirondacks of northern NY. This was his hermitage where he would go for six to seven months each year during his retirement, accompanied by his dog – always a beagle. When he felt a need to leave his cabin, which was not often, sometimes he would venture down to Saratoga to watch the horse races.

Early in his retirement, he threw his energies into cultivating day lilies. He became fascinated with hybridizing day lilies. He transformed his yard into a nursery of sorts. He became a part-time licensed nursery man and sold his hybrids in various hemerocallis publications. People drove from near and far to purchase his plants.

Al is survived by his son George and spouse Jill Rosenthal of Portland, ME, son James and spouse Ann of Tampa FL, and daughter Elizabeth of New York, NY; grandchildren Cole, Griffith, and Wallace Shaler, and Jonna and Shay Rosenthal.

A celebration of life will be held on May 4, 2019 at the Williston-Northampton Chapel in Easthampton at 1:30. More details will be posted on the Mitchell Funeral Home web site in the coming week.

In lieu of flowers and donations, please direct any contributions to the Williston-Northampton School in Al’s name.

Barbara Dow Merrill ’40

Barbara Merrill, 96, of Solon, Maine, died at home, surrounded by family and friends the morning of April 2, 2019. Barbara was born Aug. 21, 1922, in Northampton, Mass., to the late Dr. Frank E. and Marion (Dole) Dow. She was the youngest of four children and is predeceased by siblings, Eleanor, Richard and Harriet.

Barbara graduated from Northampton School for Girls (Williston Northampton) and earned her undergraduate degree at Tufts University, Jackson division and then went on to Andover Newton Theological School–Newton Center for her master’s degree in religious education.

In February 1948, while working as the director of the Sunday school and supervisor of the young people’s groups at the Congregational Church in Brunswick, Barbara met John Merrill, who had volunteered to substitute teach a Sunday school class for one of his Bowdoin fraternity brothers. Three weeks after their first meeting, Barbara and John became engaged, and three months later, on June 5, they married.

After living two years in Boston, while John attended law school, the couple moved to Skowhegan in 1952 to raise their family. Barbara soon thereafter opened the Pied Piper Nursery School, which she ran for ten years out of the municipal building. She then became an elementary school teacher for S.A.D. 54 for 17 years. Barbara was also active in the Women’s Club, the D.A.R., women’s republican groups and the Women’s Circle at the Federated Church, where she also sang in the choir for many years and, more recently, was a member of the Bible study group. She joined Somerset Chapter #53, O.E.S., in Skowhegan in January of 1958.

Over the years she held many offices, including chaplain and Worthy Matron; her favorite Star Point office was Martha. When Barbara and John moved year-round to South Solon in 1978, they became active in Solon’s Keystone Chapter #78, O.E.S., and, again, Barbara served as Worthy Matron and multiple terms as Martha. She remained active with the Eastern Star through 2017.

Barbara is survived by her son, William (Carrie), daughter, Harriet (Glen) and son, Frank (Nancy); as well as her grandchildren, Reagan (Mike) Hovasse, Sean (Katie) Merrill and Alaena Merrill; and five great-grandchildren: Taylor, Lyric, Cameron, Phoenix and Lux.

The family would like to thank homecare givers, Sherry Bacon, Dawn Elizabeth Bersani and Cynthia Pine for their loving care of and friendship given to their mother. They would also like to thank the staffs of the Redington-Fairview Hospital and the Northern Lights Home Care & Hospice for the amazing care and compassion they extended to Barbara and her family during the last year of Barbara’s life. The work these dedicated professionals do is a gift and blessing to those they serve.

A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m., at the Federated Church in Skowhegan.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Smart & Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan, Maine.  Memorial contributions can be made to: Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, 50 Foden Rd., South Portland, ME 04106.