Mr. Donald R. Tench, formerly of Hinsdale, MA passed away on Saturday, March 5, 2022, shortly after celebrating his 100th birthday. His wife of 60 years, Edna E. Tench (nee Snedeker) of Nyack, NY predeceased him in 2006. Born in Brooklyn, NY on January 21, 1922, the son of Warren R. Tench and Daphne Tench (nee Bellows). Don attended the world-renowned Saint Thomas Choir School in NY and was a top performer in the Saint Thomas Boys Choir. He went on to graduate high school from Williston Academy (now The Williston Northampton School) in Easthampton, MA before enrolling at Syracuse University. Like so many of his generation, his college career was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. Following basic training at the Mojave Desert Training Center, Don served in the Allied Expeditionary Force in Iran, where he was an Armed Forces Radio alert and message operator as well as disc jockey for the troops.

Although Don owned and operated a Purina supply store in Pittsfield, MA for many years, he retired as a well-known antiques dealer. His love of antiques was sparked by his even greater love for his wife, and their substantial antiques business began as a small corner in their supply store many decades ago. Don loved to golf and fish and was a member of the Hinsdale Congregational Church for many years.

Don is also predeceased by his brother, Bob, his nieces Judy, and Nancy and his great granddaughter, Molly O’Keefe Alden. His niece Robin Tench lives in Calif. Don and Edna are survived by their children, Kathleen J. Adams, and Newton Bollinger Tench, as well as their beloved grandchildren, Jessie R. Alden, Nathan D.T. Robinson-Alden, Philip D. Alden, Jay Tench and James Tench as well as eight other great grandchildren, Aaron, Aidenne ’18, Jameson, Julianna, Philip, Maevyn, Jacob, and Benjamin.

Don’s family would like to thank the entire staff at HospiceCare in the Berkshires for their outstanding kindness and care throughout this difficult time.

A small graveside service will be held at Clarksburg Cemetery at a later date. Donations can be made to 1st Congregational Church of Hinsdale in lieu of flowers.

Stephen Kitt Oberbeck ’56, of Sanibel, FL, passed away January 26, 2022. After receiving his diploma at Williston Academy, Steve attended Brown University and was awarded a fellowship at the Iowa Writers Workshop. From there he began a career of writing which included a decade as cultural editor at Newsweek where he wrote book, theater, art, music and film reviews.
He edited the Book & Arts page for the St Louis Post-Dispatch and wrote frequently on cultural subjects for the many publications including The New York Times, New York Post, Newsweek, Newsweek International, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and the Paris Herald Tribune. He published numerous poems, short stories and creative commentary in various national and international periodicals. In 1968 he was awarded an Alicia Patterson Foundation grant to live and travel in Europe and report on the intersection of art and technology.
As a marketing writer, coach and business analyst, he worked with many global companies including Fidelity Investments, Nomura Group, Saab, Chrysler, Exxon Mobil, PepsiCo, Price Waterhouse and Philip Morris, writing speeches for top-tier corporate executives, producing major marketing materials and conducting media & marketing seminars.
After moving to Sanibel Island, FL, Steve continued to share his craft by leading writing workshops on memoir, short story, and Great Themes film. There, he mentored many burgeoning Island authors to put in writing their first personal memoirs and works of creative fiction. Steve was a vigorous and passionate participant in weekly current events discussions at BIG Arts Center, a docent at The Shell Museum, and a regular at the Sanibel Recreation Complex where he enjoyed swimming countless laps in the pool.
Steve is survived by his daughter Sally, three grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and grandnephews.

Vic Fazio, a moderate California Democrat who became an influential party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives during his two decades on Capitol Hill, died March 16, 2022 at his home in Arlington, Va. He was 79. The cause was melanoma, said his wife, Kathy Sawyer, a retired Washington Post journalist.
A self-described institutionalist, Mr. Fazio represented the Sacramento area from 1979 to 1999 and was a member of the House Appropriations and Armed Services committees. He supported ethics reforms as well as environmental and water-reclamation programs. He provided government funding for projects in his area, including a vast wetland and wildlife preserve between Davis and Sacramento that is known as the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area. It was dedicated by President Bill Clinton in 1997. Mr. Fazio was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1994 when Republicans won control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Nevertheless, as a measure of his standing and ability to work across the aisle, he was chosen the next year as chairman of the House Democratic caucus and served for four years.
Victor Herbert Fazio Jr. was born in Winchester, Mass., on Oct. 11, 1942, and grew up partly in Madison, N.J. His father was an insurance salesman, and his mother was a homemaker and dress shop manager. He graduated in 1961 from the private Williston Academy in Easthampton, Mass., (now the Williston Northampton School) and received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1965 from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
He came to California on a Caro Foundation fellowship in public affairs and worked as a legislative consultant. He also was a co-founder, in 1970, of the now-defunct California Journal magazine, which covered state government and politics. He served in the California State Assembly before winning a U.S. House seat in 1978. After leaving Congress — he did not seek reelection in 1998 — he spent more than two decades as a lobbyist, first with the firm of Clark & Weinstock and then with Akin Gump. Over the years, his clients included Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s premier trade association. At his death, he was board chairman of the National Parks Conservation Association and served on the board of the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
His first marriage, to the former Joella Mason, ended in divorce. His second wife, Judy Neidhardt Kern, whom he married in 1983, died in 2015. A daughter from his first marriage, Anne Fazio, died in 1995 of complications from leukemia. In 2017, he married Sawyer. In addition to his wife, of Arlington, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Dana Lawrie of Granite Bay, Calif.; two stepchildren, Kevin Kern of Fair Oaks, Calif., and Kristie Kern of Portland, Ore.; and four granddaughters.

William Grant, known to friends and family as Bill, passed away November 19, 2021 at the age of 93, following a brief illness. A Harvard-educated lawyer and historian, Bill served the United States as a Foreign Service Officer for over 25 years, providing political analysis from US consulates and embassies in Italy, Belgium, Vietnam, Jamaica, Malaysia and Singapore. When posted to Washington DC, Bill performed similar work for the State Department and National Defense University. Upon retirement in 1981 he maintained his interest in domestic and foreign policy as an adjunct professor of international law at the Vermont Law School; attended OSHER courses, and participated in various political committees and current event discussion groups. Other pursuits included various choral music ensembles, frequent domestic and international travel, tennis, golf, hiking, bridge, gardening and volunteering for the Lyme town library. He was also an active member of the Lyme Congregational Church and its choir.

The second son of Williams College professor Elliott Grant and Evelyn Nay Grant, Bill grew up in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but spent vacations and summers in Lyme after his parents purchased and modernized the 1770s-era Hews farmhouse in 1937. He worked at Loch Lyme Lodge and Camp Pinnacle for several summer seasons before entering Harvard University. While in law school he met his future wife, Joan Gulick (‘Jo’), who was attending Radcliffe College, and whom he married in 1954. Prior to his appointment to the Foreign Service in 1955, Bill briefly practiced law with a firm in Boston. Together they raised 4 children overseas but maintained Lyme as their legal residence throughout his career until he retired in 1981 and returned to live in the Hews farmhouse for 36 years. In 2017 Bill and Jo moved to The Greens in Hanover after making sure the Lyme farmhouse would remain in the family.

Bill is survived by his brother James (of West Lebanon); his four children, Jennifer (of Lyme and Tucson, Arizona); Jefferson (of Bowie, Maryland); Ellen (of Coral Gables, Florida); and Nicholas (of Reno, Nevada) and their respective spouses Jeffrey Prileson, Linda Murphy, Anthony Alfieri and Theresa Garcia; nieces Elizabeth, Raingard and Sigrid; nephews Stephen and Henning; grandchildren Jason, Katherine, Vanessa, Eric, Amelia, Adrian, Elliott, Alexander, Kaitlyn and Sarah; great-grandchildren Ella and Hazel; great-nieces and nephews Amalia, Charlotte, Aven, Mavie and Simon; and cousins Barbara and Liz.

To better facilitate the attendance of community members, friends and family, a service will be held in summer of 2022 to celebrate both his life and that of his wife Jo, who passed away in July of 2020 at a time when the pandemic prevented more public participation and travel. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Bill’s passing may do so through a donation to Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org) or to the Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org), two of many organizations he supported.

Charles (Charlie) Pinnell II passed away peacefully in his home Thursday, February 24th, after a lengthy illness. He was born January 17th, 1940 to Kenneth and Marjorie (Knight) Pinnell in East Orange, NJ and raised in nearby Summit, NJ. Charlie prepped at Williston Academy in Easthampton MA, and graduated in 1959. Throughout his life, Williston held a truly special place in Charlie’s heart. It was there he developed into a fine student and where his academic curiosity and confidence were nurtured. He attended Tufts University, and graduated in Political Science in 1963, then attended Rutgers Law School, and graduated in 1966. While at Rutgers, Charlie met the love of his life, Joanne, and the two were married in September 1966. Immediately after their wedding, the couple left the east coast and moved to Washington State, settling in Bellevue where they raised their family. Charlie spent nearly his whole career with the US Attorney’s office in Seattle, representing the government in both criminal and civil cases. His friends and peers remember him as a highly capable attorney, friend, and mentor. He was a successful trial attorney who enjoyed the academic preparation for trial as much as the trial itself. He was also an excellent orator and writer, demonstrating and honing these skills throughout his career. After 30 years of service, he retired from the Department of Justice in 1998. In his retirement he pursued his love for the outdoors: skiing, fishing, and hiking with his family and friends whenever possible. Charlie was a lifelong learner and well informed. He was an avid Seahawks fan who held a season ticket for over 30 years. Amongst his strongest and most memorable traits were his sense of humor, his love for English Setters (not to mention all creatures, great and small), and sharing his genuine appreciation for the Pacific Northwest. Charlie is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Joanne V. Pinnell. He is also survived by his sister Mary and her husband Tom Zabresky of PA, his daughter, Christan Pinnell Seitz and her husband Tristan, his son Kenneth N. Pinnell, and his son Charles M. Pinnell and his wife Carla. He is also survived by his granddaughter Mahri Seitz, grandsons Brandt Seitz, Kalum Pinnell, and Mika Pinnell. He is mourned by his family, many friends, and colleagues who remember him for his wit, intelligence, and ability to find the best in others. A celebration of Charlie’s life is scheduled for June at his home in Monroe, WA.

Ted (Edward) Markham Bosworth of Ithaca, New York passed away February 15th, 2022. He was born February 1, 1933 in Lima, Peru to parents Ruth (Holway) and Kenneth Bosworth.

Ted came to the US for school at Williston Academy in MA when he was 13 and then attended Oberlin College, receiving his BS degree in Botany in 1957. School vacations were spent with family in Ithaca as it was difficult to return to Peru for visits. Ted served in the US army in Hanau, Germany for two years where he met his wife, Charlotte. They moved to the US and married in 1961.

Ted received an MLS in Library Science from Drexel University in 1963, and worked at Temple University for 5 years before returning to Ithaca with Charlotte to raise their daughters, Monica and Jenifer. Ted worked for 27 years in the Cornell University Libraries, mostly as a Bibliographer at Mann.

Ted was a long time member of the First Congregational Church of Ithaca, where he enjoyed singing in the choir and playing handbells. After retirement he volunteered for many years at the TCPL. From a young age Ted enjoyed sports (soccer and downhill skiing), camping, singing, playing the harmonica, and sharing silly poetry. He enjoyed yard work, small carpentry projects, travel and sharing songs and stories of his youth with his family. Ted was known for his humor, good nature and generous spirit. He was a wonderful father & grandfather, a loving husband, a good friend and colleague and a profoundly decent human being.

Ted was preceded in death by his parents, Ruth and Kenneth, brother Norman, and nephew Norman Ford. He is survived by his wife Charlotte, daughters Monica Bosworth Viscuso (Paul) and Jenifer Bosworth (Riccardo Casalini), his sister Peggy Bosworth Hall, and grandchildren Sophia and Francesca, Arianna and Leonardo, and Jeremy Gamble, nieces Alison Ford and Barbara Spiess.

A memorial ceremony in celebration of Ted’s life will take place at the First Congregational Church of Ithaca on Saturday May 14th at 2:00 pm. People are welcome to attend the service in person or via livestream at https://fccithaca.org/livestream/.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting either the FCC Ithaca Outreach Team or Sanctuary Ministries Team (www.fccithaca.org) or The Finger Lakes Independence Center at https://fliconline.org/FLIC/donate/