Elizabeth Whitridge Marble was born on January 15, 1932 and passed away on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.
Elizabeth was a resident of Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Category Archives: 1950s
Raymond Montgomery ’54
Author R.A. Montgomery, co-founder of the company that first published the popular Choose Your Own Adventure interactive book series in the 1970s, died at his home in Warren, Vt., on November 9 following a brief illness. He was 78.
Montgomery was born in Connecticut in 1936. Growing up in New England, he attended Williston Academy before matriculating at Williams College, from which he graduated in 1958. Throughout his early life and education he developed a passion for finding and developing innovative teaching methods that inspired children to learn. Among his achievements in this area were his role as assistant dean of faculty at Columbia University from 1963–65 and the 1966 founding of the Waitsfield Summer School in Vermont, which featured an experiential curriculum and used gaming to teach math. Montgomery went on to develop role-playing games for the Edison Electric Institute and for training programs used in the Peace Corps.
William Yahn ’54
William “Bill” Yahn passed away on December 14, 2014.
Bill was the son of Earl Edwin and Martha Blodgett Yahn of Fairfield, CT and Santa Barbara, CA. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Nancy; sister Meredith Grenier of Palos Verdes, CA; devoted daughter and son-in-law Betsy and Chris Gillon; and 4 adoring grandchildren.
Bill was born in Detroit, MI on March 20, 1937. After graduating Trinity College (CT) in 1959, he served in the U.S. Navy as Lieutenant (J.G.), then earning an M.B.A. at the Wharton School of Business. His early life was spent in Fairfield, CT, but he and his family moved to Maryland, Mississippi and then Austin in 1981. He was a partner at Harrison-Pearson and Associates from 1991 until his retirement in January 2014.
Bill was a member of the Austin Rotary Club throughout his professional life, and a member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, singing in its choir for many years. He was a passionate fisherman and enjoyed training his two dogs, Bart (deceased) and Sam.
Peter Clapp ’56
Peter Dudley Clapp died at his home on Monday, November 10, 2014, at the age of 78.
Peter was born in Framingham, MA. He graduated from Williston Academy in Easthampton, MA, attended Dennison University in Ohio, Clark University in Worcester, MA and served in the United States Army.
He was President and CEO of Stafford Iron Works in Worcester, MA.
After retiring in 1996, he and his wife, Brenda moved to Marco Island. Peter loved music and had been involved with many choral groups, both in New England and the Marco Island area. He was a former vice-president of the Marco’s Men’s Club, a member of the Marco Island Historical Society, and past member and instructor of the Marco Island Sail and Power Squadron. He was an active member of the Wesley United Methodist Church where he served as a choir member, soloist, and hymn leader.
Peter is survived by his wife, Brenda ( Booth) Clapp; their daughter, Hilary (Derek) Kreitenstein; three grandchildren, Jonathan, Alexandra, and Samantha, as well as his brother Gerald; and sister, Janet (Clapp) Mortenson.
He was preceded in death by his son, Jonathan Welles Clapp.
Frank Lemanski ’52
Frank S. Lemanski, 82, formerly of Paradise Drive, Easthampton, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2104, at Genesis Health Care Center in Westfield.
Frank was born Dec. 2, 1931, in Northampton, son of the late Walter E. and Stella (Boltz) Lemanski. He was educated at the former Sacred Heart of Jesus School, a graduate of Williston Academy both in Easthampton, and had attended Springfield Technical College.
Frank was a U.S. veteran of the Korean War.
He was employed for many years at the Douglas Galleries in Deerfield. Frank was a communicant of the former Sacred Heart of Jesus Church for most of his life, and now a communicant of Our lady of the Valley Parish in Easthampton. He was a member of the American Legion Dalton LaVallee Post 224 and had been a Little League coach in Easthampton for several years.
Frank leaves his caring brother Chester Lemanski of Colorado Springs, Colorado; his loving four nieces and nephew, Stella McVicker, Vera Broyles, Carol Breen, Kathleen Bachand and Walter Lemanski; his adored grandniece and nephew Catherine Breen and her friend Matt Thomas and Donald Breen, his wife Christina and their daughter Ella. Frank was predeceased by his beloved siblings Celia Torrey, Stanley Lemanski and Walter E. Lemanski.
Winslow Spofford ’52
Winslow M. Spofford, 80, passed away on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester.
He was born May 26, 1934 in Holden and was a life-long resident. He attended Holden High School and graduated from Williston Academy in Easthampton. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. While at WPI, he was an enthusiastic member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He regularly attended high school and college reunions and greatly enjoyed reconnecting with his friends during these times.
David Ming-Li Lowe ’54
David Ming-Li Lowe ’54, passed away on September 24, 2013, in Los Angeles, California.
Born in Shanghai to a father who was a foreign-service officer for the Chinese Nationalist Party, the Kuomingtang, and a graduate of the University of Chicago, David was educated in Calcutta, India, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the U.S., and was, in his early years, “a mirror of the political, social, and economic make-up of my diplomat parents.”
At the encouragement of his older brother, David enrolled at Reed. “My two years at Reed were years of change and discovery. For someone as naive as I, secluded from society by gated prep schools, the freedom of action, the newly made acquaintance of the other sex, and the involvement of weightier issues all helped to form the person I am today.”
Donald Cutting ’53
Donald W. Cutting, 79, of Honolulu, an architect and a Connecticut National Guard veteran, died in Honolulu. The family had known for months because he had a terminal illness. He was active up to two days before he died, though certainly progressively less active.
He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Williston Academy in 1953. Don loved his Williston experience and the friendships he made. Over the years, he “dragged” his wife to several reunions and some of his Williston friends became her’s as well.
He is survived by wife Merrill W., daughters Sarah Cutting Mills and Colby E. Van Alen, and five grandchildren.
Honorable (Ret.) Joseph R. Welch ’53
The Honorable (Ret.) Joseph R. Welch of Plymouth, MA, a former Massachusetts Trial Court Judge known for his fairness and optimism, died on October 11, 2014. He was 79. Gov. Michael Dukakis appointed Judge Welch to the bench in 1990. He retired from the bench in 2004. Born in Randolph, MA, he was a graduate of Williston Academy in 1953 and Bates College in 1957. He served as a gunnery officer on the USS Hawkins DDR-873 of the 6th Fleet, U.S. Navy for 3 years. He earned his law degree at Boston College Law School in 1963.
He joined the law firm Welch & Welch in Randolph and began many years of public service from 1964-1990, including Town Moderator of Randolph. He served as an assistant district attorney in Norfolk County from 1968-1975 trying many felony and murder cases. Judge Welch was a past president of the Norfolk County Bar Association. In 1980, he was the founder of the Norfolk Bar Advocates program representing indigent defendants in all the courts of Norfolk County serving as president Pro Bono until 1990. He was the first jury judge at the Quincy District Court. He was the founder, executive director and general counsel for the Randolph Housing Authority for many years. As past President of the Mass. Heart Association and Vice President of the N.E. Chapter of the American Heart Association, he received the Paul Dudley White award in 1993. Judge Welch was a longtime member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and a retired Commander in the US Navy Reserve.
He is survived by his wife Barbara (West), two sons, George N. Welch, MD of NY City, Joseph R. Welch Jr, Esq. of Hong Kong, a daughter Breena W. Holmes, MD of Middlebury, VT. His legacy is left in Sam, Nick and Jane Holmes and Claire, Cate and Jack Welch, his six grandchildren. His wise voice will be missed.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Baxter King ’52
ELIZABETH “BETSY” KING, 78, a former teacher, devoted wife, and loving parent and grand-parent, died Thursday, July 18, 2013, surrounded by her loving daughters, Katharine Ann King, Leslie Bryant King and Sandra Dickson King and her grand-daughter, Jennifer King Marks.
Born in Springfield MA, on Aug. 2, 1934, she attended Northampton School for Girls, graduating in 1952 and then went to Wheelock College earning a degree in Early Childhood Education.
She married her hometown sweet-heart, Bill King on Aug. 18, 1956.
Following Bill’s retirement from IBM, Betsy and Bill became part owners of Five Star Travel in Hopewell Junction NY, taking full advantage of all the perks.
In 1989, they moved to Colorado Springs CO, to enjoy the Western life style. Bill and Betsy returned East to Morris CT in 1994, where they enjoyed horseback riding, hiking in the Litchfield Hills, and canoeing. In 1999, they moved to Heritage Village and continued to enjoy travels to exotic lands and wintering in warm places. Following Bill’s death in 2011, Betsy moved to The Quadrangle in Haverford PA to be closer to family. Despite missing Bill greatly, Betsy continued to expand her horizons, traveling solo, organizing bridge games, exploring Phila., joining the iG, getting her ears pierced and even becoming a model. She loved going to Jennifer’s concerts, visiting family and friends and walking her little dog, Tia.
Betsy touched the lives of everyone she knew and will be missed.