Robert M. Westover of Cutchogue, New York, formerly of Shelter Island, died Sept. 23, 2019. He was 73. Robert is survived by his life partner of 39 years, Tom Speeches; and his brother, Richard ’70, and his wife, Tamara, of Skaneateles, N.Y.
The family has chosen to remember Robert’s life privately at this time.
Rolf Hedin Bortner, 72, died Sunday evening, June 14, 2020, at his son’s home in Waymart, Pennsylvania. He was the husband of the late Catherine Ward Bortner who passed away January 25, 2012.
Born in Huntington, Long Island, he was the son of the late Robert and Siv Hedin Bortner. He was a graduate of Williston Academy where he excelled in sports, especially soccer and lacrosse. He also attended Wesleyan University. He was a proud Navy Veteran who served in the Vietnam Conflict. He was employed as a grip for the labor union Local #52 IATSE for over forty years.
Rolf enjoyed riding motorcycles and was an avid target shooter and gun collector.
Surviving are a son, Robert Bortner and his partner Brianna McAllister, and her daughter Hazel Blocker, of Waymart; a grandson, Rolf Bortner, of Waymart; a niece, Brook Bortner, of Ca.; and several other nieces and nephews on his wife’s side.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Bret Bortner ’64.
A private funeral service will be held at the convenience of the family.
Kenneth (Ken) Packard, 55, formerly of Westhampton, MA, went to be with the Lord on May 23, 2020, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Ken is admired for his determination and strength, compassion and grace, and was a loving, caring father and friend who is dearly missed.
Born in Holden, Massachusetts on February 28, 1965, he was the son of Charles and Gail (Vickery) Packard. Ken was the husband of Amanda (Morgan) Packard sharing 30 years of marriage, and is survived by a daughter, Sophie. He leaves a sister, Jennifer ’89 of Beverly, a brother, Jonathan ’93 and his wife Jennifer (Pelli ’93) Packard MD of Bedford, NH, a brother-in-law, Simon Morgan and his wife Lisa (Bouthillette) of San Antonio, TX, and a sister-in-law Belinda (Morgan) Hayden and her husband Brian of Wells, ME. He leaves four nephews: Tobias and Samuel Packard, Brian and Bailey Hayden and three nieces: Hayley and Tara Morgan, and Sara Hayden, a mother-in-law Wendy Morgan, and many cherished family members, friends, and colleagues.
Ken graduated from the Williston Northampton School, Holyoke Community College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering/aerospace. He worked as a project manager in the Physical Plant at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, in Lexington, KY, Smith and Amherst Colleges; as an Associate Director in Facilities Maintenance and Operations at Dartmouth College; and most recently as the Director of Utilities at MIT in Cambridge. He was a registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and served on many academic and professional committees.
Ken was a Deacon of Facilities at his church and enjoyed sharing the gospel with his friends and family. He loved spending summers with his entire family and friends on Branch Lake in Ellsworth, Maine, where he vacationed as a young boy. Ken swam competitively since he was seven years old through college and enjoyed boating, waterskiing, kayaking, bike riding and downhill skiing.
A Memorial Service celebrating Ken’s life will be held on Saturday, June 27th at 11:00am at Redeemer Fellowship Church, 111 Mount Auburn Street in Watertown, MA. Assisting the family is Campbell Funeral Home in Beverly, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ken’s memory to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, www.lustgarten.org, or to Redeemer Fellowship Church (Benevolence), www.redeemerfellowshipchurch.org.
Justin “Bill” Howland, 86, of Emmett, ID, formerly of Redding, CA, passed away on June 4, 2020.
Bill was born on July 1, 1933, in Northampton, Massachusetts, as the third son for Willard and Dorothy. After elementary school he attended and subsequently graduated from Williston Academy in 1951. He went on to Yale University where he majored in German and graduated in 1955. While attending New York Medical College he married Cynthia (Cindy) Hayward on June 16, 1956 in Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from New York Medical College on June 9, 1959. He then interned at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Francisco. After completing one year of internship and one year of residency at Kaiser he enlisted in the Army. During his 7 ½ years with the Army he was stationed near Paris, France for 3 of the years. After his release from the Army in January of 1969 he established a private medical practice in Redding, CA, specializing in Orthopedics. He retired from his medical practice in 1997. He was involved in Redding Rotary for 45 years as well as numerous years volunteering with the Mt Shasta Ski Patrol.
Bill is preceded in death by his parents and two of his three brothers, Allan and John.
Bill is survived by his wife of 64 years, Cindy; his brother, Richard ’47 (Miriam); his sons, Keith (Brenda), David (Lori), Scott (Cindy), Craig, and his daughter, Tracy (Chris): along with 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Memory of Bill Howland to Redding Rotary.
Domenica Margaret Duprey, 100, formerly of Cedar St., Northampton, MA, died May 15, 2020 at the Elaine Center in Hadley. She was born in Northampton on May 8, 1920, the daughter of the late Nicola and Frances (Capadice) Spinelli. She grew up on Market St. and went to Bridge St. School. She attended the Northampton School for Girls, Northampton Community Commercial College, and Holyoke and Greenfield Community Colleges.
In 1937 she went to work at McCallum’s Hosiery Company for four years. She was a WAC in the United States Army during WWII. Domenica was a Medical Aidman who worked in the surgical ward as a Nurse’s Assistant until discharged in 1946. In 1949 she married her husband of 48 years, Louis F. Duprey. Domenica later worked at the Northampton State Hospital until 1968. She worked as a Book Keeper for the University of Massachusetts until retiring in 1983. She enjoyed sewing and crocheting. Domenica and Louis loved to travel to Cape Cod in the summer.
She was predeceased by her husband Louis, her daughter Donna Duprey and her sisters Mary Isaacson and Ann Goodhind. Domenica leaves her son Gary Duprey of Northampton and Nicholas Duprey of Easthampton, her brother Vito Spinelli, grandchildren Spencer, Peter and Alicia, and great grandchildren Gabriel, Lucas and Madilyn. The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at Elaine Manor who, over these past 10 years, took such great care of “Minnie”.
The funeral and burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery will be private. Czelusniak Funeral Home is in charge.
Alexander Dawson Henderson III, age 96, passed away peacefully in his home in Carmel Valley on May 12, 2020.
He was born in New York City on March 26, 1924. After graduating from Williston Academy in Easthampton, Massachusetts, he joined the U.S. Army in 1943. After the war, using the G.I. Bill, he went to college and graduated from San Jose State University in 1950. Soon after college, he moved to Pompano Beach, Florida, and created the Gold Coast Finance Company to provide credit to middle-income consumers. He purchased farmland in Fresno, Madera, and Bakersfield, CA. He grew almonds, apples, and kiwifruit. He was the owner of racehorses, including “Kiwi Mint” that in 1992, won the Rockingham Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Rockingham Park. In 1997, he and his wife Madonna moved to Carmel Valley, CA.
Mr. Henderson was an active member of his community, participating in bridge, tennis, and golf. In 2008, he earned enough Masterpoints to win the title of “Life Master” from the American Contract Bridge League.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Madonna (Donna) Marie Schaffner, and his five children, Dawson (Sharon), Greg (Louise), David (Lindsey), Scott (Sandra), and daughter, Holly (Bijan) from a previous marriage to Patricia Ford Crass; and his brother A. Douglas Henderson. He is also survived by ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all living in the California bay area.
He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. A family memorial will be held at a future date. Special thanks to Visionary Health Care Services and VNA Hospice that took such good care of him. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the VNA Hospice (www.ccvna.com) or the SPCA for Monterey (www.spcamc.org).
Agkarajit “Peter” Panomwon na Ayutthaya died unexpectedly on Friday morning, May 8, 2020 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Consul Agkarajit was the Honorary Consul of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of the Philippines to the Upper North of Thailand from 2014 to 2019.
Consul Agkarajit was a member of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Thailand. He was a descendant of King Rama 2. Royal flames which will be used for his cremation will be flown from Bangkok.
His wake is being held at Wat Pa Phaeng in their newly built funeral viewing/prayer rooms. Cremation will be on Tuesday, May 12.
The Consul Corps of Chiang Mai paid their respects to the late Agkarajit Phanomvan Na Ayudhya, former Honorary Consul of the Republic of the Philippines, Upper Northern Thailand.
Jackson, Wyoming resident Robert “Bob” Graham died peacefully March 19, 2020 at his home with his wife, Karen, and their dog, Luna, by his side. He was 84.
Bob’s love for Jackson was limitless, and his legacy of service and generosity will forever be imprinted on this community. Bob started his career in Jackson in 1970 working at the Crystal Springs Hotel and later transitioned into real estate by starting a property management company in 1972 called Underground, Inc., which later became Real Estate of Jackson Hole. After the sale of Real Estate of Jackson Hole, Bob went on to be one of the founders of Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates in 2009. He represented some of the most iconic and record-breaking transactions in the region and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Teton Board of Realtors in 2005. He was an accomplished businessman, effective community leader, philanthropist and friend.
He is survived by his wife, Karen; children Monica, Tait, Duncan and Andrew; and grandchildren Robby, Olivia, Tatum, Finnegan, Greta, Greyson and Thea.
There will be a celebration of Bob’s remarkable life this summer; details will follow.
David W. Chase of Scottsdale, AZ, formerly of Cotuit, MA and Wellesley, MA, died peacefully in Scottsdale, AZ on April 30, 2020 after a brief illness.
Dave was a graduate of Williston Academy and Trinity College. Dave had a successful career at Honeywell Industries, Keane Associates and Digital Corporation. He loved his home by the ocean and enjoyed sailing and collecting antiques. He was a past member of the Hyannis Yacht Club. Dave was very active in the “Church of Pies of Cape Cod” with the Mashpee Congregational Church and the Barnstable Newcomers.
Dave leaves behind his wife, Joan and daughters Cathy and husband, John Kozak of Phoenix, AZ and Chris and husband Dave West of Ponce Inlet, FL, grandchildren Chelsea, Chase and Zachary, his brother Dick Chase and wife Marty of Ipswich, MA and nephews and nieces, Brian, Nancy, Paul and Karen and brother-in-law Dana Walston and wife Andrea of Weymouth, MA and nephew and nieces, Katie, John and Beth. A service will be held in Cotuit, MA later this year.
Audrey E. (Morgan) Leaf died peacefully on April 9, 2020 with her loving husband, Carlton at her side. She was 89.
She was born on Nov. 13, 1930 in Worcester, to Janet and Charles Hill Morgan.
She and her brother, George were raised in Athens, Greece. Prior to the outbreak of World War II the family returned to Amherst. Audrey attended Northampton School for Girls and upon graduation enrolled at Colby College. After two years at Colby she followed her dream and enrolled at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital nursing program and became capped a registered nurse.
Audrey and Carl were married in Amherst in September 1953 and honeymooned in Chilmark at the family cottage.
Married life began in New York city followed by relocations to Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Pearl River, N.Y. In 1979, Audrey and Carl moved to Chilmark year round.
Audrey was a homemaker raising their four children and was very active in church and community affairs. She was a communicant and past senior warden at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven. She helped set up and run the early years of lobster roll dinners at Grace Church, served many ice hockey families at the Puck Stop and at the Street Fair. She volunteered at the hospital and Thrift Shop, where she always brought home more than she donated.
Her home was full of laughing children with at least one dog looking for treats, cats running away from the commotion and the birds waiting for their feeder to be filled.
She is survived by her husband of 67 years; her sister Prudence Fitts of Wolfboro, N.H., her brother George of Chilmark; Her daughters Karen, of Putnam, Conn., and Kirstin Labby of North Grosvenordale Conn; sons Eric of Dix Hills, N.Y. and Nils (Gus) of Edgartown; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Private interment was held at Abel’s Hill Cemetery on April 14 under the direction of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Oak Bluffs.
