A memorial celebration for Francis J. Paciello will be held on Sunday, Sept. 22 from 1 to 5 pm at the family home at 50 Red Pony Rd. in West Tisbury. Memorial donations may be made in Fran’s name to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 1748, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
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The Lucas family is saddened to announce the passing of Robert P. Lucas Jr. on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019.
Bob was born on Martha’s Vineyard in 1962. He graduated from Upper Cape Vocational High School in Bourne in the class of 1981, and obtained his master electrician license at the age of 19. He was gifted in all aspects of his trade, and later branched out into large-scale generator work.
Bob was helpful and kind to his parents, and to anyone who was down on their luck. Martha’s Vineyard was a big part of his life, and he always spoke of his love of the Island and the lifelong friends he made there. In the last year of his life, he developed a strong spiritual connection.
Bob will be remembered for his quick wit, love of animals and all things electrical, and his caring spirit.
Bob is survived by his parents, Robert P. Lucas Sr. of Middleboro and Mary Lucas of Marion; his sister, Betsy Babbitt, her husband Ben, and their son Barry, all of Orlando, Fla.; his brother, Daniel Lucas, his wife Jennifer, and their daughter Charlotte, all of Wareham; his dear friend, Carol Rhoads of Marion; and his devoted kitty, Zooey.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to CARE Acushnet, a cat and dog shelter. Please send checks to Carol Rhoads, 8 Lady Slipper Lane, Marion, MA 02738.
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Louis Finkelstein, 98, of Boynton Beach, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 2, 2019. Both his sons, David and Martin, were with him when he died in his sleep, as well as his companion Renee Link.
He was born in Poland, and his mother brought him, his brother, and two sisters to New York in 1927. His father had come a year earlier, and established a live poultry market in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They lived nearby, then later moved to Brooklyn.
He served in the Army during WWII, and was stationed in the Philippines and New Guinea. When he returned in 1946, he opened a butcher shop on 9th Avenue and 42nd St. in Manhattan. He and his wife Shirlee later moved to Fresh Meadows in Queens, N.Y.
He would later return to the Philippines, establishing a food-importing business. His nickname was “Filipino Lou” on 9th Avenue, and at that time he created a 9th Avenue Street Fair, mostly food, that closed the street for six blocks. He had a close relationship with President Estrada of the Philippines that was cemented when Estrada was a mayor, and Lou sent food to his town during a devastating flood.
The most important thing in his life was family. His wife Shirlee and his two sons, David and Martin, were the center of his life. On his day off on Sunday, it was always the visits to his parents and Shirlee’s parents in Brooklyn. Then years later on Sundays, to the baseball batting cages with his sons, and Deli Masters corned beef for lunch.
His wife Shirlee passed away in 1977, and two years later he moved to Boynton Beach, Fla. In 2002 he met Renee Link, and they lived together until his death. They shared a beautiful relationship, and lived in the community of Bayan Springs.
His son David moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 1973 with his wife Molly and baby Ellie. Lou and Shirlee would visit at least twice a year. He became a good tennis player quickly, learning from his handball days at Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. His son Marty and he had some good matches with Stan Hart and a partner, and they usually left the court with smiles.
He led by example. He gave his boys strong values to live by — the values of family, education, friendship, and the wonderful country we live in.
He is survived by his loving companion, Renee Link; his sons David and Martin, his loving daughters-in-law Molly Finkelstein and Julie Austin; his grandchildren, Ellie Wise and husband Steve, and Alex Finkelstein and his wife Amy; and his great-grandchildren, Anna Wise, Henry Wise, Emma Finkelstein, Lily Wise, and Andrew Finkelstein.
He will be missed.
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Gail A. (Parsons) Finan, 73, of Ayer, formerly of Leominster and Martha’s Vineyard, died Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Rose Monahan Hospice House, Worcester.
Mrs. Finan was born in Salem on Jan. 4, 1946, a daughter of Ralph Parsons and Dorothy (Toomey) Spofford, and resided on Martha’s Vineyard and in Leominster before moving to Ayer 30 years ago. She was a 1963 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, and continued her education at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.
Mrs. Finan worked as an administrative assistant at Fidelity Investments in Boston before retiring in 2014. Prior to that she had worked at Digital Equipment Corp., Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard. She was a talented painter, specializing in acrylics, and for 15 years volunteered at the Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon.
She leaves her husband of 38 years, William H. Finan; her son and daughter-in-law, David R. and Kathleen Baker of Holyoke; her daughter, Julie Ann Baker of Nashua, N.H.; her brother, Steven Spofford of Marietta, Ga.; two sisters, June Ayres of Plastow, N.H., and Dorothy Henry of Butler, Mo. She also leaves nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, Paul Harrington Baker, and her stepfather, Donald Spofford.
Funeral services will be held at 11 am Friday, Sept. 20, at the Anderson Funeral Home, 25 Fitchburg Rd. (Route 2A), Ayer. For additional information, or to leave an online condolence, please visit their website at andersonfuneral.com. Calling hours are 4 to 7 pm Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pan-Mass Challenge at pmc.org/wf0011.
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Eric Lee Voshell, 39, of Oak Bluffs, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 14, at the Rhode Island Hospital. He was born in Worcester, the son of Carol (Palmer) and Harley Voshell Sr. who predeceased him.
Eric was raised in Marlborough and attended Marlborough High School. He was a graduate of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. Eric was the owner of Reliable HVACR Company and was also a volunteer firefighter in Oak Bluffs.
A devout catholic, Eric loved Saint Basil’s in Methuen. He also had a passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Eric is survived by his wife, Katherine (Tewhey) Voshell, his son Ian of Hudson, his daughters, Lillian and Grace of Oak Bluffs, his brothers, Robert Schofield (Charlene Lantron) of Marlborough, Richard Schofield,of Marlborough, and Harley Voshell of Marlborough; his sisters, Lisa Kelley (Walter) of Marlborough, and Lori Lajoie of Marlborough and his in laws, Karen and Jim Tewhey of Oak Bluffs.
He is predeceased by his brother, Wayne Schofield.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, September 19, from 5 to 7pm, at Chapman, Cole, & Gleason Funeral Home, 56 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. His funeral mass will be celebrated on Friday, September 20, at 11am in St. Augustine’s, 56 Franklin St., Vineyard Haven. Burial will follow at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Oak Bluffs.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Vineyard House, PO Box 4599, 56 Short Hill Rd., Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, 508-693-8580, or online at http://www.vineyardhouse.org/donate-now.
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Jane C. (Whiting) Wiley, 96, died on Wednesday, Sept 18, 2019 at her home in Edgartown. She was predeceased by her husband, Henry H. Wiley. Her funeral service will be held at a later date and a complete obituary will appear in another edition of this paper.
Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.
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A memorial funeral service for John J. Lynch will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 11 am at St. Elizabeth’s Church, Main Street in Edgartown. Burial will follow in the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown.
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Eugenia T. Whitlock, known as Gene, passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home in West Tisbury on Sept. 16, 2019, with her son, daughter, son-in-law Chris Decker, and caregiver Margaret Singh by her side. Gene lived a rewarding 88 years filled with travel, the companionship of three husbands, and the raising of two children and four stepchildren.
Born in Hollywood on Jan. 15, 1931, she spent most of her life in California, with the memorable exceptions of high school in Texas, a summer in a sheepherder’s wagon in the Wyoming backcountry, a few years in Guatemala, and then finally residing in Falmouth. Her travels included each of the U.S. states, and parts of Latin America, Europe, and Canada. Much of her U.S. travels were accomplished in a camper van, alone or with one of her husbands.
She is survived by her two children, Steve Hubbard of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Nelia Decker of West Tisbury; her stepchildren, Christina Whitlock of California and her brothers Scott and Todd Whitlock. She was predeceased by her stepdaughter Lisa Whitlock, and her husbands, William
Hubbard, Donald Whitlock, and Lefty Murdock.
Gene especially loved the California Sierra Mountains, where her ashes will be scattered. Her parting words were, “I have not been cheated.”
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Alexis J. Anderson of Newton and West Tisbury, teacher, mother, and wife, died peacefully on Sept. 20, 2019, of cancer.
Alexis and her husband were regular visitors to the Vineyard while their two children were young, and became part-time West Tisbury residents in 2008. Her plan to become a full-time Vineyard resident following her retirement was interrupted by her illness.
She was born in 1951, the only child of Wesley E. Anderson and Jane W. Anderson, formerly of Centerville, Del. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Wake Forest University. After two years of teaching in Georgia public schools, she attended a joint degree program at the University of Virginia, which awarded her a master’s degree in legal history and a law degree in 1978.
Alexis was in private legal practice in Philadelphia, Pa., for five years following her law school graduation. In 1983, she became a clinical professor at Boston College Law School. Alexis’s academic career principally included serving as a clinical supervisor, and, for five years, director at the Boston College Legal Services LAB, which provides civil representation to low-income clients in communities surrounding the law school. She also designed and taught first-year experiential courses, directed externship programs, and offered courses on professional responsibility and legal history.
Combining her loves of teaching and travel, Alexis led courses in law school and university programs in London, Paris, Beijing, and Tashkent. She authored numerous publications and presentations, principally in the field of clinical legal education. With her retirement in June 2019, she became an associate clinical professor emerita at Boston College Law School.
At her retirement party, faculty colleagues offered up one-word descriptors of Alexis. Topping the list were generous and thoughtful. Others included leader, gracious, humble, adoring-mother, fantastic-colleague, supportive, loving, organized, compassionate, and upbeat.
Apart from her teaching and family, a portrait of Alexis must include her passion for the pursuit of social justice, her love of political dialogue, and the pleasures she took from baking (to the delight of her family and friends) and reading (like her mother, she never went anywhere without one or more books within reach). She delighted in her annual Mother’s Day plunge into the chilly early spring waters of Lambert’s Cove, which originated after a challenge from her older daughter. By summer, her routines included swimming laps along the beach, trips to farmers markets, and sending progress reports on the local nesting osprey pair to her daughters.
Alexis is survived by her husband of 35 years, Alexander A. Notopoulos Jr.; their two daughters, Andrea (“Andy”) and Margaret (“Maggie”) Notopoulos, and her sister-in-law, Patricia Notopoulos.
The time and place of a celebration of Alexis’ life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Boston College Law School for the benefit of the Boston College Legal Services LAB (BC Law Advancement Office, Cadigan Alumni Center, 2121 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton, MA 02135, or at bc.edu/givelaw, selecting “Other” and designating Law-BC Legal Services LAB under “I wish to make my gift to”).
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Barbara Baylor (Norton) MacKay passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 2019, in Bangor, Maine.
Born in Cambridge on Dec. 14, 1931, the daughter of Mary Woolfolk Norton and John Russell Norton, Barbara grew up in Wellesley, and was a graduate of Wellesley High School. She attended Mount Vernon Junior College in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Modern School of Design in Boston. A lover of fashion, art, and art history, she worked in retail clothing, and at different times took up dressmaking, painting, antiquing, rug hooking, and even house design, showing talent for each. From her earliest years she adored animals, especially dogs, cats, and the horses she rode during summers in Hinsdale, N.H.
Barbara was above all devoted to her family. In Boston, she met Mel MacKay of Syracuse, N.Y., and their marriage spanned 54 years, taking them from the Boston area to Rochester and Corning, N.Y., and then to Needham, where she worked at Elaine’s dress shop. In 1972, Barbara, Mel, and family moved to Martha’s Vineyard, an island they had fallen in love with, where Barbara designed the new house they built outside Oak Bluffs — though she later found the early 19th century house of her dreams on Main Street in Vineyard Haven. During the Vineyard years she opened a boutique in Edgartown called Marque III East, then went to work for Murray’s in Vineyard Haven. Trips to England, Scotland, Europe, and Bermuda delighted her, as did return trips to Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks, where she and Mel had honeymooned, and to Maine and Nova Scotia. Barbara and Mel moved to East Dennis in 1987. After his death in 2008, Barbara spent her last years quietly in assisted living, first at Thirwood Place on Cape Cod and finally at Sylvia Ross Home and Ross Manor in Bangor, enjoying attentive and affectionate care as her dementia became increasingly limiting. Thanks also to the people at Aging Excellence for wonderful companionship and support.
Barbara was a gentle soul, full of good humor, and quick with puns and quips. When life was a challenge, she was the last person to complain or think of herself. She will be greatly missed by family and friends, including sons Jack of Putney, Vt., and Mel and his wife, Laura, of Bangor; grandchildren Gordon of Idaho, Scout of Mexico City, and Tim and his wife Jiani Wang of New Jersey and Bangor; devoted sister Betty Dolan of Yarmouth Port and her children Annie, Kari, Debbie, and Josh, and their families; a nephew who is more like a son, Jeff Brown, and his wife, Karen, and their children, Matt and Allison (the Martha’s Vineyard branch of the family); sister-in-law Janet Kittley and her daughters Beth and Susan, of Minnesota; as well as cousins and friends both near and far. In addition to her parents, Barbara was predeceased by daughter-in-law Karen McDowell MacKay, brothers-in-law Robert Dolan and William Kittley, and sister-in-law Joan MacKay Brown.
In lieu of flowers, those who love Barbara are encouraged to donate to their favorite charity. A service on Cape Cod is planned for Saturday, Oct. 5, at 10 am at Doane, Beale & Ames Funeral Home, 729 Route 134, South Dennis, MA 02660. Condolences to the family may be expressed at brookingssmith.com.
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Her smile — radiant, playful, irreverent — spoke volumes about her approach to life and death. Surrounded by family, Elizabeth Madden Guittar passed away on Sept. 18, 2019, at her home in Katama. She was 78.
Born Carole Elizabeth Madden in Scotia, N.Y., to Farrell and Evelyn Madden, she graduated from Scotia-Glenville High School in 1959. She landed her first job at General Electric in nearby Schenectady. Blue-eyed and leggy, with movie-star beauty, she was tapped to model in the company’s newsletter, and later served as a hostess at the GE pavilion at the 1964–65 World’s Fair in New York City, where her gams earned her second place in Dupont’s Prettiest Legs at the Fair competition.
Elizabeth spent most of her adult life in New York City, where she was a longtime resident of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, the source of many of her dearest friends. Elizabeth’s marriage to Lee Guittar, a newspaper executive, in 1979 took her and her family to live in Dallas, Denver, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Later in life she divided her time between the Vineyard, where she was a summer resident for 35 years, and Fort Lauderdale.
As the wife of a newspaperman, Elizabeth socialized and traveled widely, bringing her into contact with prominent politicians, businesspeople, athletes, and entertainers. And though she was a small-town girl who never went to college, she could hold her own in conversation with anyone. She was equally at ease rubbing elbows with presidents as with “poor souls,” her name for the assortment of characters who gravitated to her throughout her life. She liked to quip that “no good deed goes unpunished,” but she was generous to a fault.
On the Island, Elizabeth was active in the Katama Association and Meals on Wheels. She was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club and Farm Neck Golf Club, and especially prized her membership in the Pink Squid Yacht Club (PSYC). Every summer she looked forward to family traditions such as sunset picnics in Menemsha and drums on State Beach, and events such as the fireworks in Oak Bluffs, the Ag Fair in West Tisbury, and the Fourth of July parade in Edgartown. Two of her happiest Island memories were hearing James Taylor and Carly Simon sing together at Livestock ’95, and hosting the Vineyard Sound for a private birthday concert for her mother. She delighted in celebrity sightings with her children and grandchildren, orchestrating several “chance” encounters with the Clintons and Obamas over the years. Undoubtedly Elizabeth’s favorite pastime was sitting on her front porch on Edgartown Bay Road, greeting neighbors, friends, and passersby. She was known to offer strangers hydrangeas from her garden or invite them up to the porch for an impromptu cocktail.
Elizabeth was a voracious reader, news junkie, and avid follower of local happenings on her police scanner, but she expressed her true joie de vivre in the kitchen, turning out dishes that rivaled those of her hero, Julia Child. Already recognized by family and friends as a first-class cook and entertainer, she enrolled in the French Culinary Institute in New York, graduating in 1998. Food, wine, and laughter flowed around Chef Elizabeth’s table, and many cherished memories were created over leisurely meals there. Even when her deteriorating health prevented her from cooking, she indulged her passion, watching the Food Network with her children and grandchildren, and posting recipes on social media.
While her long illness sapped her strength and energy, Elizabeth never lost her sharpness or the twinkle in her eye. To know her was to love her, and her absence will leave an enormous void in many lives. She wouldn’t want us to mourn her, but that would be impossible.
Elizabeth is survived by her husband of 39 years, Lee J. Guittar; children Elisabeth Brew, Daniel C. Shedrick Jr., and Kathryn Shedrick; grandchildren Maggie, Daniel, Ellie, Will, Thea, Katie, Pucky, and Evelyn; brothers Dennis and Michael Madden; five stepchildren, 14 step-grandchildren, nine step-great-grandchildren — a brood in which she delighted and took great pride. Drawn by her warmth, generosity, and sense of humor, “Gigi,” short for Grandma Guittar, was also a surrogate mother and grandmother to countless friends and relatives, especially the sons of her late sister, Judith Rapavy. Her nephew Barry Rapavy was like a son to her.
Recognizing her wishes, funeral services will be private. A memorial service will be announced in the future.
Contributions in the name of Elizabeth Madden Guittar may be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, at stjude.org/donate.
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Jane Carolyn (Whiting) Wiley, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt, of Edgartown, passed away at home on September 18, 2019. She was 96.
Jane Carolyn (Whiting) Wiley was born to Franklin and Harriet Whiting on June 26, 1923 at Orange, New Jersey. She attended school and graduated from Orange High School. Jane remembered fondly childhood visits with her uncle, aunt and cousins at their farm in Montgomery, Alabama, and vacations on the beaches in New Jersey. She loved the outdoors and summer camp in New York.
After high school graduation, Jane enrolled in the Jersey City Medical Center School of Nursing at Jersey City, New Jersey, where she received the School of Nursing Distinguished Service Award, Hague Medal, and Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital Award. She was licensed as a New Jersey Registered Nurse on February 3, 1945. On March 10, 1945 she was commissioned as Ensign in the Nurses Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve, and served on active duty during WWII from June 26, 1945 to September 20, 1946. On June 23, 1945 she was appointed U. S. Navy Reserve Nurse, and she was honorably discharged from the Navy on February 28, 1951. Her active service was at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia, and at the U. S. Naval Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia as Ward Supervisor.
Following her military service, she attended Pembroke College at Brown University from 1946-1949, and graduated on June 20, 1949 Summa Cum Laude, as salutatorian, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and the Elisha Benjamin Andrews Fellowship to graduate school.
On June 25, 1949, Jane married Henry Wiley, and when Henry completed law school they moved to Toms River, New Jersey. There they purchased and gradually renovated a mid-19th century farmstead in Silverton, New Jersey. They raised five children, Bruce, Barbara, David, Thomas, and Charles, in the countryside and cultivated gardens of flowers and vegetables. They vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard, where Henry’s grandfather had a cottage since 1917 and eventually moved to Edgartown after Henry’s retirement in 1998. Jane raised dogs and horses, was a 4-H leader, played piano, enjoyed needlework, knitting, hooking rugs, classical music and opera, gardening, camping, skiing, swimming, clamming, and tennis. She was very creative, and excelled in all of her projects, winning prizes for her original hooked rugs about Vineyard history. She was a doll artist and for several years she exhibited her original dolls, characters of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol at Toms River Historical Society and the Edgartown library. She generously shared her knowledge of cooking, handiworks, gardening, etc. with all who asked. Jane was an avid reader and enjoyed genealogical research and was proud of her Mayflower heritage. She was a member of the MV antique club, MV doll club, and MV garden club. She and Henry enjoyed traveling with Henry’s sister Polly and husband Charles Clark, and his sister, Bobbie and Jim Morley. Henry passed away on June 26, 2013. They were married for 64 years. In her final years Jane enjoyed activities at Edgartown Council of Aging Anchors Program. Jane will be buried with Henry at the Edgartown Cemetery, Edgartown, Massachusetts.
Jane is survived by sons Bruce (Julien), David (Patricia), Thomas (Laura), and Charles (Christine), and daughter Barbara and Michael Tuccolo, eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, brother-in-law James Morley, nephews Thomas and John Morley, Peter and Thomas Clark, and nieces Carolyn Morley and Susan Blackerby, as well as their spouses, and cousins Barbara (Weil) Rudlin, Joanne (Weil) Adams and Harriet (Leahey) SanFillipo.
Memorial donations may be given to the Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, PO Box 1748, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, or Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living (Anchors), PO Box 1729, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
Burial will be at a 1 pm graveside service at the New Westside, No. 433, Edgartown Cemetery, Oct. 26, 2019, followed by a memorial service at the home of Charles and Christine Wiley, 29 Indian Hollow Road, West Tisbury, MA 02575.
The family of Jane Wiley wishes to thank Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, and Jane’s private caregivers for their dedication and support.
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Elinor Abbott Stewart passed away in the night of September 1, 2019. She was 93. She is survived by her sons and daughter, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Elinor was born in Winchester and grew up in Reading, the daughter of George Abbott and Cora Look of the Lambert’s Cove Look family. She summered almost every year of her life on the Island, often traveling alone by train from Reading the day after school ended as a youngster and young adult. The three years that she did not join her mother’s family on the Vineyard, she was in Japan with her own family including her husband Bob Stewart.
Elinor graduated from the University of New Hampshire where she met Bob. After Bob graduated from West Point, the two were married at the Lambert’s Cove Methodist Church in 1946. She enjoyed being a military wife and mother, bearing well with the constant moving of the household, for over 30 years. In 1983 Bob and Elinor built a house on her beloved hill on the family property overlooking Lambert’s Cove and they split their year between there and at their residence in Arlington, Virginia.
Over the years, Elinor was an active walker and tennis player, a reader (especially mysteries), and a collector of American antiques. She doted on three generations of children and loved to visit the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs to exhort them on to get the brass ring, which she often got as a young girl.
Elinor was very proud of her heritage on Martha’s Vineyard and enjoyed very much all her childhood friends. A day was not complete without her speaking with someone that knew someone that knew someone else on the Island.
We will all miss her and visiting the Vineyard will never be quite the same.
A service will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, November 2, at Lambert’s Cove Cemetery followed by a reception overlooking Lambert’s Cove at her house on the hill.
If desired, donations may be sent in Elinor’s name to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, PO Box 1748 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
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Dr. Maureen Ann Strafford of Cambridge passed away on September 18, 2019 at the age of 69 at home surrounded by her beloved family and wearing her favorite “flanney.”
She valiantly fought Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer for over three and a half years. She is survived by an extensive loving family — her husband of 35 tender years Alex MacDonald, daughters, Nora MacDonald of Cambridge and Emma MacDonald of Brooklyn, New York and their spouses Randy Berkowitz and Irene MacDonald, granddaughters, Charlotte and Louisa Maureen Berkowitz, devoted sister Nancy Hesko of Cambridge and nieces, Alison Thompson of Gilford, New Hampshire, Katherine Hesko of Malden, Massachusetts and Dr. Caroline Hesko of Burlington, Vermont along with their husbands, Jesse Thompson, Andrew Spofford and Garrett Hickey. Maureen is preceded in death by her mother and father, Irene and William Strafford, her brother William Strafford Jr. and grandnephew, John Bradley Thompson.
Maureen and Alex were visitors to the Island for 40 years and owned a seasonal home in Chilmark for 31 years. “She loved no place more,” her husband said of the Vineyard.
Maureen was born in 1949 in New York City. She received her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College in 1971 and graduated from Boston University Medical School in 1976. Maureen was widely known in the medical community as the embodiment of a compassionate and gifted physician. She undertook three medical residencies: pediatrics and pediatric cardiology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City and anesthesiology at The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She was proud to be among the rare members of the medical profession who are triple-boarded. In 1983, post-training at MGH, she married her three boards and medical talents together and became a member of the world-renowned cardiac surgery team at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. There she was the anesthesiologist on thousands of complex children’s operative and post-operative cases. In 1996, she was recruited by Tufts Medical Center in Boston to lead its Pediatric Anesthesia Department. Maureen’s training in pediatric cardiology and anesthesiology led to her founding Tufts’ Pediatric Pain Treatment Service, the first multidisciplinary pediatric pain-management program at the hospital.
Maureen’s intellectual gifts and philanthropic sophistication caused her to be a much sought after member of both public and private sector boards of trustees. She proudly served on the Board of Trustees of Barnard College and the admissions committee of Tufts University Medical School. Additionally, she served for more than a decade on the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut-based Tow Family Foundation, focusing on cutting edge medical research funding and issues of juvenile justice; the New Jersey-based Arnold P. Gold Foundation, advancing compassion and humanism in medicine; and the Boston-based Alosa Health Foundation, promoting pharmaceutical safety.
Her circle of friends was vast and her centrality in the lives of so many was one of her many life treasures.To say she was widely beloved does not pose the risk of overstating the degree of affection with which she was held by countless people, in and outside of medicine and her family. Her passing creates a crater of grief for her family and friends that will not soon, if ever, heal.
Consistent with her lifelong devotion to the faith of her Celtic childhood, there will be a wake for Maureen at The DeVito Funeral Home located at 761 Mount Auburn Street in Watertown on Friday, Sept. 27, between 1-4 pm and 6-8 pm. On Saturday morning, September 28, Maureen’s funeral Mass will be conducted at The Paulist Center at 5 Park Street in Boston at 11 am.
Following the funeral service, Maureen will be buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, across the street from her long-time home in the Coolidge Hill section of West Cambridge.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Cure Starts Now (thecurestartsnow.org -Gilford, NH Chapter) in loving memory of Maureen’s grandnephew, John Bradley Thompson.
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On May 10, 2019, Dr. James. A. Tuck, 78, died suddenly. He was an amazing and humble man.
He summered on the Island as a boy, in Vineyard Haven, with his uncle and aunt, who was one of the Dagget sisters. As a child, he was an avid Boy Scout, obtaining the Silver Beaver medal, which is noteworthy because it is one you cannot work toward — it is presented for outstanding service in a community. He was a lifeguard on Grand Island, just up from Niagara Falls, and was captain of the Syracuse University swim team, winning dozens of medals and trophies. He also modeled competitive swimsuits for extra money while obtaining his bachelor’s degree in botany and Ph.D. in archaeology, at SU.
He taught school in Oak Bluffs in 1963; Susan Klein admits the girls all had a crush on him, but he quickly became involved in working with Dr. William Ritchie and Dr. James Richardson, developing the archaeology of Martha’s Vineyard. From this he was recruited to investigate a site in Port au Choix, Newfoundland, which unveiled 56 graves some 4,400 years old. They were covered in red ocher and rich with grave goods, and hinted at graves found in Maine that were dubbed “Archaic.” He found enough links to call these more northern peoples “Maritime Archaic,” as they had artifacts specific to living off the sea. He was asked by Joey Smallwood to develop an archaeology department at the then young Memorial University of Newfoundland.
He stayed, raised his family, and explored and excavated some 267 sites. They consisted of Maritime Archaic, Paleo Eskimo, Thule Eskimo, recent Indian, 15th century Basque whalers, and Lord Baltimore’s first New World settlement — the Colony of Avalon, the most important historical site in North America. Indeed, the Labrador Inuit thanked him because his archaeological research and interpretation helped them reclaim their land.
He had retired to the Vineyard, coming full circle, to join his wife, daughter, and granddaughter, who were residing here. He was quiet, and befriended local archaeologist Dick Burt, and reacquainted himself with Dr. Richardson, and Stuart Bangs. He was very excited to develop the prehistory and history of Martha’s Vineyard. In Canada he became known as the “pioneer of Canadian archaeology,” and among colleagues as “King Midas” because everything he did turned to gold. He wanted to do here what he had done in Canada — community archaeology. Instead of a “bigwig” coming into an area, digging a site and exporting it to a large museum, he trained locals in the field, did conservation onsite, and started a local museum, from which he eventually walked away as locals took over, taking pride in their history. He was very sad when he saw the state of archaeology here. It had turned into a business, with very few sites being developed, and most being excavated over and not reported at all. He was quietly figuring out a way to educate locals to pull for better archaeological research and interpretation on the Vineyard, and he was saddened that the new museum took a different focus, more contemporary history and art. He died before he had a chance to bring the Vineyard that gold.
His last and greatest teacher came as a surprise — his granddaughter Elke Sunshine Klein. Elke had epilepsy and a neurological visual impairment. All of Dad’s learning and academic experience gave him no tools to understand how to associate with her. He was often frustrated and impatient. Dad learned to work with her on things that she was good at. She mastered wheelbarrowing and stacking firewood, picking up black walnuts, scallop shells, etc. At his memorial, the director of the Colony of Avalon said he had begun hiring locals with challenges to work along with everyone else, finding tasks they could do (lots of hauling dirt in wheelbarrows!).
He is survived by his wife, Lynn C. Tuck, and four children.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Colony of Avalon at Ferryland, Newfoundland — specific to archaeology — colonyofavalon.ca.
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John F. Sullivan passed away at home in New Bedford on Sept. 9, 2019. He was the long-time companion of Nina Catelli Vincent, and the son of Frederick and Lillian (Hamblett) Sullivan.
John was raised in Brockton, and was a graduate of the inaugural class from Bishop Sheehan High School. John served in the Air Force for four years.
Over the course of his lifetime, John was an electronics engineer, pilot, sailor, musician, stonecarver, photographer, clocksmith, boatbuilder, artist, and more. But he was best known for being an expert woodworker who could design, create, reproduce, and repair any item. For a number of years, John was a woodworker at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth. He lived on Martha’s Vineyard for many years, where he built and repaired furniture and was a boatbuilder. Everything John did he did with exquisite craftsmanship.
John leaves behind his longtime partner and caregiver, Nina Catelli Vincent of New Bedford; Nina’s children, Ian Vincent of New Bedford and Rachel Vincent of Revere; a brother, Joseph, and his wife Susan Sullivan of Glastonbury, Conn.; several nieces and nephews; and Nina’s extended family. He was also the brother of the late Ann Sullivan Glenn of Maryland.
All are invited to a celebration of John’s life on Saturday, Oct. 12. We will meet at 1 pm to say goodbye on the Merchant Mariner Memorial Walkway at Fort Taber Park, 1000 Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, followed by a luncheon at Me & Ed’s Restaurant, 30 Brock Ave., New Bedford, where it is hoped stories and memories of John will be shared.
Donations may be made in John’s memory to the Buzzards Bay Coalition, 114 Front St., New Bedford, MA 02740, to support the work of the David Riggs lab. Or donate to your local land or water conservation organization.
Arrangements are under the care of the Wilson Chapel, New Bedford.
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Elke Sunshine (Tuck) Klein, 24, who shared the same breath and heartbeats with her mother, Robin Tuck, for 24 years, died on July 19. She was truly a magical child. Elke drowned this summer due to a seizure while swimming at Lagoon Pond, her favorite place.
Elke came to the Island at 3 months old, and lived in a safe and wonderful Vineyard bubble where she was nurtured by her single mother, where they both learned to cope with her challenges of epilepsy and vision impairment. She her mother concentrated on the things she knew — physical anthropology, competitive swimming, and folklore. Schools were at a loss how to teach Elke, so she was homeschooled until she was 13. She was smart, playing “hominids,” making tipis and campfires, kayaking, fishing, swimming every day either at the Lagoon or the Mansion House. Elke hung out with her Newfoundland dog Sherwood, told endless stories, watched “Scooby-Doo” and “Tom and Jerry,” and enjoyed being always together with her mother. She spoke French. She loved picking up garbage on the beaches and keeping the Earth clean. She loved the gang at Leslie’s Pharmacy, Sundog, and Nat’s Nook. She loved coffee. She loved her high school years and her teachers. Special Olympics with Lisa Knight was a highlight. Special days with Annette Anthony, Alicia Lesnikowsk,i and Deborah Johnson were magical.
She grew up at the Island’s libraries. She could be quite clever; she discovered she could render her favorite books discards by ripping off the labels. Oops! She spent most summers from age 10 attending Camp Jabberwocky, and made amazing friendships. Indeed, the camp was instrumental in helping family and friends pull together a service for her on State Beach in July that was dubbed “Elke’s Volcanic Sunset,” attended by all her friends across the Island, wearing fairy wings.
She loved Rikki Tiki Tavi and Nagina, her dolls, Brat dolls (they looked like ancient Egyptians to her), Anubis, Sue the T. Rex, Emily Dickenson, Edgar Allen Poe, Omnia, the Grateful Dead, Britney Spears, and “Fiddler on the Roof.” She was sweet and kind and assumed everybody was a friend; it scared her when people cried, and she wanted everybody to be happy. One Christmas all she wanted was a UNICEF box so she could help poor children.
Elke is survived by her mother, Robin Tuck, and her grandmother, Lynn C. Tuck.
Donations can be made in her memory to Camp Jabberwocky.
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Dale Robert Morgan was born on Dec. 10, 1953, to US Air Force Lt. Col. Fred (“Ted”) Baxter Morgan Jr. and Florence (“Floss”) Alwina Lambert in Montgomery, Ala. He passed away peacefully in his home on Sept. 25, 2019.
Dale was raised and spent the majority of his life in Martha’s Vineyard as a beloved member of the community. Dale was a passionate sailor and fisherman as well as a compassionate community member, devoted to serving others. He was raised in a Catholic family that taught him to care for everyone, especially those most in need.
He was loved by many. He was a knowledgeable handyman, a master mechanic, and always willing to help a friend in need. He is missed by many, and will be in the heart of this community, along with his father Ted, for years to come.
He was preceded in death by his father Ted and his nephew John Morgan. He is survived by his wife and lifelong love, Linda Stone Morgan; his mother Floss; his brother Ted (with wife Cindy) Morgan; his brother Tim (with wife Marty) Morgan; his sister Pam (with husband Mike) Dolby; his sister Barbara Morgan; and his brother Scott Morgan. He is also survived by seven nephews, four nieces, six great-nephews, eight great-nieces, and two goddaughters.
A memorial service will be celebrated in the Holy Ghost Society (P.A. Club) on Vineyard Avenue in Oak Bluffs on Saturday, Oct. 5, beginning at 11 am. Please bring a dish to share, a printed photo, or a story.
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Eugene W. Baer (“Gene”) died on June 24, 2019, in Vineyard Haven. He was 92.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jacqueline Baer; their four children, Justin Baer, Jon Baer, Gretchen Baer, and Chris Baer; a brother, John Baer, and sister, Rosemary Buetens.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Grace Episcopal Church, William Street, Vineyard Haven, at 10 am, and burial will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery, State Road, Vineyard Haven.
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Alexa Landi, 71, died on Sept. 30, 2019, at her home in Morgan Woods in Edgartown.
She was the mother of Chanda V. Decker, Eli D’Elia, and Zoe D’Elia, and longtime companion of John Wagstaff. She was predeceased by her daughter Jennifer Landi.
Her memorial service will be held in St. Elizabeth’s Church, Main Street, Edgartown, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 11 am.
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