Alumni Obituaries: 1930's
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1930
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Harry John Bell, 92, from Bella Vista, Florida,
on February 11, 2001. Attended from 1926 until 1928 and a member of Phi
Kappa fraternity.
1931
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Maynard Preble Blaisdell, 98, from Quaker Hill,
Connecticut, on June 28, 2008. B.S. in mechanical engineering and a member
of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He was employed as an electrical engineer in
submarine design at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from 1936 until 1953. He
then took employment with the Navy in Groton, Connecticut, as head
electrical/electronics engineer, retiring in 1971. He is survived by one
daughter Patricia Blaisdell Johnson ’52, 10 grandchildren, and many
great-grandchildren.
Donald “Don” Bishop Henderson, 97, from Windsor,
Connecticut, on July 14, 2008. B.S. in electrical engineering and a member
of Eta Nu Pi, Student Senate, American Institute of Electrical Engineers,
and the honor societies Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi. After graduation he
was employed with Bath Iron Works, Central Maine Power, and in 1937 began
employment with New York Telephone. In 1943 he began employment with Bell
Laboratory as an engineer in Hartford, Connecticut, and during World War II
worked on a special airborne radar project in New Jersey. In 1948 he
returned to the telephone company, Southern New England Telephone, was
transferred to New Britain, Connecticut, and in 1951 became supervising
engineer for the Hartford district. In 1955 he was promoted to district
plant engineer in Waterbury and in 1958 became their civil defense director.
He was a member of Grace Episcopal Church, a Boy Scout Leader, and a 50-year
member of the Masons. He enjoyed golf winters in Florida. He is survived by
two sons, five grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.
Sophia “Soph” Estelle Marks Wolfe, 97, from
Yonkers, New York, on January 6, 2006. B. A. in English and a member of
Sigma Tau sorority, Contributor’s Club, Women’s Student Government, and the
honor societies Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa. She taught in the
Cleveland, Ohio, school system for 21 years. After retirement she enjoyed
winters in Tucson, Arizona, and playing the piano, swimming, gardening, and
travel. She was the mother of two and grandmother of several grandchildren.
1932
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William “Mac” Grinnell MacLaughlin, 98, from
Lee, Maine, on April 30, 2008. B.S. in chemistry. After graduation he worked
as a civil engineer, and owned and operated a dairy and poultry farm. He
later was employed as a laboratory technician at the Veterans Administration
hospitals in Arizona, Vermont, and Maine. He enjoyed gardening, fishing, and
reading. He is survived by two sons, three grandchildren, and three
great-grandchildren.
Hildreth “Dutchie” Matheson Palmer, 98, from
Glenside, Pennsylvania, on April 20, 2008. B.A. in French and a member of
Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, Spanish Club, Outing Club, French Club, and the
Glee Club. She was a homemaker raising two daughters. She had two children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
1933
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Margaret Helen Ladd Eckman, 97, from Augusta,
Maine, on April 13, 2008. Attended in 1931. She was director of girls’
physical education at Crosby High School and swimming instructor at Belfast
City Park for several years. During World War II she was a Prudential
Insurance agent in Rockland. In 1947 she moved to Augusta and became
executive secretary of the Maine Tuberculosis Association. She was a member
of the Augusta Garden Club, Augusta Congregational Church, Augusta Nature
Club, and wrote a regularly appearing column for the Kennebec Journal.
She is survived by her son Henry ’58.
Howard Childs Holman, 90, from Wayne, Maine, on
September 24, 2002. Attended from 1929 until 1932 and a member of Phi Gamma
Delta fraternity. He graduated in 1936 from the Boeing School of Aeronautics
and was an airline flight captain with Northeast Airlines.
Ludger “Luke” Antile Lucas, 96, from Bedford,
Massachusetts, on May 28, 2008. B.S. in chemical engineering. He was a
veteran of World War II serving from 1942 until 1945 in the Navy at the
Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island. In the 1950s he was employed with
Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a production manager and later as a chemist with
Cannon Electric. He retired from Data General as a chemical laboratory
supervisor. He received his ham radio license in the early 1960s and
volunteered with the Bedford, Massachusetts, civil defense department. He
enjoyed gardening, traveling, and the Red Sox. He is survived by three
children and four grandchildren.
Emily Chadbourne Rackliffe Warner, 97, from
Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 6, 2008. B.S. in education and a member of the
Contributors’ Club and the honor societies Kappa Delta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi.
She was employed as a church secretary from 1964 until 1991 with the Spruce
Street Methodist Church in Morgantown, West Virginia. She was the mother of
four children and grandmother of five.
1934
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Mardelle “Griff” Eugene Griffin, 88, from
Zephyrhills, Florida, on February 25, 2001. B.A. in business administration
and a member of the Varsity Rifle Team. He was a veteran of World War II. He
was employed as the branch manager at Merchants National Bank in Bangor. He
is survived by his wife, two children including Austin ’67, and three
grandchildren.
Erma “Ris”
Frost Orissa Kingsburg,
91, from Winter Park, Florida, on April 19, 2004. B.A. in romance languages,
M.Ed. in 1949, and a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, Rifle Team, Spanish
Club, chorus, Campus board, and orchestra. She taught in Clinton,
Gray, Winthrop, and Bangor from 1934 until 1942. From 1942 until 1943 she
worked as a rate clerk at Bath Iron Works and served as a mail clerk and
supervisor of messengers at the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode
Island, from 1943 until 1945. She returned to Maine and taught for three
years at the Fifth Street Junior High School in Bangor and then joined the
faculty at Husson College. She moved to Florida and taught in the Orange
County public schools and then accepted an appointment to join the staff at
Orlando Junior College. She was a member of the Florida Scholastic Press
Association, National Association of Journalism Directors, and Columbia
Scholastic Press Advisers Association. Later in her career she became a real
estate broker and saleswoman in Orlando.
1935
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Silas “Si” Loring Bates, 95, from Haverton, Pennsylvania, on December
1, 2007. B.S. in mechanical engineering, M.S. in 1936, and a member of Phi
Gamma Delta fraternity, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the
honor societies Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi. After graduation he was
employed as a machinist with Thomas Laughlin Company in Portland and later
as a mechanical engineer at the Philadelphia Naval Base. He retired from the
naval base as supervisory mechanical engineer in the naval air engineering
center in 1974. He is survived by three children and four grandchildren.
Adney “Ham” Hamilton Boothby, 94, from Cushing,
Maine, on June 29, 2008. B.A. in history, M.Ed. in 1952, and a member of
Sigma Phi Sigma fraternity, Debate Team, and a member of the honor society
Kappa Phi Kappa. From 1935 until 1937 he was employed in the business field,
from 1937 until 1943 he was a teacher at Lee Academy, and from 1943 until
1945 was a school principal in Ashland. From 1945 until 1949 he was
principal of Calais Memorial High School and from 1949 until 1961 was the
principal at Rockland High School. For the following ten years he was
superintendent of Carrabec school district. After retirement he served as
plumbing inspector in Owls Head and Cushing. He enjoyed carpentry and
throughout the years built five cottages in Turner and two houses in
Cushing. He was a life member of the Bradford Society and the National
Education Association, and a member of the Masons. He is survived by his
wife Norma Hoyle Boothby ’45, ’51G, two daughters including Margaret Boothby
Mitchell ’65, four grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Theodore Jesse Crabtree, 89, from North
Hollywood, California, on January 10, 2003. Attended from 1931 until 1936
and a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.
1936
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Paul Coolidge Brown, 92, from South Paris,
Maine, on April 4, 2007. Attended from 1932 until 1936 studying pulp and
paper technology and a member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity. He was employed in
the sales/service department of Tileston and Hollingsworth in Boston and
later as a production manager. After 35 years of employment with Tileston he
retired as president in 1971. He moved to South Paris in 1972 and was
director of the Oxford Hills Area Development Corporation and was town
manager for 11 years. He was a member of the Second Congregational Church of
Norway, a trustee and treasurer of the board for the Norway Public Library,
an active member and former president of Norway-Paris Kiwanis Club, and a
trustee of Stephens Memorial Hospital for more than 25 years. He is survived
by two daughters including Ann Brown Lowrey ’65, three grandchildren, and
two great-grandchildren.
Lucien Keene Green, Jr., 92, from Rockland,
Maine, on November 7, 2005. Attended from 1932 until 1934 and a member of
Sigma Chi fraternity. He was a veteran of World War II serving from 1941
until 1946 in the Army Air Corps as a pilot. He flew 107 trips across the
“hump” (Himalayas) bringing supplies to the China/Burma/India Theater. He
received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf
Cluster, the Chinese Liberation Ribbon, and the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon with
three Battle Stars. After the war he returned to the family’s business,
Lucien K. Green & Son, a furrier in Rockland. He was a member of the Masons,
American Legion, and Lions Club. He enjoyed wood carving, sailing, and built
five sailboats. He is survived by two children including Archibald ’82 and
two grandchildren.
Edward “Grappler” Coe Hanson, 93, from St.
Johnsbury, Vermont, on June 30, 2008. B.S. in mechanical engineering and a
member of Phi Mu Delta fraternity, American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
played intramural sports for three years, and wrestled for three years. He
began his career as a field engineer for Fairbanks, Morse and Company in
Boston and for the next 33 years owned and operated Counsell Company, a
retailer of electric appliances and farm machinery. He enjoyed golf, was
past president of the St. Johnsbury Country Club, and won the Vermont State
Father-Son golf championship. He was a 20-year member of the Rotary Club. He
was the father of two and grandfather of four.
1937
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Allan “Al” Edgerly Horne, 93, from Milo, Maine,
on May 2, 2008. B.A. in economics and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
After graduation he was employed with the U.S. Immigration Service and was
drafted into the Navy. He was a veteran of World War II serving in the Navy
from 1944 until 1945 as a radar man in the destroyer U.S. Vesoli.
After the war he joined the family business, M.C. Horne and Sons, an oil and
oil burner dealership. The business was sold to Webber Oil Company in 1975.
He owned and published a local newspaper, The Tri River Photo News. He was a
member of the Masons and American Legion for over 50 years and served as
Piscataquis County commissioner, and on the Milo Board of Trade, Milo school
board, and was a member of the Three Rivers Fish and Game Club. He enjoyed
traveling and spending winters in Florida. He is survived by his wife of 73
years, five children, 15 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
Anna Ruth Currie MacCallum, 92, from Seminole,
Florida, on January 29, 2007. B.A. in mathematics and a member of Phi Mu
sorority, YWCA, Campus board, and the honor society Alpha Delta Zeta.
She was employed as a guidance counselor and was a member of the Church of
the Nazarene in Gulfport. She is survived by one son, two step-daughters,
and nine grandchildren.
Avis Bowker Lovejoy Stanford, 91, from Wayne,
Maine, on May 30, 2008. Attended from 1933 until 1934. She was the owner of
farms in Wayne and Fayette and was an office manager in a medical office and
later a dental office. She enjoyed times at the family camp at North East
Carry on the upper end of Moosehead Lake, family ski trips at Sugarloaf, and
traveling. She was a lifelong member of the Wayne Community Church. She is
survived by son Donald Gatti ’62, grandchildren Mark Gatti ’81 and Linda
Gatti-Fyler ’86, and four great-grandchildren.
1938
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Richard Bither, 88, from Palmetto, Florida, on
November 4, 2002. Attended from 1934 until 1936. He was a member of the Elks
Lodge in Vermont and Palmetto. He is survived by his wife, three sons, seven
grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Ruth Mae Thurston Grindle, 92, from Southwest
Harbor, Maine, on May 16, 2008. Attended from 1934 until 1935. She was head
waitress at Dirigo Hotel for many years and worked in the family store,
Grindle’s Store, both in Southwest Harbor. She was a member of the Mount
Desert Island Lionesses, a long time member of the United Church of Christ,
and more recently a member of the Tremont Congregational Church. She is
survived by three children, 11 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
Frances “Fran” Elizabeth Higgins Raskop, 87,
from San Francisco, California, on April 1, 2004. Attended from 1934 until
1935. She was a veteran of World War II serving in the Women’s Army Corps
from 1942 until 1945. She was employed as a senior clerk with the Hartford
Life Insurance Company and later in group sales and life sales. She obtained
her B.A. in 1983 from California State University. She enjoyed reading and
sightseeing. She was the mother of four children and grandmother of seven.
Florence Mildred Phillips Scoville, 90, from
Orangeburg, South Carolina, on March 23, 2002. B.S. in education. She
received her M.A. degree from the Teachers College of Columbia University
and resided in New York and New Jersey for many years. In 1955 she moved to
Orangeburg and was employed as a teacher, principal, and director of
instruction of the Orangeburg city schools. She was a communicant at the
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and was active in many professional
organizations including Delta Kappa Gamma. She is survived by two sons and
four grandchildren.
James Howard Siegel, D.M.D., 91, from Bangor and
Virginia, on June 15, 2008. He graduated from Tufts University in 1943 and
opened a practice in Bangor where he practiced for 48 years. He was a member
of Toldos Itzack and Beth Abraham synagogues, the Masons, Shriners, the
Penobscot Valley Dentist Society, Maine Dental Association, and the American
Dental Association. He is survived by children Joseph ’67, David ’71, and
Deborah Siegel Immerman ’71, and six grandchildren.
Frances Charlotte Wolverton Constantine Stearns,
89, from Brewer, Maine, on April 14, 2008. B.S. in education and M.Ed. in
1954. She was a veteran of World War II serving in the Women’s Army Corps
for two and a half years as a cryptanalyst in Washington, D.C., and was
awarded the Army Commendation Medal for German code
analysis. After the war she taught English and social
studies at Garland Street Junior High School for 20 years. She was a member
of St. Teresa’s Choir, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, VFW, and Delta Kappa Gamma
Society. She volunteered at the YWCA, helping handicapped children in the
pool. She is survived by siblings.
1939
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Rabbi Bernard L. Berzon, 76, from Brooklyn, New
York, on May 11, 1989. M.A. in economics. He received a B.A. in 1935 from
Yeshiva College in New York and was ordained at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary the same year. After graduating from the University of
Maine he was employed at Congregation Ahavath Israel and was granted
lifetime tenure in 1953. He was president of the Rabbinical Council of
America and was vice president of the Religious Zionist of America from 1971
until 1973. He authored Jewish Sects and Good Beginnings and
founded the Manual of Sermons published by the Rabbinical Council of
America. In 1976 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from
Yeshiva University. In 1982 he retired to Jerusalem. He is survived by four
children, 15 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Marie Baker Libby, 88, from
East Greenwich, Rhode Island, on June 9, 2007. B.S. in home economics and a
member of YWCA, Maine Outing Club, Maine Masque, Home Economics Club, Neai
Mathetai, the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Nu, and served as
vice president and president of Off Campus Women. She began teaching home
economics in Cape Elizabeth in 1939 and later became the head of the
homemaking department in Warwick, Rhode Island. She received her M.S. in
1971 from the University of Rhode Island. In 1974 she received the Home
Economics Teacher of the Years Award. She moved to Pennsylvania in the 1980s
and enjoyed church activities, visiting family, and needlework. She was the
mother of three and grandmother of seven.
Granville “Mac” Butman MacMillan, 90, from Old
Town, Maine, on June 26, 2008. B.S. in education and M.Ed. in 1952. He began
teaching in 1939 at Magalloway Plantation and later taught in Houlton,
Stonington, and Orono. He was a veteran of World War II serving in the Army
Air Force for three years and also served in Korea for three years. From
1955 until 1968 he taught physics at Bangor High School. Throughout his
teaching career he was a member of the Maine National Guard and retired as a
lieutenant colonel in 1965. He enjoyed golf, smoking cigars, and was a
member of the Elks Club. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, three sons
including Stanley ’65, Stephen ’75, three grandchildren including Sean ’95,
and two great-grandchildren.
Elwood “Eddie” Dimock Millett, 90, from Brewer,
Maine, on April 24, 2008. B.S. in mechanical engineering and a member of Phi
Mu Delta fraternity, Pale Blue Key Society, American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, “M” Club, Intramural Athletic Association, band, and played
baseball for three years and basketball for four years. He was a veteran of
World War II serving in the Army from 1940 until 1945 and serving in the
Reserves from 1945 until 1963. He participated in three campaigns in
Northern France, Ardennes, and the Rhineland. He was employed as an engineer
with a number of firms including Central Maine Power, Wilner Wood Products,
C.H. Babb, and retired from M.D. Hardy in 1980. He was an active member of
the First Congregational Church of Brewer and served as trustee and on the
diaconate. He enjoyed skiing, golf, and woodworking. He is survived by two
children including Linda Millett Hatch ’69, four grandchildren, and four
great-grandchildren.
Eleanor Frances Currie Parsons, 92, from
Rockport, Massachusetts, on May 28, 2008. Attended from 1937 until 1938. She
was a graduate of Farmington Normal School and was a teacher in Rockport.
She and her husband owned and operated the Story Guest House. She wrote and
published 10 books of Cape Ann history and was a member of the National
League of American Pen Women, Sandy Bay Historical Society, and Thacher
Island Association. She is survived by one daughter, one grandson, and
sister Charlotte Currie Stafford ’39.
Lois Priscilla Leavitt Pelletier, 89, from
Morrisville, Vermont, on May 2, 2008. B.S. in home economics and a member of
Delta Delta Delta sorority, YWCA, Maine Outing Club, All Maine Women, Home
Economics Club, Neai Mathetai, and the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi and
Omicron Nu. She worked for several years at Eastern Maine Medical Center
before moving to Vermont. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, singing, gardening,
and big band music. She is survived by one step-daughter and three nephews
including Timothy Leavitt ’81.
Doris “Molly” Madeline Currier Soucia, 94, from
Caribou, Maine, on April 17, 2008. B.S. in education and a member of Chi
Omega sorority. She taught in the Norway and Caribou high schools from 1939
until 1945 before becoming a full time homemaker. She returned to teaching
and retired in 1975 from Caribou High School. She was a member of the
Caribou Unitarian Universalist Church, the Ladies Aid, and later attended
Gray Memorial United Methodist Church in Caribou. She enjoyed traveling and
playing cribbage, and was a charter member of the Caribou Historical
Society. She is survived by two children including Jane Soucia Sutherland
’80, three step-children, two grandchildren, 10 step-grandchildren, numerous
great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. |
