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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
January
13 - January 19, 2005 Edition
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OBITUARIES January 13, 2005
Leo G. Bayer, 96, writer, lawyer, summer resident for 50 years, died on Dec. 28. When Mr. Bayer first visited Martha’s Vineyard in the late 1930s he fell in love and from that moment until his death last month he was never more at home than when he was on the Island. In 1955 he purchased property on Tiah’s Cove in West Tisbury and spent increasing amounts of time there. With his beloved wife, Elizabeth, he raised their four children with a deep appreciation for the Vineyard’s natural beauty and the respite it offers from the furious pace of life off-Island. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Bayer was one of three children of William S. and Gertrude L. (Grossberg) Bayer but grew up within a large extended family. He was graduated from high school at age 15 and earned both undergraduate and law degrees from Western Reserve University. He spent a year as a fellow at Harvard Law School. Mr. Bayer practiced law in Cleveland for more than three decades. He believed that the responsibility of the law was to serve the public good. By his clients and the law community at large, he was regarded as an honest lawyer who stood up for the “little guy.” He took on many pro bono cases and helped organize the meatpackers and other unions during the Great Depression. He once ran for Cleveland City Council. He also served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy in Washington, D.C., from 1943 to 1945 and remained in the reserve until 1950. While Mr. Bayer was a committed lawyer and did well at it, his first passion was writing. Even as he practiced law, and then full-time following his retirement in 1967, he wrote novels, plays and short stories. He continued writing up until three weeks before he died. In addition, he was a great oral storyteller and captivated both young children and world-weary adults with his original tales and recountings of experiences from his long and fascinating life. With his first wife, Eleanor (Rosenfeld), Mr. Bayer coauthored the full-length play “Third Best Sport,” which was presented on Broadway by the Theatre Guild in 1958 and starred Celeste Holme. Several others of the Bayers’ plays were presented at the Cleveland Playhouse. Under the pseudonym Oliver Weld Bayer, the couple wrote five published mysteries in the 1940s and 1950s. Paperback versions were sent to GIs overseas during World War II and one novel, “Paper Chase,” was made into the film “Dangerous Partners.” After the couple divorced, Mr. Bayer continued writing on his own. His 13 novels and numerous short stories written over the last 35 years often featured humble and unassuming protagonists, in settings based on the Vineyard, who in mysterious ways effect positive change in the larger social structure. These simple, honest heroes underscored Mr. Bayer’s belief that every individual has the potential to make better a world in which simplicity and honesty sometimes seem so rare. Forty-five years ago, Mr. Bayer married Elizabeth (Brown). They moved to Duxbury in 1967 in order to be close to the Vineyard, where they spent summers and holidays with their children. For the last 20 years they had been living in West Tisbury more than half the year. Their daughter, Amy, taught for two years at Martha’s Vineyard High School, and their son, Nicholas, lives on Tiah’s Cove year round. In his 60s, Mr. Bayer started to play the violin, taught himself calculus, and began to draw and paint, capturing favorite Vineyard scenes in watercolors and pen-and-ink. He took great joy in long beach walks and ocean swims off Quansoo, pond sailing, and digging clams. His circle of friends on the Island was wide and varied, from handymen and intellectuals, to artists and entertainers. Besides his wife, daughter Amy and son Nicholas, Mr. Bayer leaves three other daughters, Ann of New York, Jeri of Andover, and Sarah of Cambridge; a son, William, of San Francisco; and three grandchildren. Mr. Bayer’s ashes will be scattered on the Vineyard next summer. Donations may be made in his name to the American Red Cross for the victims of the tsunami in Asia, P.O. Box 1116, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Guy R. Clements Sr. Guy R. “Grandpa” Clements Sr., 88, of Venice, Fla., and Oak Bluffs, died on Jan. 5 at St. Luke’s Hospital, New Bedford, after a brief illness. He was the husband of Justine (Bodyk) Clements, who predeceased him. Born in Montreal, Canada, a son of Albert Rivers Clements and Blanche (Bernier) Clements, he was raised on Martha's Vineyard and settled in Stamford, Conn., for 32 years until moving to Bay Indies, Venice, Fla., where he lived for the past 17 years, continuing to summer on Martha's Vineyard as he had done since childhood. Mr. Clements was employed by the City of Stamford for 30 years as the supervisor of buildings and grounds of the Stamford school system, retiring in 1986. He was a graduate of Oak Bluffs High School, class of 1933, and graduated from the Boston Diesel School of Engineering in 1935. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain. Mr. Clements will most notably be remembered for the children’s books he wrote, especially “Vanessa: A Sea Serpent.” The book is a manifesto devoted to unraveling the truth and myth behind the famous sea serpent living in the middle of Farm Pond in Oak Bluffs. Generations of young and old have stopped by his home in Oak Bluffs to listen to him retell this wonderful story. Mr. Clements enjoyed photography and was a member of the Stamford Camera Club, a member and past exalted ruler of the Elks Club in Stamford, and a member of the Oak Bluffs Breakfast Club. He is survived by two daughters, Trina C. Barvenik of Weston, Conn., and Mindy L. Kendall of Stamford, Conn.; a son, Guy R. Clements Jr. of Danbury, Conn.; two sisters, Margaret Davenport of New Bedford and Mary Ann White of Tampa, Fla; a brother, Roland Clements of Bella Vista, Ariz.; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a niece, Janice Aubut of Oak Bluffs; and other nieces and nephews. His funeral and burial are private. Arrangements are in the care of Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute, Dartmouth. Barbara L. Franklin Barbara L. (Washington) Franklin, 66, wife of James L. Franklin, died Jan. 7 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn., after a long illness. Mrs. Franklin was born March 11, 1938, in Worcester, daughter of Irving and Katherine (Benson) Washington. Mrs. Franklin retired as a supervisor of the Salvation Army Youth Emergency Shelter, Say Yes, in Waterbury. She was a graduate of St. Vincent School of Nursing in Worcester, and was a former member of the Junior League of Waterbury. She was also very fond of her 50-year membership in the Hound Dog Club on Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. She was a member of the United Methodist Church of Naugatuck, Conn. She is survived by one son, Jason H. Franklin of Naugatuck; three daughters, K. Courtney Franklin of Farmington, Conn., Jaime Klimezewski of Naugatuck, and Terasina Moody of New York City; one brother, Bruce Washington of Wallingford, Conn.; four grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held today at 11 am at Buckmiller Brothers Funeral Home, Waterbury. Burial will be in Grove Cemetery in Naugatuck. Memorial contributions can be made to the Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center, 1075 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT 06708. Alma M. Stam Alma M. Stam of Vineyard Haven and Needham died on Jan. 5 at the Newton Wellesley Alzheimer’s Center in Wellesley after a short illness. Alma was born on Martha's Vineyard and grew up in West Tisbury. She attended school on Martha's Vineyard through high school. Alma studied at the Briar Cliff Manor School in Briar Cliff, N.Y., for two years and then at Boston University for two years. During World War II Alma worked in Boston at the Charlestown Navy Yard as a clerk, and at the Hotel Touraine for a period after the war. During this time she met her husband, Rudy, an officer in the Royal Dutch Merchant Marines. They married in 1946 and returned to Martha's Vineyard, living in Vineyard Haven. There they ran a bakery for several years and later Stam’s Restaurant on the harbor. They moved to Boston in 1957, where she and Rudy lived on Beacon Hill for 45 years. While living in Boston, Alma was a housewife and volunteered at the Seamen’s Friend Society for many years. They converted the house that was Stam’s Restaurant on Martha's Vineyard to a private residence, and in retirement they split their time between the Island and Boston. She had most recently lived in Needham to be near her son and grandchildren. Alma loved the Vineyard and telling stories about growing up in West Tisbury and Island history. Her father, Charles Turner, owned the S.M. Mayhew Company, which later became Alley’s General Store. Her mother Gertrude (Adams) Turner was an Island native whose father, David Blake Adams, was a whaling captain. Her sister was Elizabeth (Turner) Cronig a long-term Island resident until her death. The beloved wife of Rudolf Stam, who predeceased her, she is survived by a son, Peter J. Stam of Needham, and his wife, Nancy, and grandsons, Brian and Christopher. A family service will be held at the West Tisbury Cemetery on Saturday, Jan. 15. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 36 Cameron Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140. Arrangements by Eaton Funeral Home, Needham. |
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