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Obituaries
Posted: September 22, 2005
Eleanor N. Bennett
Eleanor Norton Bennett, of Chilmark, died peacefully at home on Sept. 10. She was surrounded by her family and friends. She was 86, one week shy of her 87th birthday.
Eleanor taught sixth grade at the Ridge Road School in North Haven, Conn., for 30 years before retiring in 1989 to the family home her great uncle had built in Chilmark. A lifelong educator, Eleanor received a bachelor of science from American International College in Chemistry in 1940 and a master of science in elementary education from Southern Connecticut State College in 1968. She participated in a wide variety of continuing education programs throughout her life.
Eleanor was particularly interested in and involved in science education. She started and directed the Outdoor Education program at the Ridge Road School for eight years. She taught other teachers at the Project to Increase Mastery in Math and Science at Wesleyan University from 1985 to 2002. After retiring, Eleanor volunteered as a tour guide for school groups at the NOAA aquarium in Woods Hole. She also served on the board of directors for the Connecticut Science Teachers Association, the Stevens Woods Ecumenical Elderly Housing, the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers and the Coalition for the Advancement of Science Education in Massachusetts.
Eleanor is survived by her four children, Carol French, Patricia Lynch, Dennis Bennett, Molly Bennett; and seven grandchildren, Cecil, Rob and Molly French, Liza and Pete Lynch, and Kate and Caroline Bennett.
A service will be held in her memory at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury, State Road, on Oct. 2, at noon, after the regular Sunday morning service.
Donations in her memory‑may be made to the American Cancer Society, Box 102454, Atlanta, GA 30368-2454.
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David W. Honey
David Honey died unexpectedly on August 8 at Massachusetts General Hospital after an accident on his beloved motorcycle.
He was born at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital on March 13, 1956, the son of William Honey and Eunice Honey. He had the idyllic Island childhood that we, who grew up off-Island, could only wish for. Those were the days when kids played ragtag off the Eastville drawbridge and swam around the docked ferries in Vineyard Haven diving for coins the tourists threw into the water. Later he and his friends would ride dirt bikes throughout the miles of dirt roads and ancient ways from one end of the Island to the other.
In 1974, he graduated from the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. He tried college, but missed the Island too much. He had various jobs on the Island. Trip Barnes taught him to drive tractor-trailer trucks which led to years of employment with Averill Distributors and Jubili Distributors. He learned to operate heavy equipment and worked several years for Dale McClure. He finally found his career in plumbing with Walter Smith Plumbing and Heating and made friends with many of the customers.
For 15 years, David was a proud member of the Tisbury Fire Department, Engine #1. He gained immense satisfaction from being part of the team that protected the people of Tisbury.
In May, 1985, he married Laura Weigle and in 1988 their daughter, Megan, was born. She became his pride and joy for the rest of his life. Whether discussing antique farm tractors with his father, the Red Sox with his mother, or shop projects with his nephews, family was such an important part of his life.
On August 12, David was laid to rest in the Vineyard Haven Oak Grove cemetery after being escorted by the members of the Red Knights motorcycle group. The Tisbury Fire Department presented a memorial fireman's flag at the graveside. During a moment of silence, the bell from Engine #1 rang softly in tribute.
A memorial followed at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury with poignant words by the Rev. Robert Edmunds of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The outpouring of cherished friends, family and community touched everyone.
In addition to his wife and daughter, David is survived by his parents, William Honey and Eunice Honey; two sisters, Betsy MacPherson of Vineyard Haven and Sarah Murphy of West Tisbury; a brother-in-law Fred Murphy; his aunts, Betty Honey of Vineyard Haven, and Ann Pogue of Lancaster, Pa.; nieces Annie and Grace Murphy; and nephews Ross and Reid MacPherson. He was predeceased by brother-in-law Bob MacPherson in 1994. David's extended family in North Carolina will also miss him.
Donations in David's name can be sent to the Tisbury Firefighters Association Scholarship Fund, Vineyard Haven, MA.
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Kendall S. Thorington
Kendall Sowles Thorington of Oak Bluffs died peacefully after a long illness on Sept. 17 at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. Born on August 1, 1919 in Roxbury, Vermont, he was the son of James Wallace Thorington, Sr. and Madeleine Sowles. He was raised in Roxbury and Northfield, Vt., graduating from Northfield High School with high honors. He received a scholarship to the University of Vermont and graduated from the Vermont Agricultural College in Randolph, Vt., in 1938.
After living in Baltimore, Md., for a brief period, he enlisted and served in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1945 and for several more years with the United States Naval Reserves. During his initial enlistment he achieved the rank of chief petty officer (machinist's mate). He served honorably in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific Theaters, primarily on the USS Denebola, receiving a battle star for World War II service. While home-ported in Casco Bay of Portland, Maine he participated in several major efforts including the North Atlantic, the invasion of Southern France, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands and Eniwetok. He was part of a potential invasion force preempted by the surrender of Japan.
He married Doris Champney on May 9, 1945 and just celebrated 60 years of marriage.
After World War II the couple moved to Moretown, Vt. and lived in that area until 1980. He retired from the Vermont Department of Agriculture in 1980 and he and Doris moved to Oak Bluffs, where he lived the remainder of his long and devoted life.
During his long and active life several achievements, recognitions and areas of service are noteworthy. For military service, he received a diploma of recognition from the French Defense Ministry, is registered in the United States Navy Memorial and received a certificate of appreciation for World War II service from the American Legion. He served as the superintendent of the Vermont State Hospital Dairy Farm for several years prior to retirement. He is a past member of the Waterbury, Vt., Knights of Columbus, and since retirement was an active member of Sacred Heart Parish in Oak Bluffs and served as a Eucharistic minister.
During his lifetime, Kendall enjoyed hunting, fishing, and skiing. He also studied Civil War history of his great-grandfather, Theodore B. Kendall, a Civil War veteran who had a strong influence during his childhood years.
Kendall Thorington was devoted to his family and this cannot be overstated. He was loved by all who knew him for his kindness, acceptance, loyalty, steadfast support, selfless love and a hand reaching out towards others; and so many other qualities made yet more apparent by his passing.
Kendall is survived by his wife, Doris Thorington of Oak Bluffs; his son, Paul Thorington and his wife, Gloria of Concord, N.H.; two grandsons, Andrew Thorington and his wife, Renee Thorington of Saco, Maine and Brandt Thorington in graduate school at George Washington University. He also leaves a great-grandson, Luc Thorington of Saco, Maine, a half-brother, Charles Hedrick of Noble, Maine, and several nieces and nephews and their children. He was predeceased by his sisters, Lucia Ladd and Sylvia Breck and brother, James W. Thorington, Jr.
His Mass of Christian Burial was held in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Massasoit Avenue, Oak Bluffs on Sept. 21, at 10 am. Burial service with military honors was held in the VA National Cemetery in Bourne on Sept. 21. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to either the Salvation Army, the Red Cross or the Vineyard Nursing Association, PO Box 2568, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
Karen MacKay
A memorial service for Karen MacKay, who died on August 13, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 5 pm, at the Old Parsonage Bed and Breakfast, State Road, West Tisbury, just down the hill from Alley's General Store. The Rev. Tom Roan will officiate. All are welcome.
Marjorie Bean
Marjorie "Marge" Wordell Bean, age 96, of Highland Ave. in Fall River died Sept. 10 in Adams House.
Born in Fall River, a daughter of Alvarado Bean and Charlotte (McFarlane) Bean, she was a lifelong resident of Fall River. She loved Martha's Vineyard and spent each summer in Oak Bluffs for most of her life.
Miss Bean had worked for the Fall River Herald News for 44 years, initially in the accounting department; then as office manager for WSAR radio station for many years, returning to the Fall River Herald News Library for several years before retiring in 1977.
She was a graduate of BMC High School, and Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. She also attended Kathryn Gibbs Secretarial School in Providence, R.I.
Miss Bean was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Fall River and enjoyed playing bridge.
She is survived by nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
Her Memorial Service will be held Thursday, Sept. 22, 11 am in Adams House, 1168 Highland Ave. Fall River. Arrangements in the care of Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute at Cherry Place, Fall River. www.waring-sullivan.com.
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Barbara Ivacek
Barbara Ivacek, beloved Island astrologer, bike-path enthusiast, and lover of chocolate cake, New York Times crossword puzzles, and Sandy's fried clams, died after a brief battle with a swiftly moving cancer on August 23 in Vancouver, B.C., surrounded by loved ones. She was 55 years old.
Born Barbara Ann Evasick in New Haven, Conn., on January 20, 1950, she was the second of five children of Robert Evasick and Mary Malarkey Evasick, both of whom predeceased her. Barbara grew up in Hamden and Milford, Conn., and upon her graduation from high school she started the family tradition of being named "class individual," a title she certainly lived up to.
Barbara's life journey, like Barbara herself, was anything but ordinary. As a young woman in search of her path, she dabbled in many careers including modeling, dog grooming, and matchmaking at a dating service. In 1977, Barbara moved to Oak Bluffs with her sister, Anne, after they had 0visited and fallen in love with the Island. During her early years here, she worked as a waitress at the Bowling Alley and Blazing Salads restaurants, was a home health aide through the Council on Aging, and worked for the Department of Mental Health. After earning a degree from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Barbara became one of the first voices heard on WMVY, as host of a talk show. During these years she also completed an individualized degree program through Goddard College in Vermont that integrated psychology, dreamwork, and writing, and she wrote much of the material for her book of poetry, "In 1990 I'll be 40," which was published in 1984. In addition, she began the study of astrology during these years, a passion and a calling that allowed her to channel her natural gifts of communication, compassion, wisdom, intelligence, and humor to help people gain insight into themselves and to gently guide them in their lives. For Barbara, this led to a fulfilling career and a highly successful international practice serving thousands of clients.
Barbara had great enthusiasm for life and for travel. Not content to stay in any one place for long, she had a hunger to see the world and to experience as many different cultures and places of wild, natural beauty as possible. In 1983, she left the Vineyard to move out west, to places that had always held enchantment for her. Over the next 22 years, she lived in Port Townsend, Wash., Ashland, Ore., Santa Fe, N.M., St. George, Utah, Prescott, Flagstaff, and Sedona, Az., Whitefish, Montana, and Vancouver, B.C. She also had a strong connection to the island of Hawaii, where she attended and later helped manage a healing retreat rooted in native traditions. Among all these travels, however, the Vineyard still beckoned and Barbara returned frequently for extended visits. If not for her illness, she would have been here this summer.
Barbara was also an avid international traveler, having toured Europe, India, Nepal, and much of Central and South America. One place of special connection for her was Peru, where she was on the staff of the Willka-t'ika retreat center. There, she gave astrological readings and often made the climb to the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu.
Barbara had deep respect for the indigenous peoples of the world, their traditions and their wisdom, which led her to study with a Peruvian shaman and also to participate in yearly retreats to study Native American spiritual traditions with her teacher, Hyemeyohsts Storm. After progressing to a certain point in the teachings, she was given the name Nighthorse, a reflection of her beauty, strength, insight, and independent spirit.
Barbara is survived by her husband, Michael Smith of Vancouver, two step-daughters, Mira and Lyra Smith, sisters Anne Evasick of West Tisbury and Mary Lou Marks of Big Sandy, Tenn., brothers Peter Evasick of Marrowstone Island, Wash. and Paul Evasick of East Greenwich, R.I., several nieces and nephews, and many dear and cherished friends.
A memorial service and celebration of Barbara's life will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs. Friends will be invited to speak about Barbara and their memories of her. In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Barbara's request that people work to heal the planet environmentally and politically, the family suggests that contributions be made to moveon.org or any chosen environmental organization.
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Robert K. Fritz
Robert Kent Fritz was born in Syracuse, New York on Sept. 12, 1933 to Robert H. and Shirley N. Fritz. The gift of laughter was one of the many legacies Kent left with his family and friends as his battle with lung cancer came to end on Sept. 20 one week after his 72nd birthday.
Kent was educated in the Syracuse public schools and attended Syracuse University before enlisting in the army in 1951 during the Korean War. While in the service, Kent was a member of the Army Security Agency (ASA), later known as the National Security Agency. After his discharge, Kent continued his education at University College in Syracuse, and soon thereafter, was hired by I.B.M. Kent enjoyed a very successful 31-year career with the company that took he and his family to Jamestown, N.Y., Cinnaminson, N.J. and finally, to Upper Montclair, N.J., where they made their home for 20 years.
Kent married the love of his life, Sally Anne Johnson, in Syracuse, and together they raised four children; Sandra, Kevin, David, and Scott. Kent and Sally retired to Martha's Vineyard in 1987. After moving to the Vineyard, Kent kept busy with a variety of endeavors; among them, serving as a special officer for the Tisbury Police Department and as a security officer for the Harbor View Hotel and working with his friend Donald Ben David doing maintenance work at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Kent was also a member of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Oak Bluffs and served as the chairman of the Board of Trustees for several months before his illness. During this time, Kent spearheaded efforts to repair and paint the church and the adjacent hall.
Known throughout the Island for his humor and friendship, Kent was a man of simple pleasures. He loved his morning visits to Humphreys in North Tisbury for Belly Bombs, and each year Kent waited in anticipation for the annual Agricultural Fair and his favorite cheeseburgers from the West Tisbury Firefighters' booth. Sally and he also enjoyed their long leisurely drives up-Island to treat themselves to hot fudge sundaes at the Galley in Menemsha.
Kent also looked forward to his yearly trips to his great- uncle's farm in upstate New York, a place he first visited as a young boy. He enjoyed gardening, reading, collecting baseball caps from anywhere and everywhere, and taking his beloved dog, Chelsea, on rides throughout the Island. Kent was also a Civil War buff and treasured a recent trip he and Sally took to Gettysburg. Kent was a member of the Trinity United Methodist choir and took great pride in being the only bass!
An avid sports fan, Kent introduced his family to his love of baseball which began the first of many outings to Yankee Stadium. Thirty-five years later, on his 70th birthday, the family surprised Kent with a party in New Jersey, and presented him with 25 tickets for the entire extended family to attend the next day's game at Yankee Stadium.
Kent is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sally Anne; his daughter, Sandra Joyce and son-in-law, Michael E. Joyce, Jr. of Edgartown; his son Kevin and daughter-in-law Christi of Orlando, Fla.; his son David of Tallmadge, Ohio; his son, Scott and daughter-in-law, Stacy of Verona, N.J., and his brother, Bruce Fritz and sister-in-law, Elaine Jenkins of Tryon, N.C. Known affectionately as "Pop-Pop Donut," Kent is also survived by his eight grandchildren: Kerry and Brendan Long, Nicholas, Wesley and Samantha Fritz, and Ryan, Tyler, and Sydney Fritz.
His funeral service will be held in the Trinity United Methodist Church, Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 pm. Burial will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery, Pacific Avenue, Oak Bluffs. Visiting hours will be in the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 6 until 8 pm. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asks that donations in Kent's name be made to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557, the Davenport-Mugar Regional Cancer Center, 27 Park Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 or the American Lung Association, 25 Spring Street, Walpole, MA 02081.
Stanley Burnshaw
Stanley Burnshaw of West Tisbury, a widely known and respected poet, critic, translator, editor, and novelist, died at home in West Tisbury on Sept. 16. He was 99. He had lived in West Tisbury for more than 40 years and was a common sight at Lambert's Cove Beach throughout those decades as he arrived for his late afternoon swim. He was married to Susan Copen Oken, his fourth wife.
Called by Douglas Martin of the New York Times "a consummate man of letters," Mr. Burnshaw's creative career spanned more than 70 years. Five of his poems were published in 1927 in "The American Caravan: A Yearbook of American Literature," of which Lewis Mumford was an editor. He published his final book, a poetry and prose anthology, in 2002. Mr. Burnshaw's 1970 book, "The Seamless Web," which focuses on poetic creativity, is perhaps his best known. Another notable book, "The Poem Itself: Forty-five Modern Poets in New Presentation," (1960), offers a new way to look at poems in another language. He was also publisher and editor of Robert Frost's work and wrote a biography of the poet, "Robert Frost Himself," published in 1986. Altogether Mr. Burnshaw wrote or edited more than 20 books.
In the New York Times on Sept. 17, Douglas Martin wrote that Morris Dickstein, literary critic and English professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, said the strongest continuous thread in Mr. Burnshaw's intellectual journey was poetry.
"His extraordinary literary sensibility centers in poetry," Mr. Dickstein told the New York Times.
According to the Times, Mr. Burnshaw was born in Manhattan on June 20, 1906, to Eastern European immigrants and grew up in Pleasantville, N.Y.
He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1925, and then worked in advertising for a steel mill. He published a little magazine, Poetry Folio, and set type by hand. In 1927, he went to France to study, and became acquainted with the poet André Spire. In his first book, "André Spire and His Poetry" (1933), he examined and explained Spire's innovative free verse.
Between the trip and the book, he returned to advertising and also earned a master's degree from Cornell. Unable to find a teaching job, he became an editor at The New Masses, a Communist weekly.
In 1935, he reviewed Wallace Stevens's "Ideas of Order" for the magazine, describing the poet as "a man who, having lost his footing, now scrambles to stand up and keep his balance." The enraged Stevens responded with a poem entitled "Mr. Burnshaw and the Statue."
Mr. Burnshaw then wrote two stridently leftist works, one a book of poems and the other a verse play exploring the effects of technology distorted by greed. He was never actually a member of the Communist Party, and his rejection of Marxism as a solution to society's problems was signaled in 1945 with "The Revolt of the Cats in Paradise," a book-length prose poem.
In the late 1930s, Mr. Burnshaw became editor-in-chief of the Cordon Company, a publishing house, and then president of his own house, Dryden Press, which merged with Holt, Rinehart & Winston in 1958. He stayed on with Holt and edited Robert Frost's final works. He also recruited Lionel Trilling to speak at Mr. Frost's 85th-birthday celebration in 1959.
Writing about "The Seamless Web" in the New York Times, John Leonard praised Mr. Burnshaw's approach. "The man has written an important, challenging, exciting book, without ever asking us to admire him," Mr. Leonard wrote. "He is all the more admirable for his reticence."
In 1981, he published "The Refusers," a trilogy of novels about what he saw as the paradox of Judaism: "the seeming impossibility of belief in a just God of history and its necessity."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Burnshaw is survived by his daughter, Valerie Razavi and a grandson, David Razavi, of Manhattan; step-daughters Nina Oken of Manhattan, Amy Coles of Hyde Park, N.Y.; a step-son David Chaitkin of Manhattan, four step-grandchildren and five step-great-grandchildren.
His memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.
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