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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
December 23 - December 29, 2004 Edition
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OBITUARIES December 23, 2004 Maria Genevieve Prada Maria G. Prada Maria Genevieve “Gen” Prada died suddenly and peacefully at her home in Edgartown on Dec. 14 two weeks after happily celebrating her 90th birthday with family and friends. She will be remembered as being “chipper as a little bird” until the day of her death. She was a devoted member of the Catholic Church and of her family, both of whom received her constant thought and prayers. Her house was filled with photographs of her husband, Albert Prada, her children and grandchildren, and many priests with whom she had worshipped over the years. She was born on Nov. 30, 1914, in Fall River, the daughter of Ernesto Pacheco Melo and Maria E. Melo, both of whom were born on Sao Miguel, Azores. She came with her father and stepmother to Martha’s Vineyard when she was a young girl, and grew up in Chilmark where her father was groundskeeper at Seven Gates Farm and for Dr. Ganz at Holly Home. She spoke only Portuguese until she went to school. She married Albert H. Prada of Edgartown on Dec. 10, 1934 and with him reared two daughters, Shirley and Joyce. In 1954 she and her husband opened Al’s Package Store on Main Street. Later they moved the store to the corner of Upper Main Street and Pinehurst Road, where they were in business until their retirement in 1974. Following her husband’s death in 1986, she remained in residence at their house on Green Avenue where she dedicated herself to volunteer work at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and at St. Elizabeth’s Church. She is survived by two daughters, Shirley J. Craig of Edgartown and Joyce Harding Goldfield of Inverness, Cal.; by five grandchildren, James Craig, Kimberlie Lynch, Cindy Goldfield, John Goldfield and Daniel Goldfield; and by eight great-grandchildren. Her funeral mass was celebrated in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Massasoit Avenue, Oak Bluffs on Dec. 18. Following her burial in the Old Westside Cemetery, Edgartown, next to her husband, a reception will be held at St. Elizabeth’s Church Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, she requested that donations be sent to any organization devoted to the preservation of wildlife or the humane care of animals. Arrangements under the care of Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Oak Bluffs, 508-693-1495. For more information or online guest book visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com. Francis Cournoyer Francis Cournoyer Francis Cournoyer, a West Tisbury resident and home-grown Vineyard businessman who owned a large portion of the North Tisbury commercial district, died on Dec. 1 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after a long illness. He was 68. Born in Oak Bluffs on June 14, 1936, along with a fraternal twin brother, he was the son of Edward and Mary Campos Cournoyer. He grew up in Vineyard Haven and graduated from the Tisbury High School in 1954. After high school he worked for Yates Pharmacy on Main street in Vineyard Haven. He aspired to become a pharmacist but later decided to enlist in the Army. He served as a clerk from 1954 to 1956 and was stationed mostly in Germany. After the service he was employed by Michael Fontes Sr. as a house painter. At the same time he worked for Howell’s Laundry in Vineyard Haven. Mr. Cournoyer married his high school sweetheart Gertrude M. Rogers on April 17, 1959, and they moved to the old Locust Grove School house on Indian Hill in West Tisbury, where they lived until Mrs. Cournoyer’s death in 1985. They had two daughters. In the late 1960s, Mr. Cournoyer bought the Harborlight restaurant on Water street in Vineyard Haven from his brother, George. He operated the restaurant seasonally until the mid-1980s. He employed hundreds of Island teenagers and summer college youth, as well as his daughter Becky, who worked for him for many summers, and his mother Mary, who served as the fry cook. He was a tough but fair boss who taught his employees a strong work ethic, which he learned from his mother. If he caught one of his “kids” slacking off, he was known to say: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” The Harborlight is still fondly remembered by Islanders and summer residents for its steamed hot dogs and frosted mugs of old-fashioned root beer drawn straight from the barrel. Mr. Cournoyer pursued a number of business ventures through his adult life. Proficient at title research, he acquired properties in Gay Head, Chappaquiddick, and Indian Hill in West Tisbury. He owned and developed a long stretch of the business district surrounding up-Island Cronig’s (formerly the Up-Island Supermarket), including the building that houses Conroy Apothecary and also the commercial complex across the road that houses Dr. Raymond Rocco Monto’s sports medicine clinic. He sold the land that is today the campus for the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School and the land that now houses the town public safety building. He had a keen interest in the stock market and enjoyed playing the investment game. He was a low-key, hands-on commercial builder who liked to sketch his own plans and swing a hammer on the job. He served as a West Tisbury assessor and was a member of the town resident homesite committee. He was a member of the board of directors for the Dukes County Savings Bank and served on the bank’s investment board. He was a member of the Portuguese American Club. In 1993 he married Janice Feltz and they lived in a house on Indian Hill across the road from the old school house until his death this month. He is survived by his second wife; his daughters, Mary E. (Molly) Cournoyer and Rebecca Cournoyer Bettencourt, both of West Tisbury; son in law Mark Bettencourt; grandson Connor Bettencourt of West Tisbury; a sister, Jean Pimental of Acushnet; five brothers, Edward and his wife Gail of Harker Heights, Tex., George and his wife Muriel of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Donald of Pelham, N.H., twin brother Frederick and his wife Sandra of Oak Bluffs, and Charles and his wife Maryann of Vineyard Haven. A graveside service was held on Dec. 4 at the West Tisbury Cemetery. Contributions may be made in his memory to the Tri-Town Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 340, Chilmark, MA 02535, or to the Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 2568, Oak Bluffs MA 02557. Wilburn C. Robinson Wilburn C. “Wil” Robinson, age 63, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died peacefully at his home on Dec. 16 after a brief bout with cancer. Mr. Robinson was born Jan. 15, 1941 in Nashville, Tenn., and grew up in Pensacola, Fla. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1970 after earning a master of business administration from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Mr. Robinson is a Christian and had been a charter member of the Feather Sound Community Church. He was a certified public accountant and practiced locally. He served as an appointed member of the Federal Taxation Division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for many years. He was a member of the Gem Society of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Virginia West Robinson; one daughter, Robin L. Robinson, of Martha’s Vineyard; a grandson, Christopher Rifkind; and a great-granddaughter, Lilianna, of Hollywood, Fla. He is also survived by five nephews, a niece, and several great-nephews and great-nieces, all of Tennessee. A celebration of his life was held on Dec. 22 in the Chapel at Hospice House Woodside, Pinellas Park, Fla. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donation to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 300 East Bay Dr., Largo, FL 33770.Bobby Joe Cook Bobby Joe Cook of Edgartown died Dec. 18 peacefully at his home after a long illness. He was 60. Bobby Joe was the son of Romie John Lee Cook and Tessie Mae Brown, he was born in Rome, Georgia on Dec. 1, 1944, one of 12 children. He was the husband of Nancy Lee Arruda, an Island native, who left Martha’s Vineyard in 1959 and met Bobby Joe in 1960 in Ocala, Florida. They lived there until 1980 when Nancy returned to the Island and Bobby Joe did the same. Bobby Joe started a house painting business which he continued until his illness. He was an avid fisherman and hunter and throughout his ordeal he never lost his sense of humor. He was also a volunteer Edgartown firefighter. He was a Vietnam veteran, serving in the Army, and a member of the Edgartown American Legion. He is survived by his wife; a son, Theodore Bernard Cook, of Tewksbury; a daughter, Toni Lee Cook, of Edgartown; his granddaughter, Cassandra Marie Cook of Edgartown; his five sisters, Eunice Jeannette Collins of Ocala, Fla., Ruby John Cox of Crossnore, N.C., Dorothy Mae Adams, Mildred Louise Cook and Betty Lois Gilmore all of Rome, Ga.; three brothers, Ervin J. Cook, of Ocala, Fla., Romie Franklin Cook and Gerry Richard Cook both of Cedartown, Ga.; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters, Sarha Marie Carver, who died on his birthday this month and Mary Ruth Beck; and by his brother Jimmy J.D. Cook. Bobby Joe’s funeral service was held on Dec. 22, officiated by Rev. Gerry Fritz and burial in the New Westside Cemetery, Edgartown. Donations may be made in his memory to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements under the care of Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Oak Bluffs, 508-693-1495. For more information or online guest book visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com. Edward Krikorian Jr. Edward Krikorian, Jr. of Oak Bluffs died Dec.15 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. A full obituary will appear in The Times next week.

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