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Maxwell M. Welch
2001-08-23
The Reverend Maxwell M. Welch, 88, of Walpole died at home Sunday, August 19.
He was born in Strong, a son of Roscoe Welch and Maude Blossom Ranger Welch Hillier.
He was a graduate of Strong High School, Bangor Theological Seminary and Bowdoin College, Class of 1943.
In 1938, he became pastor of a three-point charge: Bristol Congregational Church, Round Pond Methodist Church and the Union Chapel of Walpole.
In 1943, he married Elizabeth Lincoln Dorr of Boothbay Harbor and was called to the Princeton Congregational Church. While there, he also served as chaplain to the Prisoner of War Camp, delivering his sermons in German. In 1944, he was called to the Federated Church of Pelham, Mass.
In 1947, he and his wife were commissioned to serve in Angola where they ministered for 10 years. They returned to the United States in 1957 and he accepted a call to the Warburton Community Church, a mission in the Hartford, Conn. area. From Hartford he moved to the Grand Avenue Congregational Church in New Haven, Conn. where he served for 11 years. In 1977, he semi-retired and served the Congregational Church of Staffordville, Conn. In 1980, he retired and the Welchs returned to Walpole.
After a few years, he joined the staff of the First Congregational Church of Wiscasset as Minister of Visitation where he served until 1996 when he finally retired as Pastor of Visitation Emeritus.
In January 2001, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Bangor Theological Seminary Alumni Association for over 60 years of faithful ministry to local churches, 10 years of service in the Foreign Mission field and bringing honor to Christian ministry and to Bangor Theological Seminary.
He was a member of the Bowdoin Glee Club, the Sheepscot Valley and Lincoln Arts Festival choruses and the Wiscasset Congregational Church choir.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth L. Dorr of Walpole; two sons, Kenneth A. of New Haven, Conn. and Thomas D. of Waldoboro; a foster son, George R. Merritt of Hawthorne, N.J.; two daughters, Susan C. Smith of Rockhill, S.C. and the Reverend Patricia E. Welch, Pastor of the Edgecomb Congregational Church; two sisters, Ruby Ellsworth of Farmington and Olive Umbro of Rumford; seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two surrogate daughters.
He was predeceased by his stepfather Merton Hillier and infant sister Gertrude.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Bristol Congregational Church, Wiscasset Congregational Church, Edgecomb Congregational Church, Bangor Seminary or Miles Home Health Hospice.
A memorial service was held a the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset on Wednesday, August 22 at 10 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of the Strong Funeral Home, Main Street, Damariscotta.
J. Richard Wright
2001-08-30
J. Richard "Dick" Wright, 81, of Boothbay Harbor and Carlisle, Mass. died at Midcoast Hospital in Brunswick on Thursday, August 16.
Born in Syracuse, N.Y., April 15, 1920, he was the son of William and Gladys (Mapes) Wright. He grew up in Ithaca, N.Y.
His college education at Cornell University was interrupted by World War II. As a geology major, he successfully prospected for oil in Michigan to aid the war effort.
On July 24, 1943 he married Constance Reed of Boothbay Harbor.
Mr. Wright enlisted in the U.S. Army, and in 1944, was sent to Europe where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and was part of a unit that liberated slave camps from the Nazis.
After the war he finished college, graduating from Cornell in 1947 (although technically the class of '42).
Mr. and Mrs. Wright built Sea Winds Coffee Shop in West Boothbay Harbor and ran it for two seasons. During the winters he had various jobs, including setting up bookkeeping books for several businesses, estimator at Goudy and Stevens, and teaching school at Fort Kent.
In 1956 he was hired by Electric Boat Co., submarine builders in Groton, Conn., as a mathematician, to work on some of the early computers used in building nuclear submarines. He remained in the mathematics and computer fields for the rest of his career. He then worked for an IBM subsidiary in Boston before joining Wolfe Research & Development Corp in 1963. He worked on several contracts, moving his family to each job location. The most challenging and interesting assignment was with the group setting up the computer system at Mission Control in Houston for the Space Program.
The family moved to Carlisle, Mass. in 1966, and Mr. Wright left Wolfe shortly after to work as a civilian for the U.S. Air Force at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass. He was Project Director for the Computer Research and Development Lab there until it was eliminated by budget cuts in the early 1970s. He then became a chief civilian negotiator for computer acquisition for the U.S. Air Force, retiring from this position in 1982.
During retirement Mr. and Mrs. Wright traveled extensively, including a trip to the Far East, and trips to Greece and Europe. He loved traveling, as well as playing bridge, reading and doing crossword puzzles. He enjoyed the time he spent with his family; was an avid bowler, and until his retirement, played softball with the team from work, often filling in with a son or two when the team was not large enough. His particular enjoyment was his membership in the Carlisle Colonial Minutemen until a lame knee preventing him from marching.
Survivors include four sons, Stephen of Austin, Texas, David of Lowell, Mass., Chandler of Locke Mills and Boothbay Harbor, and Kenneth of Walpole, N.H.; eight grandchildren; one great-grand-daughter; and one sister of North Carolina.
A memorial service will be announced. Donations may be made in his memory to the EMT of Boothbay, specifying the Defibrillator Account, Boothbay, ME 04537, Att: Karen Hunter; the Salvation Army; or charity of one's choice.
Ken Ward
2001-09-15
Ken Ward, a former columnist for the Bangor Daily News, died last month during heart surgery. He was 74.
Ward was a newspaperman for more than 30 years. He joined the Bangor Daily News in 1960 as a printer in the composing room. Then he served as a camera operator, advertising makeup man, and proofreader before joining the editorial department in 1980.
He was the state editor of the News from 1983 until his retirement from full-time employment in 1991. He also wrote a column entitled "The Railbird" about harness racing.
He leaves his wife, Dorothy; three sons, Mark, David, and Daniel; two daughters, Mary and Melissa.
Martha F. Welsh
2001-04-12
Martha F. Welsh, 95, of Boothbay, died Sunday, April 1 at her home.
The wife of John Henry Welsh of Boothbay, she was born on December 14, 1905 in Parkville, Missouri, the daughter of Professor Merlin Chamberlain Findlay and Isabelle McRae Findlay.
In 1927 she graduated from Park College and earned her Master's degree in Biology from Radcliff College in 1931. From 1928 to 1930 she taught science at Washington High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. She married John Henry Welsh of Boothbay in 1931 and lived in Cambridge, Mass. for nearly 40 years during which time her husband taught biology at Harvard University, retiring as a full professor in 1968.
During her years in Cambridge, Mrs. Welsh raised three children and often had a relative living with the family. She sat at her sewing machine almost daily and enjoyed making household items as well as clothes for herself and her family. She cooked delicious meals and entertained friends regularly, especially welcoming graduated students, many of whom became lifelong family friends. She was a Brownie leader and a Cub Scout den mother.
When her children were grown, she returned to work as a research laboratory technician at Boston's renowned Eye and Ear Infirmary. One of her most exciting projects was studying the eyes of Enos, the first chimpanzee to orbit the earth. Enos traveled in 1961 and died in 1963 while Mrs. Welsh was working at the Infirmary.
Mrs. Welsh enjoyed art and music and traveled widely with her family when Professor Welsh taught or pursued research at marine biological laboratories throughout the world.
In 1970 the Welshes moved to his family home in Boothbay. Mrs. Welsh was a member of the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, and an active participant in the Women's Fellowship. Until very recently, she continued to entertain friends and family, as well as sewing and cooking and teaching these skills to others.
Survivors include her husband, John Henry Welsh; one son and daughter-in-law, John and Rebecca Welsh of Rumford; two daughters and their husbands, Sue and John Reed of Cambridge, Mass., and Martha and Donald Goldstone of Washington, D.C. and Boothbay; seven grandchildren; three great-grand-children; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held this summer, no date has been set at this time.
Donations may be made in her memory to the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church or the YMCA.
Arrangements are by Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, 975 Wiscasset Road, P.O. Box 576, Boothbay, ME 04537.
Betty L. J. Wolff
2001-11-15
Betty Lilan Jones Wolff died on November 2, 2001, after a long battle with emphysema.
Known as Lilan to her friends, she was born on March 14, 1918, at Morriston-at-Swansea, Wales and educated in Great Britain. After training as a nurse, she joined the staff of a hospital near London prior to World War II.
Mrs. Wolff is survived by her husband, Herbert M. Wolff, M.D., who was in post-graduate medical training in Dublin, Ireland at the time the United Sates entered World War II. While awaiting his commission in the United States Army, Dr. Wolff responded to Great Britain's call for physicians during the Battle of Britain. He worked at the hospital where his future wife was serving as head nurse in charge of operating rooms. Their courtship lasted during the War, and they married in Great Britain in 1945.
Dr. and Mrs. Wolff moved to Trenton, New Jersey in 1946 where Dr. Wolff opened his medical practice, and Mrs. Wolff assisted him as a nurse in his office.
The Wolffs moved to Princeton, New Jersey in 1974. While living in Trenton and Princeton, Mrs. Wolff studied and collected antiques. She had a connoisseur's ability for discerning uniqueness and aesthetic qualities of works of art and furniture, and at times would personally refinish her acquisitions.
Upon retirement in 1985, Dr. and Mrs. Wolff moved to a home on the Sheepscot River in the town of Edgecomb.
Survivors include in addition to her husband, three children, Frances Lylan Wolff of Atlanta, Ga., Robert Jones Wolff of Chestnut Hill, Mass., and Glenys Ann Wolff of Austin, Texas; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Kirsch-ner, and grandson, Dylan Jones Wolff, of Chestnut Hill, Mass.; son-in-law, Howard Wolff; and grand-sons, Austin Everett Wolf and Elliott Gavin Wolf, of Austin, Texas; one sister, Margaret Jones, of Colwyn Bay, Wales, Great Britain.
A private memorial service will be held by the family in Edgecomb. In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of choice would be appre-ciated.
Sally S. Wait
2002-11-21
Sally S. Wait, 88, of Edgecomb, died Wednesday, November 13 at Cove's Edge in Damariscotta.
Born November 30, 1914 in New Haven, Conn., she was the daughter of Frederick and Eleanor Patterson Smart.
She attended Pennsylvania College for Women and the Art Institute of Philadelphia, and was a commercial artist in New York City and in Boston during the 1930s and 1940s. For the past 25 years she has run MAH Antiques, an antique print business located in Edgecomb with her daughter Lea. She was a member of the Maine Antique Dealers Association.
Mrs. Wait was predeceased by her husband, George and her brother, Frederick.
Survivors include three daughters, Lea Wait of Edgecomb, Nancy Cantwell and her husband Thomas of Morristown, N.J., and Doris Wait and her husband Robert O'Malley of Flemington, N.J.; seven granddaughters; and four great-granddaughters.
Services were held Saturday, November 16 at the chapel of the Strong Funeral Home, 612 Main Street in Damariscotta.
Donations may be made to the Lincoln County Historical Society, Federal Street, Wiscasset, ME.
Richard S. Weeks
2002-12-05
Richard "Dick" Stuart Weeks, 71, of Cundy's Harbor, passed away Thursday, November 28 at his home after a long siege of cancer.
Born November 28, 1931 in Flushing, N.Y., he was the son of Richard E. and Irma E. VanDyke Weeks.
Mr. Weeks began school in Freeport, Long Island, New York and at the age of 14 moved with his parents to Norwich, N.Y. where he graduated from Norwich High School in 1950.
In January 1951 he entered the U.S. Navy and served in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. He was honorably discharged in December 1954 and served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve for four years.
Mr. Weeks was a carpenter and building contractor for 40 years beginning in Norwich, N.Y. He moved to Cundy's Harbor in 1970 and started Weeks' Construction, retiring in November 1992.
In October 1982, he married Carolyn Fogg Fournier of Cape Elizabeth, formerly of Readfield, ME. Mr. & Mrs. Weeks wintered for many years in Homosassa, Florida. They were also antique dealers.
He is predeceased by a step- daughter, Julianne Fournier Stimus of Satellite Beach, Fla.
Besides his wife and his mother both of Cundy's Harbor, he is survived by three sons, Wayne Weeks and his wife, Tina of Wiscasset, Martin Weeks and his wife, Janet of Cundy's Harbor and Dale Weeks and his wife, Kelly of Cundy's Harbor; one daughter, Erin Weeks Perkins and her husband, Douglas of Worcester, Mass.; three stepsons, Richard Fournier and his wife, Renee of Bangor, Stephen Fournier and his wife, Diana of South Portland, and David Fournier of Portland; one step- daughter, Deirdre Fournier Slipp and her husband, Chris of Burnham, Maine; six grandsons, Benjamin Weeks of Wiscasset, Robin Weeks and Tristan Weeks both of Cundy's Harbor, Ned Weeks of Wiscasset, Douglas Perkins and Rory Perkins both of Worcester, Mass.
A memorial service was held at Tuesday, December 3, at Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick with the Rev. Jill Small officiating. Interment will be in Cranberry Horn Cemetery, Cundy's Harbor.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Bath-Brunswick Hospice, P.O. Box 741, Brunswick, ME 04011.
John H. Welsh
2002-12-05
Harvard professor and pioneer in research on neurological science, John Henry Welsh, died in Boothbay Harbor Tuesday, November 26 at the age of 101.
He was the first to propose that the physiological role of serotonin might be as a neuro-transmitter. He received a Ph.D. in Zoology from Harvard in 1929 in the field of invertebrate physiology. He was a member of the faculty of the Harvard biology department until his retirement in 1968, serving as chairman of the department and director of the laboratories between 1947 and 1959.
Born on a dairy farm in Boothbay August 25, 1901, Welsh was educated in Boothbay schools and graduated from Portland High School. He received his B.A. from Berea College (Kentucky) in 1922. After attending Harvard University for a year, he taught in Boothbay and at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass., then returned to Harvard and received his Ph.D. He was a dedicated teacher, co-authoring the widely used Laboratory Exercises in Invertebrate Physiology (1949-1968) and conscientiously directing the research and dissertations of 32 successful doctoral candidates. Nearly every one of them established a lasting relationship with Professor Welsh and his wife of 70 years, Martha Findlay Welsh, also a biologist, who predeceased him in 2001.
Mr. Welsh did research at marine biological stations including the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Mass., The Harvard Biological Station at Soledad, Cuba, The Smithsonian Laboratory at Barro Colorado Island in Panama, the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth, England, University of Washington's Marine Station at Friday Harbor, and Bermuda Biological Station, which were among his favorites.
He was made a Life Trustee of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research in 1970, having served on the board since 1937. In 1937 and 1953 he spent sabbaticals at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and in 1960, received a Fulbright Fellowship for work in Brazil. He received research grants from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, as well as from the U.S. Public Health Service.
He was a fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1945), fellow, New York Academy of Science, member, American Physiological Society, member, American society of Zoologists, fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, member, Society of General Physiologists, member, Sigma Xi.
After his retirement to Maine in 1970, he was involved with the University of Maine's Darling Center and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay Harbor.
An avid vegetable gardener, cider maker, and tree farmer he belonged to the Small Woodlot Owners Association of Maine. He also served as a trustee of St. Andrews Hospital, the Boothbay Region Land Trust, for which he was instrumental in the acquisition of the Oven's Mouth Preserve, and the Boothbay Region Historical Society, which has benefited from his donations of memorabilia and his lectures about his grandfather, a nineteenth-century sea captain in the Maine to South America trade. In 1998, he received Boothbay's Boston Post Cane, awarded to its oldest resident by the now extinct Boston Post newspaper.
He leaves three children, John Henry Welsh, Jr. of Rumford, Sue Welsh Reed of Cambridge, Mass. and Martha W. Goldstone of Washington, D.C.; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at Oceanview cemetery in Boothbay next summer.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Boothbay Region Land Trust, P.O. Box 183, Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538.
Services are under the care of Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, Boothbay.
Jean B. Wetherbee
2002-05-15
Jean Brown Wetherbee, 84, died March 25 in Vinalhaven.
She was a reporter for the Hartford Courant for 18 years. After retiring from the Courant, she became editor of the Newington Town Crier in Connecticut.
In 1984, she moved to Vinalhaven and soon after became editor of the island paper, The Wind.
Wetherbee was an accomplished photographer whose work appeared weekly in The Wind. She was also a published poet.
She leaves three sons, Roger, David, and Jonathan; six grandchildren.
