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Mary Salmon, 98
Was Resident of Chilmark
Mary Linscott Ruder Salmon of Chilmark and originally of Woburn died on July 28 at the age of 98.
Mrs. Salmon, the daughter of Gertrude W. and Arthur H. Linscott, was born and raised in Woburn. She was graduated from Woburn High School and the McClintock School in Boston and Simmons College, class of 1927, with a degree in medical social work. She married
her first husband, Carl L. Ruder, M.D., shortly after her college graduation. They moved to Pittsburgh, where he established a private practice and they raised their four daughters.
In 1974 she married
E. Dwight Salmon, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Amherst College. They resided at his Chilmark home, where she continued to live following his death in 1993.
Mrs. Salmon is survived by her daughters, Cynthia Seifert of Portsmouth, R.I.; Priscilla Lucier of Osterville; Susan Hull of Atherton, Calif., and Paula Cole of Nags Head, N.C. She is also survived by 15 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her two husbands, Dr. Carl L. Ruger of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Professor E. Dwight Salmon of Amherst and Chilmark.
A private graveside service was held at Woodbrook cemetery in Woburn.
Donald A. Tanneyhill
Donald A. Tanneyhill of Palmetto, Fla., died of cancer at the age of 64 on Feb. 23.
He was the son of the late A. Clayton and Dorothy Barker Tanneyhill; during his childhood they lived in Norwood and owned a summer home in Oak Bluffs. Don spent joyful summers on the Vineyard as a child with friends who made their later summer meetings wonderful reunions.
Mr. Tanneyhill and his wife, Rebecca Robinson Tanneyhill, came to Palmetto, Fla., in 1986 from Rochester, N.Y. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his cousins, Lucy Tanneyhill Cromwell and Bill Tanneyhill of Mashpee, and by his mother's sister, Millie McKee of Everett, and cousins Cheryl Lee and Don McKee. Cheryl and her husband, Eric Lee, have a summer home in Oak Bluffs.
Michael L. Hoffman
Was Economist and Journalist
Michael L. Hoffman of West Tisbury died on June 29 at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital at the age of 86. The cause of death was pneumonia.
After receiving a degree in economics in 1935 from Oberlin College in Ohio, from which he was graduated summa cum laude, Mr. Hoffman went on to obtain a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, after which he began his long career as an economist. He was an instructor in economics at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., for two years, and then returned to Oberlin, where he taught for three semesters.
In 1941, he was employed by the United States treasury department as an advisor for the foreign funds control. In 1943 he was sent first to Algiers, then to London as a representative for the treasury. In 1944 he was assigned to Paris as the acting director of the foreign funds control.
In 1945, The New York Times offered Mr. Hoffman a position as a European economic correspondent, reputedly making him the first foreign correspondent hired by the Times despite no previous journalistic experience. He remained abroad, living first in London and then in Geneva, until December of 1956.
His next association, in 1957, was in Washington, D.C., with the World Bank, where he was appointed director of the Economic Development Institute. From 1961 to 1963 he was associate director of the development services department of the bank.
After a brief interim in the world of international finance as vice president of Lambert International, a new York-based investment company, he returned to Washington and rejoined the World Bank, first in his former position and then as the director of the international relations department. He retained this position until he retired in 1975 and subsequently moved to the Vineyard.
Mr. Hoffman was born in Salisbury, N.C. Here he began to develop his lifelong interest in nature, especially birds. Birding became one of his abiding passions, and after his move to the Vineyard, he spent long hours in the field with two well-known birders, Edward Chaliff and Richard Pough. He was also an avid gardener and fisherman, as well as an accomplished skier, a sport he developed a passion for during his long residence in Europe.
He was a life member of the Royal Economic Society, the Society for International Development, which he helped found, and the Audubon Naturalist Society, and was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Couronne. He belonged to the Reform Club in London and the Cosmos Club in Washington.
On the Island, he served briefly as a member of the Tisbury finance committee, and for many years he was an active member of the First Congregational Church of west Tisbury, serving as treasurer from 1978 until the mid-1990s, when illness forced him to retire.
Mr. Hoffman is survived by his wife, Catherine; his sister, Jean S. Wexler of West Tisbury; a son, Peter, of Ipswich; four grandsons, and three great-grandchildren.
A graveside service was held on Saturday, July 14, at 10 a.m. at the Lambert's Cove cemetery in West Tisbury. Contributions in his name may be made to Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, P.O. Box 1747, Oak Bluffs, MA 02539.
Paul Morris
Was Long Time Advocate for Disabled
Paul Morris of Reading, president of New England Shuttle, died Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 at the Winchester Hospital. He was 71.
Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Walter and Eulalie (Masterson) Morris.
Mr. Morris was a Reading resident for 35 years. He graduatd from Mt. St. Charles Academy in 1948, and from Fordham University in 1952. A first lieutenant, he served as a transportation officer in Korea. He was a long time advocate for the rights of learning disabled children. As past president of the Association for Children with Learning Disablilites, he was instrumental in passage of Chapter 766. He served for many years on the board of the Landmark School at Prides Crossing, and was the chairman of the White Oaks School in Westford. In 1965, he founded the Mass. Leasing Association and was its president. He also had been a reserve deputy sheriff of Middlesex County for the past 20 years.
The husband of Mary (Libbey) Morris, he was the father of Paul Morris Jr. of Woburn, Geoffrey Moris of Reading, Mary Moore of Chelmsford, Ann Zaia of Sudbury, Natalie Morris of Medford, and Elizabeth Morris of Sudbury; and the brother of Walter, Rear Adm. Thomas and Robert Morris, all of Florida, Philip Morris of Connecticut, Ann Sanborn of Florida, Eulalie Regan of Oak Bluffs, and Rev. Sr. Natalie Morris of New York. He is also survived by grandchildren Robert Moore and Nicole Zaia.
A Funeral Mass was celebrated on Monday, Sept. 24, at St. Athanasius Chuch in Reading.
Sophia Marshard Chomes
Sophia M. Marshard Chomes of Jamaica Plain, formerly of Newton, died on Saturday, July 14. She was the beloved wife of the late Harry Chomes and the dear sister of the late Jack Marshard and Harry Marshard, prominent society bandleaders, and the late Ethel Swig Sttone.
She is survived by numerous loving nephews, a niece and other family and devoted friends.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18, at the Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard street, Brookline. After the interment, family and friends are welcome at her late residence from 2 to 6 p.m.
Remembrances may be made to the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington avenue, Boston, MA 02115, Massachusetts General hospital, 55 Fruit street, Boston, MA 02114, the Massachusetts Camelia Society, c/o Edward Ostroff, 154 Morse Road, Sudbury, MA 01776 or a charity of one's choice.
Prudence Hotchkiss
Was Friendly, Artistic Person
Prudence Wagoner Hotchkiss of Mink Meadows died Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Windemere Nursing Home. She was the daughter of the late Charles P. Wagoner and Gertrude Mills Wagoner of Albany, N.Y. She was the widow of Stephen B. Robinson of Albany, N.Y., and of Henry Hotchkiss of Vineyard Haven.
She spent her childhood in Albany and was graduated from St. Agnes School and Skidmore College in Saratoga, N.Y.
Prue loved to entertain and to be entertained. She was forever giving parties or going to them. When she was a little girl she hosted tea parties for her dolls, and this set a pattern that was to last throughout her life.
She had a deep interest in art and wrote poetry as well as producing many paintings. She was a warm, fun loving person with a wonderful sense of humor.
She is survived by two cousins, John M. Mills of Vineyard Haven and Dr. Harry M. Judge and his wife, Mary Walsh Judge, of Albany, N.Y. She is also survived by her step-children, Henry Hotchkiss of Fairhaven, Frederick Hotchkiss of Harvard and Anne Hotchkiss Ganz of Washington, D.C., and Chlimark.
Her memorial service will be on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, Vineyard Haven. Private interment will be held in the family lot at the Oak Grove cemetery, Tisbury.
Victoria Holcombe
Was Resident of East Syracuse
Victoria S. Edick Holcombe of East Syracuse, N.Y., died on Saturday, August 31, at the age of 60. She was a crystal maker at Leybold Inficon.
She is survived by her fiance, Robert Clickner; two daughters, Colleen Brown of Colorado and Maureen R. Jones of Manlius, N.Y.; a son, Jerome S. Lasinski Sr. of Cato, N.Y.; a stepson, Ben Holcombe of Chittenango, N.Y.; her father, Edward Edick of West Monroe, N.Y.; five sisters, Cindy Joshanski of Meridian, N.Y., Gloria Sylva of West Tisbury and Dorothy Maciel of Vineyard Haven, Donna Eipp of Woodgate, N.Y., and Patty Monica of Constantia, N.Y.; six brothers, James Edick of North Syracuse, N.Y.; Thomas Edick of Cicero, N.Y.; David Edick of California, Bernard Edick of Ravena, N.Y., Edward Edick of Farmington, N.Y., and Arnold Field of Remsen, N.Y., and eight grandchildren.
Services were held at the Pirro & Sons Funeral Home and at St. Matthew's Church in East Syracuse, with interment at Woodlawn cemetery in Syracuse.
Walter Williamson, 86
Was Author, Educator
Walter Williamson, 86, died in Sarasota, Fla., on July 28. He was a lifelong Vineyard summer resident. His maternal grandfather, Edward C. Wesselhoeft, had a home on Chappaquiddick and in Vineyard Haven. Edward was an illustrious Vineyard character who was written up in the Vineyard Gazette on August 9, 1932. Having English and German passports, he traveled the world as a sea captain. On one of his voyages, the president of the University of Pennsylvania invited him to teach. Edward later took him up on the offer, becoming a popular professor of German.
Walter was born on Thanksgiving Day, 1914. He liked to say the turkey brought him instead of the stork. The oldest child of four children, he grew up in northwest Philadelphia. His Williamson family had come to Philadelphia with William Penn from England in 1682. He was named after his great-grandfather, Dr. Walter Williamson, a famous physician and president of the State Medical Society. Dr. Williamson was a founder of Hahnemann Hospital in its homeopathic days.
A man of great fortitude, Walter overcame an unhappy and tragic childhood. This gave him real strength of character; he was a person of true integrity. At one time dropping out of high school after the death of his father, he later returned at the insistence of his aunt with whom he went to live. She helped him obtain a full scholarship to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. There he was a star athlete at lightweight wrestling. He was captain of the cross-country and track team, president of Sigma Chi, president of the Knights of the Round Table (an honorary society), president of Kappa Phi Kappa national education fraternity, a member of Phi Delta Kappa and the National Council of English Teachers.
In 1937, he met his future wife Florence, a Wellesley student, studying at the University of Munich Summer School. Upon graduating in 1938, he received the prestigious Pepper Prize for most exemplary student of the year. Walter won a fellowship as an exchange student at the University of Frankfurt for 1938 to 1939. His book Heil Roosevelt is a riveting account of his experiences in pre-war Nazi Germany. The title refers to an ironic comment he made (complete with Nazi salute) the last night of his stay, culminating in a mob scene he had to flee.
A master's degree from Temple University was granted to him in 1942. Then he was a Navy officer in World War II, enduring many bouts of seasickness. In 1952, he received his doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Walter became a well-liked college professor and eventually served as director of student teaching at Towson State University in Baltimore.
Travel was one of his passions. He taught at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu from 1959 to 1960. Journeying around the world with his wife for 10 months in 1972 and 1973 was one of the highlights of his life.
Walter was an intellectual, but he relished more the role of clown. In Hawaii he enjoyed performing comic hulas, especially the one about oiling his red opu (stomach). Another time he impersonated Gypsy Rose Lee.
Martha's Vineyard was a place he loved. He always looked forward to spending his summers here. Walter was an avid sailor as well as a robust swimmer. In his youth he swam the width of Katama Bay. His grandfather's property at Long Point, Chappaquiddick, was his summer residence until 1985 when he sold it and moved to Hidden Cove, Oak Bluffs. An ardent supporter of Vineyard theatre, he had the distinction of purchasing the very first season tickets to the Vineyard Playhouse. A few summers ago, Walter was delighted to attend the service at the Tabernacle with President Clinton and Hillary and to shake their hands afterwards.
He worshipped his wife from the moment he met her until the day she died, and beyond. They were happily married
for 59 years. Walter was a warm and dedicated father who would do anything for his family.
His two books are forthcoming from Xlibris, of Random House Ventures, L.L.C. Low on the Family Tree is a humorous memoir of his family summers on Chappaquiddick. Heil Roosevelt includes his account of Kristallnacht in Frankfurt, the removal of Jews to concentration camps and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, which he experienced while on a bicycle trip. Most of all, Heil Roosevelt describes the reactions of ordinary Germans to the pre-war Nazi regime.
Walter's deep feelings for the two great loves of his life, his dear wife and beloved Martha's Vineyard are beautifully expressed in his epitaph:
Thou wast that all to me, love,
For which my soul did pine --
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
-- Edgar Allen Poe
Walter will be remembered for his lamblike appearance coupled with a tigerish tenacity, his insightful intelligence, fiery temperament and most of all his puckish sense of humor. His family will miss his utter devotion to them.
Survivors include two daughters, Barbara W. Hall of Williamsport, Pa., and Carol Ann Williamson-Moise of Oak Bluffs and Princeton, N.J., and a sister, Ethel Day of Arlington, Va.
Memorial services were held at All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church on Longboat Key, Fla., and at the family plot in Vineyard Haven.
Gifts may be sent in his name to Lafayette College, Development Office, 307 Markle Hall, Easton, PA 18042.
Rebecca Johnston
Loved Summers in Oak Bluffs
Rebecca C. Johnston of West Newton and Oak Bluffs died on Sept. 23 at the Henrietta Brewer House assisted living facility in Vineyard Haven. She was 96.
Born in Attleboro, she was the fourth of six children of the late Robert L. and Nancy C. (Gifford) Cooke. She was predeceased by her four sisters and her brother. She was the wife of the late Walter F. Johnston and had lived in West Newton until four years ago, when she moved to Martha's Vineyard.
Mrs. Johnston was graduated from Attleboro High School in 1922 and from Massachusetts School of Art in 1929. She also attended Rhode Island School of Design. She taught art in the Hebronville school system before her marriage. In the 1950s and 1960s she owned and operated yarn shops in Attleboro and Oak Bluffs.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Johnston traveled extensively, visiting Montana, California and Washington, D.C., as well as several European countries from England to Yugoslavia. She was pleased to have been able to chip off and bring home her own pieces of the Berlin Wall during a visit to that city in March of 1990.
She was a lifelong summer resident of Oak Bluffs, where she maintained a cottage on the Camp Ground that has been in her family since its construction in 1870 by her great-grandfather. She was a former member of the Martha's Vineyard Garden Club and a life member of the East Chop Beach Club. She also had been a member of Hope Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star in Attleboro as well as the Attleboro chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mrs. Johnston was a committed Red Sox fan who seldom missed watching the team's games on television. She also loved spending summer afternoons sitting in her Lincoln rocker on her cottage front porch -- or piazza, as it was called -- and watching the nautical comings and goings in Oak Bluffs harbor, occasionally being treated to a glorious sunset and afterglow over Sunset Lake.
Mrs. Johnston is survived by a son, Richard of West Newton, and a daughter, Nancy Le Blanc and her husband, Robert, of Oak Bluffs. She also leaves four grandchildren, Richard Le Blanc and his wife, Karin, of Missoula, Mont.; James Le Blanc and his wife, Lori, of Niskayuna, N.Y.; Michael Le Blanc and his wife, Candice, of Burlington, Conn., and Rebecca Le Blanc, a 1999 graduate of Martha's Vineyard High School who is currently enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula. She was also great-grandmother to Nicholas and Anna Le Blanc of Missoula and Zachary and Julia Le Blanc of Niskayuna.
A memorial service was held at the Newton cemetery Chapel. Interment was private. Donations may be made in her memory to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard.
Richard M. Jones, 52
Was Tennis Pro and Mechanic
Richard M. Jones died of cancer on Oct. 11 at home in Oak Bluffs. His passing was so peaceful, his friends thought he was sleeping.
He was born June 20, 1949, to Floyd M. Jones and Helen Stockton Jones, who both predeceased him.
Rick was a talented athlete and equestrian. While playing high school baseball in Parsippany, N.J., he was invited to become a member of the New York Yankees organization. Instead, he followed his love for tennis, was ranked by the United States Tennis Association and, by 1970, was a USPTA certified teaching pro.
While teaching in New Jersey, he met Frank Neil of East Chop, who told him about a small club on Martha's Vineyard in need of a pro. In the spring of 1976, Rick came to teach and maintain the courts at East Chop. He played in the fastpitch softball league for the Bandits. Rick had been a pitcher, but decided to try the position of catcher in softball. He said recently that catching was his absolute favorite position to play. Some remember his awesome throw to second base.
When winter came to the Island, Rick could not bring himself to leave. So instead he worked as a mason's tender and a carpenter's helper, strung racquets and started an indoor tennis program in the gym at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. He loved to work.
In the summer of 1978, he met Jane Clauss and married
. Their son, Floyd M. Jones, was born the following May. Rick left the Island for North Carolina, so Jane could continue her education. In Cashiers, N.C., he was the pro at the John Newcomb Tennis Center. When Jane needed to move to a pre-med facility at N.C. State in Raleigh, Rick became the pro at the faculty club there, a job he really enjoyed.
In April of 1987 their second child, Pamela, was born. Medical school called the family to Greenville, N.C. It was there that the marriage ended and Jane moved away with the children.
Rick stayed in North Carolina for a while working for the Greenville Racquet Club, but he was given subscriptions to both Island newspapers and came home before they ran out.
Rick got a job at The Pit Stop in Oak Bluffs and rented a room in the home of Leighton Burriss. He worked at The Pit Stop for many years, until last winter, due to his illness. This past spring and summer, he pumped gas at DeBettencourts on New York avenue. Most people knew him from his workplaces.
Rick was a homebody. He got around on a bicycle and didn't go out much, unless it was to shoot pool. His nephew, George Tietze, challenged Rick at the pool table, and the two would play long hours.
Over the years, Rick and Leighton spent time reading, listening to bluegrass music and playing some, too. Rick could play haunting melodies on the harmonica. Rick's favorite time was Sunday morning, reading the newspapers. He said Leighton's was the best home he ever had.
During his illness, Rick was still great company. He kept his sense of humor and watched ball games with friends, who had converted him to being a Red Sox fan. He continued reading and learning and making new friends, most especially, Cynthia Barletta.
Many friends gathered at the Vineyard Haven cemetery on the evening of Oct. 16. Rick's niece, Lizzy Dickerson, spoke of the good times with her uncle when the family all lived on a horse farm in New Jersey. Even though she touched on a few bright stories, a deep sadness prevailed among his friends and family who were not ready to say goodbye to Rick.
Rick was laid to rest next to his father. There will soon be a statue of a horse to watch over them.
Rich's children, Floyd and Pamela, live in Issaqua, Wash. His brother in law and sister, Craig and Michele Hockmeyer, nieces Marciana Jones, Nina and May Muckerheide and nephew George Tietze all live on the Island. His eldest niece, Lizzy Dickerson, her children, Rick's great-niece and nephew, Penelope Johnson and Rory Running Deer Dickerson-Polyblank, live in Rockland, Me., with her partner, Guy Polyblank.
Rick's family was not limited to those related to him by blood. His friends cared for him, as a family would, when he needed them. What began as a rented room became the kind of home we would all wish to have at the end of our days.
His family is grateful to all of his friends and to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard.
At Rick's request, memorial donations should be made to the endowment fund of Hospice of Martha's Vineyard.
