Search Archived Marriage Records
Alice M. Thompson
Was Devoted Minister's Wife
Alice May Thompson died in Portland, Me., on Sunday, August 11. The daughter of William Tongue and Emma Taber Tongue, Mrs. Thompson was born in Fall River on April 24, 1922. She spent her youth in North Tiverton, R.I., and was graduated from Durfee High School in Fall River.
On Nov. 11, 1941, she married
the Rev. William M. Thompson, whom she had met when he was a student pastor at the Baptist Temple in North Tiverton. The couple lived briefly in New Rochelle, N.Y., and Jamestown, R.I.
The Rev. and Mrs. Thompson first came to the Vineyard in 1943, when he was called to serve as minister of both the Federated Church in Edgartown and the First Congregational Church in West Tisbury. The parsonage, which was located at various times on Clevelandtown Road in Edgartown and next to the pond on the east side of State Road in the center of West Tisbury, was always open to the congregation and to other members of the community. Mrs. Thompson especially enjoyed entertaining young school teachers who had recently arrived on the Island and who had few social ties here.
Both of Mrs. Thompson's children, Barbara Ann Thompson Manring of Great Barrington and W. Douglas Thompson of Portland and Oak Bluffs, were born on the Vineyard while she was a year-round resident. After moving to New Bedford in 1948, the Rev. and Mrs. Thompson returned to the Vineyard each summer for their vacations. In 1952 they purchased Respite, their Camp Ground cottage at 4 Trinity Park in Oak Bluffs. Mrs. Thompson spent all of her subsequent summers there until recent years, when failing health prevented her from making the trip. Respite is currently owned by her son and his family.
Mrs. Thompson deeply loved the social intimacy of the Camp Ground and walked Oak Bluffs and East Chop with her husband daily. She also valued the simplicity of traditional Camp Ground living and never had either a telephone or television in her cottage. Her one concession to modernization was to install hot water and a shower in the 1960s, when her children were working for several summers at Irene's Restaurant and Walmsley's Restaurant on Circuit avenue.
She loved cooking and baking, especially when she had Vineyard quahaugs, fresh-caught fish and wild blueberries to work with. Her neighbors on the Camp Ground were frequent recipients of a surprise treat such as quahaug chowder or blueberry slump. Mrs. Thompson's tour de force was the elaborate party she threw each summer on the night of the Grand Illumination. The cherry tarts that she made annually for that event were eagerly anticipated by the throngs who crowded into the small dining room of her cottage.
When not entertaining or walking, Mrs. Thompson could be found on any fair summer afternoon on the Edgartown side of State Beach, swimming tirelessly and enjoying the sun. She and her husband were part of a large circle of Camp Ground residents, many of them ministers and their families, who dubbed themselves the Marching and Chowder Society (the MACS) and who descended on State Beach 50 or 60 strong each afternoon.
In her off-Island life, Mrs. Thompson embraced with enthusiasm and sensitivity her role as a minister's wife. She supported her husband in that capacity at the United Church of New Bedford, the Edgewood Congregational Church in Cranston, R.I., St. Peter's Church in Chester Springs, Pa., and Zion's Congregational Church in Pottstown, Pa. For 14 years she traveled the state of Maine with her husband during his tenure as Conference Minister for the 250 congregations of the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ. In Pennsylvania, she was a longtime volunteer at the Phoenixville Hospital.
Mrs. Thompson was predeceased by her brother, Merle Tongue, and her sister, Bernice Tongue Hopkins. In addition to her husband and two children, Mrs. Thompson is survived by three grandchildren: Audrey Yvonne Manring, Adam Douglas Thompson and Nathan Alexander Thompson. Her son in law and daughter in law are Roger W. Manring and Gail Strange Thompson. She is also survived by four nieces and two nephews.
A private family service is planned. Memorial donations may be made to the Maine Alzheimer's Association (163 Lancaster Street, Suite 160B, Portland, ME 04101; www.mainealz.org).
Helen Marie McGrath, 77
Was Island Hospital Nurse
Helen Marie (Bettencourt) McGrath died Monday, August 5, at Martha's Vineyard Hospital. She was 77 years old.
Mrs. McGrath was born in Oak Bluffs on March 3, 1925. She was the daughter of the late A. Mooney Bettencourt and Dorothy R. Bradley, both of whom were born on the Island.
Her father's job as a power plant engineer made it necessary for the family to relocate to Taunton. From there Helen was graduated from Taunton High School in 1942 and went on to Truesdale Nursing School in Fall River to become a registered nurse.
She enjoyed being a private nurse for an Edgartown family, which traveled extensively with Helen. She was able to see most of the United States.
Mrs. McGrath went to work for Taunton State Hospital and then later at Morton Hospital in Taunton. She retired from the Martha's Vineyard Hospital in 1990 after working there for 10 years.
As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and with 27 years of sobriety, Helen touched more people with a loving hand and strong support. She would help anyone in need.
She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Stewart, and her husband, John, of Noblesville, Ind.; her brother, William A. Bettencourt, of Oak Bluffs; three grandsons, Andrew Stewart, of Oak Bluffs, Daniel Stewart and Hunter Stewart, both of Noblesville, Ind.; and a legion of friends. She was predeceased by her brother, Thomas Bettencourt.
Her funeral mass will be celebrated in the Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs on Thursday, August 8, at noon. Interment will follow in Sacred Heart cemetery in Oak Bluffs. There will be a Celebration of Life for Helen Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. in the St. Elizabeth Parish Hall. All are welcome to attend. Visiting hours are in the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, on Wednesday evening, August 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. Donations may be made in her memory to the Vineyard House, P.O. Box 3311, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
George H. Coblyn
Was Veteran of World War II
George H. Coblyn of Lexington and Oak Bluffs died on July 31 at Lahey Hospital in Burlington at the age of 83.
Mr. Coblyn, the husband of Clementine I. Coley Coblyn, was a former employee of the Environmental Protection Agency in Boston. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne, serving in World War II and in the Korean conflict, retiring in 1961 with the rank of major after 21 years of service.
Mr. Coblyn was educated at Northeastern University, receiving a bachelor of liberal arts degree. He was active in the Diversity Task Force, and he enjoyed painting as a hobby. He was commander of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Civil War Re-Enactors, and was a member of the Episcopalian church.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Coblyn is survived by his sons, George (Chip) Coblyn and his wife, Pamela, of Bethesda, Md., and Michael E. Coblyn and his wife, Rachel, of Amherst; his sisters, Anna Coleman and Edna Little of Mattapan and Janet Ross of Washington, D.C.; his brothers, Gordon Coblyn of California and Irving Coblyn of Arizona; his grandchildren, Christopher, Benjamin and Andrew Coblyn, and many nieces and nephews.
Interment was at the VA National cemetery in Bourne. A memorial service will be held at a later date to be announced.
John J. Craffey Jr.
Was Veteran, Sporting Coach
John J. (Coach) Craffey Jr., 67, beloved father, grandfather, brother and friend, died suddenly on Friday, August 9, at his home on the Vineyard. He was born Oct. 25, 1934 in Boston, son of the late John J. and Lillian A. (Gazette) Craffey and grew up in Weymouth.
He was graduated from Boston College in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He lived in Simsbury and worked in Hartford for many years before retiring to the Vineyard nine years ago.
He served as a lieutenant in the United States Marines before working as an insurance agent for the then Massachusetts General, Connecticut General (CIGNA) and Boston Mutual life insurance companies in Boston, Hartford and Virginia. He had also owned and operated Employee Benefit Plan Consultants in Hartford for a number of years. Since his retirement he was partner with his son, William, in several business ventures including Island Pizza on Martha's Vineyard and Liam's Restaurant in Bethel, Me.
He loved his family, his friends, the Irish, coaching Little League baseall and Pop Warner football over the years, and more recently he enjoyed meeting new people while driving a taxi on the Vineyard.
He is survived by five children, Alicia Caffey and her daughter of Simsbury; Alanna Craffy and her husband, Craig Schriefer, and their three children of York, Me.; William Craffey and his partner, Nicole Morey, and their son of Martha's Vineyard; Mary Sciano and her husband, Paul, and their two children of Marlborough, and Patrick Craffey of Hartford and his former wife, Gretchen Russell Craffey. He is also survived by two sisters and two brothers in Massachusetts and New York, and 16 nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son, John Michael Craffey, in February 2002, and by a sister.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, August 14, at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick-St. Anthony's Church in Hartford, Conn. Interment in St. Ann's cemetery in Avon will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army, 333 Homestead avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Local arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
Ernest Manheim, 102
Was Professor, Composer
Ernest Manheim, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, died at home on July 28 at age 102. Ernest was born in Budapest, Hungary, served in the Hungarian army in World War I, obtained doctoral degrees in Leipzig and London, and immigrated to the United States in 1937. He was founder and first chairman of the department of sociology at KCU, later UMKC, in 1938.
A renaissance man, Mr. Manheim composed a symphony that was performed by the Kansas City Philharmonic in the early 1950s and received the University of Missouri's Thomas Jefferson Award in 1978. Among recent honors was Austria's highest distinction in the arts and sciences. Manheim Hall (Social Sciences) at UMKC was named in his honor in 1999. The University of Kansas held an international symposium on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2000. A forthcoming book containing articles by and about Mr. Manheim is in press (Frank Baron, David Smith, and Charles Reitz, editors).
Mr. Manheim was a summer resident of West Tisbury for over 50 years. The Manheims still have a residence there. Granddaughter Francesca Manheim, violinist with the Kansas City Symphony and the Brookside Quartet, held the first annual children's concert, Cookies and Tunes, at their Island home the first week in July.
Mr. Manheim served Kansas City throughout his life. He served on the board of the Lyric Theater and was active in the Ineffectuals and other civic organizations.
He is survived by his wife, Sheelagh Manheim and her children; his son, Frank Tibor Manheim; several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
A memorial event will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 3, at the University Center, University of Missouri at Kansas City, 5000 Holmes (parking at 50th and Rockhill). In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Miller Nichols Library, E. Manheim Fund, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Edward S. Gaspar, 80
Was Edgartown Native
Edward S. Gaspar of Canton died Thursday morning, August 8, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital after a brief illness. He was 80.
Born and raised in Edgartown, he had been a Canton resident for the past three years, moving there from Needham where he had been a resident for 26 years.
Mr. Gaspar was a retired sales manager for Avis Car Rental in Boston, where he had been employed for many years.
He was a veteran of World War II.
He had been an active member of Fin, Fur and Feather in Millis, serving as their range officer.
He was son of the late Antone and Mary (Andrade) Gaspar, husband of the late Gertrude R. (Fitzpatrick) Gaspar and great-grandfather of the late Caroline Luciani.
He is survived by his children, Mrs. Stephen (Dorothy) Luciani of Centerville, Mrs. Denis (Bernadette) Lenehan of Canton, Michael Campbell and his wife Maureen (O'Donnell) Campbell of East Bridgewater, Stephen Gaspar and his wife Nolvia (Flores) Gaspar of Kissimmee, Fla., and Mrs. Edward (Patricia) Falcione of Canton; his sister, Dorothy Esposito of Boca Raton, Fla.; his brothers, Jaime Gaspar and Antone Gaspar, both of Edgartown; his grandchildren, Michael and David Luciani, Denis Lenehan 2nd, Shannon, Coleen and Kimberly Campbell, Laurie and Stephanie Falcione and Jaime, Mark and Andrew Gaspar; his great-grandchildren, Gabriel Luciani and Joseph Shea, and his dear friend, Mary Horrigan of Canton. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Services were held Monday at 11 a.m. from the Roache-Pushard Home for Funerals, 210 Sherman street, Canton, with a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Gerard Majella Church, 1860 Washington street, Canton, at noon. Interment followed at Knollwood Memorial Park in Canton.
Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the Caroline Blanche Luciani Memorial Fund, c/o Granite State Credit Union, 464 Chestnut street, Manchester, NH 03101.
Ralph C. Sargent
Ralph Clinton Sargent died Friday, July 26, at Windemere Nursing Home. He was 79. A service will be held at a date to be announced, and a full obituary will follow. Arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
Ruth Luening Smith
Was Human Rights Activist
Ruth Luening Smith, a longtime Vineyarder, died Wednesday, July 31, at Windemere, where she had stayed since suffering a stroke in May. She was 88 years old and was the wife of the Rev. Kenneth J. Smith, minister emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Society in Vineyard Haven.
She was born Oct. 29, 1913, in Somerville, the only child of Dr. Herbert and Helena Buffum. She was a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College, majoring in religion, and received her graduate degree in library science at Simmons College. After working as a librarian at Simmons, she secured a job as a librarian at Meadville Theological School, University of Chicago, where she met her husband-to-be.
She married
the Rev. Eugene A. Luening in 1939. At their churches in Northampton and Kingston, Memphis, Tenn., and Ft. Wayne, Ind., she was a dedicated church worker and Sunday school teacher. She also was a devoted mother to their three children: Louisa, Margie and Larry Luening. Having enjoyed Island vacations as children themselves, the couple brought their family to the Vineyard in 1947 and returned every year thereafter to Lagoon Pond in Oak Bluffs. They summered here until 1970, when they became full-time residents. Gene Luening died in 1978.
Always an activist, Mrs. Smith was involved in the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, through which she worked tirelessly for women's and civil rights. She and Mr. Luening became active in the civil rights movement while living in Memphis. Ruth was an outspoken fighter for integration and fair housing there, and later, as a staff member of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. She continued her commitment to human rights on the Vineyard, working with the league and the NAACP and co-founding the Martha's Vineyard Committee on Hunger.
In 1984, she married
the Rev. Kenneth Smith, then minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society, and over the years served as president, vice president and treasurer of the church. They enjoyed yearly trips to church conferences and travels to favorite places such as Maine and new places such as Nova Scotia, Brazil and Costa Rica. When Ken was called to an interim ministry in Corpus Christi, Tex., they lived there for several months.
Mrs. Smith was secretary at the Baptist Church and part-time employee at the Vineyard Haven library for many years. Somehow, she found time to enjoy chess with Ken, weekly scrabble with Larry, vacations and outings with Margie, time with Louisa and her talented children, Erich, Sabrina and Talia, and, always, books.
She is survived by her husband, Ken; daughters Louisa and Margery Luening; son Lawrence; son in law Jeff Dando, and grandchildren Erich, Sabrina and Talia Luening.
Cremation arrangements were by Dyer-Lake Funeral Home of Attleboro Falls, favored by the local memorial society of which she and her husband were founding members.
The memorial service will be held Tuesday, August 13, at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society, with Dr. Judy Campbell presiding, assisted by the Rev. Alden Besse of Grace Episcopal Church and divinity intern Janet Holliday. Dawn Aberg will be the organist.
Thomas T. Ryan, 82
Was Executive and Teacher
Thomas T. Ryan, a former chairman of the Association of National Advertisers and vice president of advertising for The Gillette Company, died of cancer Wednesday in Edgartown. He was 82.
After serving three years with the 339 Fighter Squadron in the South Pacific during World War II, Mr. Ryan joined McCann Erickson Advertising in New York in 1945. As a vice president and account supervisor with McCann managing many key account relationships, he resigned in 1961 to join Cunningham and Walsh in New York as senior vice president. He later joined its board of directors and ran the agency's account management division.
In 1968 he left Cunningham and Walsh to join Gillette as vice president of Gillette North America in a newly created position to modernize its advertising and marketing of all the Gillette brands. Over the next 17 years with Gillette, he built the company's in-house advertising operations and coordinated the activities of each brand's individual agency.
He became a strong voice in the industry through his involvement with the Association of National Advertisers, which he also served as chairman. In this position, he was instrumental in the planning and developing the new Nielsen television audience measurement system, called the People Meter, as the arrival of cable television in the 1980s changed viewing habits. He also urged members of the ANA to resist the growth of gratuitous sex and violence on television throughout the 1980s.
After his retirement from Gillette in 1986, he went on to teach advertising and marketing for seven years at the Boston University School of Communication and for two more years at the Budapest University of Marketing Science in Budapest, Hungary. He also served as chairman of the board of the Oldfields School in Glencoe Maryland for three years.
Mr. Ryan was born in Bronxville, N.Y., where he was graduated form the Bronxville School and went on to earn a BA in English from Brown University in 1942. His 1951 marriage to Mary O'Brien of Ardsley-On-Hudson ended in divorce in 1977. He married
Jane Sebring Herrick in 1997, and she survives him. His two children of his first marriage, Ted Ryan of Great Falls, VA and Mary L. Ryan of New York City, also survive him.
Vincent Prada, 46
Was Attorney in Washington
On July 23, Vincent Prada died in a car accident in Montgomery County, Md. He was 46 years old.
Vincent Prada was the son of Richard Prada and the late Maurita Prada of Edgartown. He was born in 1956 with his twin sister, Barbara. Growing up, one of his hobbies was fishing, once winning the junior division of the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. As a teenager, he worked many jobs about town, most memorably as a sales clerk and jack-of-all-trades at Avery's, which then became Robin Hood's Barn. He was graduated as the valedictorian from the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 1974.
Mr. Prada attended Williams College in Williamstown and was graduated magna cum laude in 1978 with a degree in political economy. Subsequently, he was accepted to the University of Chicago Law School. He was graduated with honors from law school in 1981 and became a member of the Order of the Coif.
Following graduation, he clerked in Chicago for the Hon. Richard Cudahy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Vincent's clerkship was for a year, during which time he met his future wife, Jana Singer, who was also serving a clerkship for Judge Cudahy. After his clerkship, he accepted a position with the law firm of Sidley & Austin in Chicago. In 1983, he moved to the Washington, D.C., office of the firm.
Mr. Prada became a partner of Sidley & Austin in 1989. He represented the nation's largest railroad companies in mergers, rate proceedings and the restructuring of the rail industry. He was a columnist for the newsletter of the Association for Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy.
After converting to Judaism, he married
Jana Singer in 1985. They subsequently had two children, Michael and Joshua. He coached youth basketball and was an avid runner. He and his family were active members of the congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Md.
Mr. Prada is survived by his wife, Jana Singer, and their sons, Michael (age 15) and Joshua (age 12); his father, Richard Prada of Edgartown; his sisters, Barbara and Ursula Prada of Edgartown; his sister, Christine Eissenstat of Frederick, Md., and his sister, Mary Dombrowski of Allentown, Pa., and six nephews and one niece.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Edgartown Public Library, or the charity of one's choice.
Edmund S. McCawley Jr.
Was World War Veteran
Edmund Smith McCawley Jr. died in Williamstown on July 18, from complications following pneumonia and a long-term battle with multiple sclerosis.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Oct. 14, 1921, he grew up in Ithan, Pa., and attended Haverford Friends School and the Episcopal Academy. Graduated from Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn., in 1940, he received a BS and a commission in the Navy from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1943.
Serving in the Navy during World War II, he was third division officer on the USS Iowa. He transferred to the USS Indiana in 1945 and served as junior division officer in the first division. Participating in all the Pacific campaigns from January 1944 to the end of the war, he received nine battle stars.
Transferred to the USS New Jersey in late 1945, he was released from active duty in April 1946. Recalled in 1951 during the Korean conflict, he served on the USS Los Angeles and was the main battery officer on the USS Quincy. Released to inactive duty in September 1952, he was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1954 and placed on the retired reserve list in 1959.
Employed by Westinghouse Electric in Philadelphia, he soon joined the DuPont Company and served at their Remington Arms Company in Bridgeport, Conn., for 31 years in a variety of management positions.
Mr. McCawley was a member of the fraternity of Delta Psi, the St. Anthony Club, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the Gulph Mills Golf Club and the Fairfield Hunt Club and Aubichiwi Skeet Club. Retiring to Martha's Vineyard in 1983, he joined the West Chop Club and the Mink Meadows Golf Club. He also served on boards of the Martha's Vineyard Hospital, the First Congregational Church in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard Community Services and was a member of the Tisbury finance committee.
An accomplished artist and writer and for many years an avid golfer, he and his wife, Jan, enjoyed travel, presenting slide talks of their trips at the Vineyard Haven library. His book, Shotguns and Shooting, was published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company in 1965.
He is survived by his wife, six children and seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the West Tisbury Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Felix Neck Wildlife Trust, P.O. Box 494, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 (att: Moffett Land Fund).
