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Rufus Peterson, 65
Was Veteran and Avid Golfer
Rufus Franklin (Butch) Peterson of Oak Bluffs died peacefully on Jan. 22. He was predeceased by his parents, Rufus M. and Edythe Peterson Harrison. His grandparents were Benjamin and Anna Crosby and Eliza Peterson.
Butch was born March 16, 1937, in Hartford, Conn., and was graduated from Bulkeley High School before attending the University of Hartford. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served eight years in many overseas assignments. After his honorable discharge, he joined the U.S. Dept. of Defense. He also worked for the Hartford Civic Center and the Metropolitan District Commission.
After moving to the Vineyard, he joined the staff of the Steamship Authority. His love for the sea and ships led to enjoying his job and his other SSA team members. He loved helping Island visitors and natives who needed assistance or information. He really enjoyed most people and avoided the disagreeable few.
His favorite place to enjoy friends was Waban Park, where he gave golf lessons to beginners and advanced students. He also liked to sit on the porches of friends to discuss current events or the good old days.
He was proud of his recovery from the dread disease of alcoholism. He continued to assist others in recovery while serving as a friend. He celebrated his recovery lifestyle every day.
His consuming joy in life was golf. Becoming a caddy at age 12, he learned from great players including Gardner Dickinson, a student of the great Ben Hogan. Butch was the Connecticut high school champion at age 16. He was also a finalist for the state junior amateur title with champion Dick Siderowf. He continued to play and collected many trophies. His most recent victory was at a scholarship tournament at Mink Meadows Golf Club in October 2002.
Rufus is survived by a sister, Anne Jennings; a brother, Gerard Peterson; brothers and sisters in law Raoul and Karen Peterson and Manning and Marva Peterson, and nieces and nephews including Megan, Amber, Kim, Roxanne, Brian, Bradford, Raoul, Michael, Faye, Marcus, Patricia, Kirk, Janet, James, Randall, Eric, Evan, Raven and Anthony. He was predeceased by Anthony's brother, Michael.
He will be remembered by a host of friends including Jim McLaurin, Della Hardman, Mandred Henry, Carole Peterson, Norman Jennings, Tommy Mello, Bill O'Rourke, Margaret Young, Ken Walker, Bridget Tobin, Ray deBettencourt, Roger Armstrong and Ozzie Harrison.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
During the past year, Rufus battled cancer with the compassionate help of Massachusetts General and Martha's Vineyard Hospital, with assistance from Hospice including the wonderful nurse Juleann Van Belle and other volunteers, the Visiting Nurse Service, home health aides and Angel Flights.
Butches family and friends attended to his needs while providing health care and comfort. The Rev. Roger Spinney's many visits lifted his spirits.
A memorial service will be held Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church on Spring street in Vineyard Haven. Arrangements are by the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home in North Attleboro.
John V. Russell, 41
Was Consultant, Avid Rider
John V. Russell, 41, son of the late Harvey C. Russell who died in 1998, of Oak Bluffs and Jersey City, N.J., died at his home on May 24. John began summering on the Island 40 years ago with his parents.
He loved the Vineyard above all other places. He spent many summers working at Scrubby Neck horse farm as a teen. His passion for horseback riding enabled him to become co-captain of the equestrian team at Fordham University where he earned his bachelors degree in psychology. He continued riding even through his battle with cancer, which eventually took his life.
John was a kindred spirit with an infectious laugh and an ability to listen with empathy like no other. This combination took him to graduate school where he received a master's degree in human resources and a post-graduate certification in organizational diagnosis.
After seven years at JPMorgan Chase, John started JVR Consulting. John began consulting for the Episcopal church in Manhattan, spearheading their search for a new director of ethnic congregational development. He also served on the board of Harlem Downing, was a member of Sigma Pi Phi (Boule) and volunteered his time at Camp Viva.
Even though John was busy with all his involvements, he would make time to get back to the Island where he enjoyed his favorite pastime of rocking on the front porch, overlooking the waters of Nantucket Sound, entertaining his friends.
John is survived by his mother, Jacqueline Russell of Oak Bluffs; his partner, Rob Condon of New Jersey; his sister, Denise Jones of Texas; his brother, Denny of Falmouth; his niece, Ann; nephew, Harvey, several cousins and many friends who loved him dearly as well. He will be missed.
Barbara Warsyk, 84
Was Strong and Loving Person
Longtime Vineyard Haven resident Barbara Warsyk died on May 6 at the Windemere long term care facility in Oak Bluffs. She was 84 years old. She was tenacious of life and she was courageous in her struggle with kidney disease for the last three years; she battled poor health more often than she chose, but lived a resilient life.
Barbara was born at home on April 22, 1919, on Newkirk avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y., at a time when that part of Brooklyn still had trees. An only child, she was named after her mother, Barbara Conradia Huseman. Her father, William John Nelson, soon moved the family to Flatbush, just around the corner from Ebbets Field. Thus begun a life-long love affair with the Brooklyn Dodgers and baseball in general, complete with autographed photos and endless reels of movie footage collected from the many games she so enthusiastically attended.
Babs Nelson, as she was known, was only 16 when she was graduated from James Madison High School in 1935, skipping four semesters. She went on to Heffley's Business School and when she was 18 got a job in New York city in what is now Tribeca, for the Wilbur and Hastings printing company.
She met her future husband, Edward Warsyk, on August 3, 1941, just one month before America would enter World War II. They were to meet at a mutual friend's house, a blind date, and the men showed up dramatically after putting out a small fire in the dashboard of the car they were driving. During their courtship they frequented nightclubs with Barbara's girlfriend, Nancy, to laugh and dance the night away while listening to the crooning of Nancy's fiancé, Frank Sinatra. And could they ever dance - it was a sight to behold when Barbara and Ed did the Lindy together. It was just one of the things Barbara and Ed shared in those early war years. They were married
18 months later, on Feb. 21, 1943. Ed, a respectful husband, often cast a long shadow. Barbara was known to refer to herself, tongue firmly in cheek, as "Ed's wife." Barbara's husband died on her birthday last year. "But, on my birthday?" she quipped. It was a long way from their first date, driving out to Massapequa, L.I., from Brooklyn, for ice cream on that summer day in August so long ago, but which seemed to her like only yesterday, that they took the long way home. It was a long life, in a marriage that had lasted 59 years.
For most of that married
life, Barbara and her husband lived on Long Island in the town of Syosset, raising three daughters there. Weekdays she was a dedicated volunteer, working with the Huntington Hospital Auxiliary, logging in more than 5,000 hours as the chairman of the television service, starting in 1961. But weekends belonged to boating. They owned a series of powerboats, growing in size throughout the years, as often happens. But it was their boat, the Solitaire, named in honor of the many hours that Barbara spent below deck engaged in the game if the weather was too rough, that first brought them to the Vineyard. Barbara could handle a boat as well as anyone, up on the flying bridge in the pitch black or scudding through a rolling fog bank, the foghorns of passing boats eerie in the dark, steering clear of that oil tanker bearing down on them, watchful for reef and rock. Long before the Black Dog Tavern was built the Vineyard was a fairly frequent destination, tying up at the Coastwise dock.
After one such visit, on a blustery day in late August as Solitaire sprung off her moorings headed out into Vineyard Sound, Christine, their youngest child, called out to them from the pier, "Don't you want to live here?" and Barbara yelled back, "Over my dead body!" That body was much alive, and kicking, when in 1971 her husband sold his precision machining business and moved them to the Island, permanently. Barbara hated it at first, but the incredible resiliency that buoyed her up throughout her long life prevailed, and she learned to love the low-key lifestyle and faultless beauty of the Vineyard. Barbara continued her volunteer work at Martha's Vineyard Hospital and at the Thrift Shop and, when the hoped-for retirement did not materialize, eventually, she went back to work.
The undisputed highlight of her working career was as general manager for Mark Lender's goldsmith shop. Beginning in 1976 and until the shop was sold in 1985 Barbara kept the books, sold jewelry, swept, Windexed the cases and when, as often happened, a loose diamond dropped from the bench to the floor, it was invariably Barbara, with her by then failing eyesight, who found it. She also cared for the store's several cats, which she loved. The shop belonged to Mark Lender in name only.
In her life there was the love of sports; she enjoyed almost every sport with the single exception of basketball, from bowling to racecars and yet, she never learned how to ride a bike herself. Not to interrupt a ritual, she watched this year's Kentucky Derby together with her daughter, but when her favored horse did not win, finishing in fourth place, she replied to that, "Close enough."
In her lifetime there was friendship; she had good friends who always lent a helping hand, two of whom were Rhoda West and Claire Anderson. Throughout her life she was a good friend as well, always right-on with her first impressions, and she considerately shared her "white-witch" suppositions. During her life she had the pleasure of raising five dogs that she called, in order, Frenchy, Corky, Chamois, Salty and lastly Snafu. Toward the end of her life she took the pleasure of mallards, which she called, all of them, "pretty girls" and fed from her hand on the beach at her boathouse home on Beach Road that she and Ed moved into for just a summer season, 28 years ago, and never left. From the upstairs window she watched countless spectacular sunrises. From that house she monitored the comings and goings on the Vineyard Haven waterfront and kept abreast of things with her scanner. In that boathouse she raised her seven grandchildren, all of whom learned to swim in the shallows of the Lagoon under her watchful eye. Many a threatening hurricane blew through over the years but her home stood strong, as she did during her often-challenging life.
Barbara spent the last three years at Windemere, there she made a home away from home for herself. Her room was joyously decorated, celebrating life and using every square inch of space. With a never-ending supply of chocolate, a myriad of Beanie Babies, a plethora of feathers, Marti Gras beads and Christmas lights all year long, the kind and caring staff of Windemere who nurtured her found her room to be most welcoming, a haven in which she embraced them, her newest of friends, her lifesavers.
Barbara was fortunate in being sentient to the end. She and her family and friends who visited at her bedside were able to say "good-bye" and "I love you" to each other as the time grew closer to see her off to a more peaceful place.
Her husband, Edward Warsyk, predeceased her. Her children and grandchildren survive her: They include daughter, Jacqueline Parnell, and her children, Karen, Brad, David, Sarah and Megan of Long Island, N.Y.; daughter Jeraldine Upson and her children, Caitlin and Brooke of Rehoboth, and daughter Christine Scott and her son, Benjamin of Vineyard Haven.
Commitment was at the Oak Grove cemetery in Vineyard Haven after a service at Grace Episcopal Church that was officiated by the Rev. Alden Besse on May 10. Donations in Barbara's memory can be made to the Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Oak Bluffs.
Basil Langton
Directed Plays at the Rice Theatre
Basil Langton, a British-born actor, director and theatre manager whose involvement with the Rice Playhouse in Oak Bluffs led to a long relationship with the Island, died on Thursday, May 29, in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 91.
Mr. Langton founded the Traveling Repertory Theatre in World War II, performing in bombed cities, munitions factories and army camps. But Mr. Langton's pacifism damaged his relations with the British theatre world, and after the war he moved permanently to the United States, pursuing a career on the stage and on television.
Among the Broadway plays in which Mr. Langton appeared were The Affair, Camelot and Soldiers. In 1948, he directed a production of The Devil's Disciple.
In 1951 he produced the first Shaw festival in America at the Rice Playhouse; that year he was also a co-founder of the Empire State Music Festival. After his involvement with the Rice Playhouse in 1951 and 1952, Mr. Langton and his family were regular summer residents of Menemsha, sometimes staying at Mrs. C.H. Langmuir's Sunrise Camp, well into the 1970s.
The Vineyard Gazette faithfully followed the successes of Mr. Langston on stage and screen even after the collapse of the Rice Playhouse in 1955, and he maintained a correspondence with the paper's editors, Henry and Betty Hough. In one letter to Mrs. Hough from his apartment in New York city, Mr. Langton wrote: "I stole a few extra days up-Island before re-entering the great white jungle, and like all tiring travelers, I fall more in love with the Vineyard every year -- perhaps one day I shall settle in a corner and grow barnacles."
Mr. Langton was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1959 to research Shaw's stagecraft and began recording the memories of those who had worked with Shaw on early productions of his works. In the 1960s, he began photographing artists at work, including Henry Moore, David Hockney, Georgia O'Keefe and John Jiro. His photographs were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
His first marriage, to the dancer Louise Soelberg, ended in divorce, as did his second to the actress Nancy Wickwire. He is survived by a daughter from his first marriage, Jessica L. Andrews of Tucson.
David Seiman, 34
Was Kind, Generous Person
David Seiman died on May 3, at age 34, from complications following a high blood pressure crisis. At the time of his death, he was visiting his family in his hometown of Valley Stream, N.Y. David's real home was Oak Bluffs, where he had lived for nearly 10 years. On May 17, his family and friends celebrated his life at a memorial service at the Inkwell Beach.
On the Island, David was known as a chef and as the owner of the Juice Caboose in Oak Bluffs. He was also beloved as a person who provided shelter, comfort and advice to those in need. Whether it be a good meal, a place to stay or a person to talk to, David was there for his friends. For this he will always be missed.
David leaves behind his wife, Gina Patti; his parents, Abe and Rachel Seiman; his sister, Rebecca Seiman; his brother, Michael Seiman, and his grandfather, Morris Goldenberg.
His family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all those who attended the memorial, who comforted them with stories that only David could have been a part of and who supported them by making May 17 a true celebration of David's life. Gina especially thanks all those who so generously contributed to the David Seiman Memorial Fund - a fund established for their baby, expected at the end of July. She also greatly appreciates the support members of the community continue to give, whether it's a hug, a card, kind words or a smile.
David loved Martha's Vineyard and its community. His family, deeply saddened by this tragedy, treasures the love and compassion shared with them by the Vineyard community.
Faith Dennis Churchill
Led Quiet but Active Life
Faith Dennis Churchill died peacefully at her home on South Water street in Edgartown on May 25, after a yearlong illness. She was 74.
Mrs. Churchill had lived on the Vineyard year-round since 1978 and before that had been a summer visitor all her life.
She was born on August 8, 1928, in New York city, the third child and only daughter of Rodney Gove and Marion Cheney Dennis. Her father was a senior member of Patterson, Teele and Dennis, the oldest accounting firm in New York city, founded by his father in 1896. Her mother played an active role as a volunteer assisting on the home front in Manhattan during World War II.
She grew up at 1105 Park avenue, was educated at the Chapin School and was graduated from the Westover School. She had her debut in New York city at the age of 18. She attended Vassar College for two years and then left to pursue her interest in ballet and other forms of dance. She worked for a time at the advertising firm of Young and Rubicam. In 1959 she married
Donald Churchill, a pilot for Pan American Airlines. They were divorced in 1968. They had two children, Diana, who was born in 1961, and Robert, born in 1964.
Following her marriage she lived in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., where she raised her two children until she took up permanent residency on the Vineyard. For many years she worked at Crocus, a much-loved children's clothing and toy store in Brooklyn Heights.
She lived a quiet but intellectually vibrant life; she was a daily expert at solving The New York Times crossword puzzle and she was a voracious reader. When she moved to the Vineyard full time she and her closest friend, the late Anne B. MacRae, became almost inseparable. They spent countless hours reading, cooking and sunbathing - at the Chappaquiddick Beach Club in the summer, and in their backyards in the spring and fall.
Faith loved to tend her roses and her classic perennial garden, which she generously opened each year for the annual summer garden tour that benefited the Edgartown eighth grade. Her comfortable South Water street home was always wide open to family and friends, and it was a favorite place for dinner parties and milestone celebrations such as birthdays, anniversaries and christenings. Over the years, Faith housed countless stray souls who were on their way from one appointment in life to another.
She was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club, the Royal Chappaquiddick Yacht Club, the Chappaquiddick Beach Club and was a charter member of the Tuesday Crying Club, a funny and irreverent women's group founded by Anne MacRae.
Her volunteer work included work for the Willoughby House Settlement in Brooklyn Heights and the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society in Edgartown. She was a member of the Edgartown historic district commission, and she strongly favored historic preservation on the Vineyard.
She is survived by her daughter and son in law, Diana C. Bardwell and Douglas K. Bardwell, and their children, Ian Koepp Bardwell and Jared Cheney Bardwell, of West Tisbury; her son and daughter in law, Robert H. Churchill and Rebecca Pardoe, and their children, Colin Pieter Churchill and Natalie Margaret Churchill, of Simsbury, Conn.; two brothers and sisters in law, Charles C. and Barbara Dennis of City Island, N.Y., and Rodney G. and Christie Dennis of Cambridge, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a brother, Pieter C.R. Dennis, in 1970 and by her friend Anne MacRae in 2000.
A memorial service will be held at the Federated Church in Edgartown on June 21 at 5 p.m. followed by a reception at the Chappaquiddick Beach Club.
Interment will be private.
Donations may be made in her memory to the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, Box 1310, Edgartown, MA 02539.
John Allan Blair, 84
Was Veteran, Patron of Arts
John Allan Blair of Edgartown died peacefully at home with his family on Sunday, May 18. He was 84 years old.
Born in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1919, he was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Milton Johnston Blair. He grew up in the Chicago area, was graduated from Kent School and subsequently from Yale University. A gifted oarsman, he rowed at Henley, England, for both Kent and later Yale.
During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in North Africa as part of an early reconnaissance evaluation before the start of the North African Campaign. He retired at the end of the war, having attained the rank of major. Suddenly he was employed at Martin Marietta in Baltimore, Md., in the company's rocket development program. Following that, he became a partner in M.J. Blair Interior Design, a firm founded by his mother, Cora Schneider Blair.
Upon his retirement, he divided his time between Edgartown and Coconut Grove, Fla. A longtime resident of Edgartown, he first came to the Vineyard in the 1930s with his family, where he sailed and raced competitively in Vineyard Sound Interclubs and Katamas with his brothers, Charles Johnston (Chuck) Blair and F. Roberts (Bobs) Blair, all of them unofficially known as "the Blair boys." His other siblings included his sisters, Jane and Ann.
An erudite man, John had a deep appreciation for art and poetry. He became and remained throughout his life a strong supporter of Vineyard art, and many well-known artists numbered among his close friends. He will be remembered for his wit and wry commentary, his keen insight into the human condition and the depth of his compassion. As a bona fide member of the "greatest generation," his dignity and humor in life and death were matchless. There are few among his friends and family who were not nourished and sustained by him. "Sorely missed" is the understatement of the year.
Known affectionately as Unkie to his family and friends and their children, Mr. Blair is survived by his nieces, Nancy Blair Vietor of Edgartown, Louisa Blair Pfaelzer of Morrisville, Vt., Anne Blair de la Rue of Wescott, Surrey, England, Celelia Allen Blair of East Dummerston, Vt., and Margaret Robinson Steele of Edgartown; his nephews, Charles Johnston Blair Jr. of Edgartown, F. Roberts Blair Jr. of Austin, Tex., John Allan Blair 2nd of Miami, Fla., Charles N. Brush of Charlotte, Vt., David W. Brush of Duxbury, George W. Brush of West Tisbury and Henry Hollister Robinson of Gettysburg, Pa. He is also survived by 15 great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his nephew, Alleyne Howell of Thetford, Vt.
A memorial service to celebrate his life is planned for Saturday, July 5, at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edgartown. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The John Blair Fund at the Martha's Vineyard Artists Association or in his memory to the planned new rowing center at Kent School in Kent, Conn.
John Meleney
Was Active in Island Yachting Club
John Meleney of Westwood and Vineyard Haven died May 27 in Westwood. He was the son of Mary and Clarence Meleney of New York and Oak Bluffs.
John, usually called Jack, was graduated from the Taft School, Dartmouth College and Yale Law School. He was a partner retired from the law firm of Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett in New York city.
Mr. Meleney was an enthusiastic sailor and active in sailing programs of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, where in the 1970s he served as commodore.
His interests were wide. In addition to sailing, he was a respectable photographer and had at one time a fine garden at his Vineyard Haven home. In retirement, he earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of South Carolina.
Mr. Meleney's grandparents purchased a summer home on East Chop in about 1886. He and many other descendants have enjoyed summers on the Vineyard ever since.
He is survived by his wife, Lillian; two sons, Christopher and Alexander, and five grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Louise Luce Hanna, 80
Was Edgartown Native
Louise Luce Hanna, born Nov. 11, 1922 in Edgartown, a daughter of the late Leon Luce and Viola (Norton) Luce, died at her home on Saturday May 24.
Louise was a lifelong Edgartown resident who was graduated from the Edgartown High School in 1942. She then began work at the Captain's Table, the Café, Edgartown Coffee Shop and the Quarterdeck, retiring in 1993. She will be remembered by those who loved her as a true Islander.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 59 years, William Hanna; her grandchildren, Jennifer Searle, Karen E. Hanna, Michelle Alton and Preston R. Hanna, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son, Preston Hanna, in 1982.
A graveside service was held on Monday, May 26, at the New Westside cemetery in Edgartown. Donations in Mrs. Hanna's memory may be made to the Edgartown United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1754, Edgartown, MA 02539; The ALS Foundation, 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 150, Calabasas Hills, CA 91301-5104; Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557, or the Visiting Nurse Service of Martha's Vineyard Community Services, P.O. Box 369, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. Arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
