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Juliana Rose O'Malley
Served State Department
Juliana Rose O'Malley, 89, of New York city and Martha's Vineyard, formerly of Worcester, died on July 19.
Juliana resided at 41 Oak avenue and attended elementary school and North High School in Worcester before completing an Associate Degree at Salter Business School. She joined the Foreign Service Office of the U.S. State Department and was posted to Vienna, Austria, where she administered the Marshall Plan following World War II. Upon completion of her assignment, she moved to New York city, where she managed the New England Vacation Bureau at Rockefeller Center until her retirement. Her retirement included partial residence at Martha's Vineyard and extensive travel in the Caribbean and Europe, especially to her parents' native Ireland.
A true bon vivant, she was a student of literature, lover of music and theatre, and an epicurean aficionado, as well as an amateur ornithologist. She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph M. and Rose Donnellen O'Malley of Worcester, and her brothers, Charles A. of Little Silver, N.J., Robert J. of Davis, Calif., and Edward T. of Worcester; her sisters, Bess Ackerson of San Pedro, Calif., and Kathleen Douglass of Jamaica Plain, and her best friend and companion of 35 years, Chris Sitwell of Vineyard Haven, as well as her beloved cat of 16 years, The Boy. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nephews and nieces in Ireland, England, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California and Canada.
A memorial service was held at Athy Memorial Home in Worcester on Saturday, August 2, with interment following at St. John's cemetery, Worcester.
Natalie W. Smith Heisler
Was a Native of Tisbury
Natalie W. Smith Heisler, 78, of Falmouth died Saturday, August 2, at the Royal Megansett Nursing Home in North Falmouth after a long illness. She was the wife of the late Benjamin Heisler, who died in 1981.
Born in Vineyard Haven, she had lived in Falmouth since 1971. Mrs. Heisler worked as a waitress for Falmouth Diner until her retirement.
She is survived by two sons, Douglas Baptiste of Falmouth and Glenn Heisler of Cape Coral, Fla.; two daughters, Karin Morin of Falmouth and Julie Bismark of Illinois; a sister, Hazel Colaneri of Vineyard Haven, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A funeral service was held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 7, at the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Falmouth. Interment followed in Oak Grove cemetery in Falmouth.
Memorial donations may made to the Lung Association of Southeast Massachusetts, 1 Abbey Lane, Middleboro, MA 02346.
Ronald F. Gill, 80
Was Veteran of World War II
Ronald F. Gill, 80, of the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs and Hampstead, N.C., died of cancer on Wednesday, July 30, at Windemere in Oak Bluffs.
Mr. Gill was born July 14, 1923, in Providence, R.I., to the late Leslie and Lily Gill of Cranston, R.I., also members of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. He served in World War II in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Monticello. He and his wife, Betty, lived in Mount Carmel, Conn., until his retirement as vice-president of sales at C. Cowles and Co. in New Haven. He was a member of the Quinnipiac Club of New Haven, Conn. They moved to Hampstead, N.C., and returned to the Camp Ground every summer.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Betty Richey Gill; his son, Ronald Jr., and daughter in law, Wanda, of Durham, Conn., and his daughter, Deborah Westervelt, and son in law, James, of North Haven, Conn., and the Camp Ground. Also surviving are four granddaughters, two of whom, Courtney Westervelt Marek and Lesley Westervelt, reside in Vineyard Haven. He also leaves three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson, Aiden Marek of Vineyard Haven.
Family and friends may gather Tuesday, August 5, at the Oak Grove Cemeery in Oak Bluffs for a brief prayer and farewell. In lieu of flowers, friends may support Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
Ronald I. Francis
Ronald I. Francis, 55, of Cambridge died Tuesday, July 29, at the VA Hospital in Roxbury. His funeral service will be held at the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 3. Visiting hours held prior to the service from 1 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Human Services Department of the Wampanoag Tribe, 20 Black Brook Road, Aquinnah, MA 02535.
Marion McMahon
Was Veteran, Retired Teacher
Marion Cushman McMahon died on Sept. 26. She was born in Bridgewater on August 20, 1914, daughter of Edgar Everett and Ruth Murray Cushman. Her introduction to Martha's Vineyard came early in her life when, after the death of her mother, her father married
Carrie Louise Coffin of Edgartown; she then visited the Vineyard for the first time. From that time until her death she managed to spend part of every year in Edgartown.
Marion attended the local schools of Bridgewater, graduating from the Bridgewater High School in 1931 and Bridgewater Teacher's College in 1935. Following that she taught school in West Bridgewater for several years. When World War II began she enlisted in the WAAC's, attending Officer's Training School and graduating as a lieutenant. She was stationed in Boca Raton Army Airfield and several parts of the United States, ending in her discharge from Ft. Bragg, N.C. She met and married
her husband, Lieut. Donald Gregory McMahon, when she was in Boca Raton.
Following the end of the war, she and her husband, who worked for Western Airlines, went to the West Coast. Here they lived at different times in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, Calif., Jackson Hole, Wyo., and finally in Helena and Great Falls, Mont. It was in Great Falls that Marion returned to teaching at Great Falls Public Schools.
After the death of her husband and her retirement from teaching, she returned to Martha's Vineyard. She had a home built in Edgartown and engaged in local activities, attending the Federated Church and serving for one term on the Edgartown zoning board. She enjoyed her favorite hobbies of fishing, supplying friends and neighbors with bluefish and also digging a few quahaugs for chowder and searching for scallops with a viewer and net.
She is survived by two children, Donald Gregory McMahon of Monarch, Mont., and Deborah McMahon Sand of Sun River, Mont. She also leaves six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She also is survived by three sisters, Mildred Mayhew of Chilmark, Margery Anderson of Saybrook, Conn., and Dorothy McCracken of Englewood, Fla., and a brother, Francis N. Cushman of Bellevue, Wash. She was predeceased by her oldest daughter, Patricia McMahon Graeler.
A graveside service will be held in the Old Westside cemetery, Edgartown at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, officiated by the Rev. Roger Spinney. Donations may be made in her memory to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to a charity of one's choice. Arrangements are by Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
Hortense Ridley Tate
Was Active in Her Community
Hortense Ridley Tate was born on March 9, 1899 to the late Mary and Ezekiel Ridley. She died at the age of 104 years on Sept. 7, 2003. She was the second of three daughters, Ruth and Venola having preceded her in death.
She was raised in a supportive and nurturing family. After high school, Hortense enrolled at Washburn University in Topeka, Kans., in 1917. In 1920, she was graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English. Her first job after college in 1921 was at the Montclair YWCA as director of cultural programs. Over the next 75 years, she served the YWCA in numerous capacities, as a committee member, board member, and at one time, its president. In addition, Mrs. Tate was a professional school teacher in both the town of Montclair and the city of Newark.
She was united in marriage to the late Alfred Harrison Tate of Montclair, N.J., in 1928. Together they raised his only son, the late Hon. Herbert H. Tate Sr.
Mrs. Tate had a long, diverse history of community activism. She was one of the founding members of the National Council for Negro Women. She was also a longstanding member of the Board of Trustees for the Montclair YWCA, a member of the Montclair Public Library, the Montclair Human Relations Council, the League of Women Voters and an active member of St. Mark's Methodist Church in Montclair since 1921. She was also an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for 81 years, and held the coveted title of Diamond Soror. Mrs. Tate received numerous awards and accolades for her community service over the years, among them the Sojourner Truth Award in 1992. Mrs. Tate was the subject of two published short stories and several magazine and newspaper articles.
She leaves to cherish her memory her grandson, Herbert H. Tate Jr., of West Orange, N.J.; her goddaughters, Alice LaTouche of Riverside, Calif., and the Honorable Amalya Kears of New York city, and a host of friends including Wilhelmina Dover, Bea Inzilla, Betty Holloway and Ressie Fuller.
Father John F. Denehy
Served Island Parishes
The Rev. Monsignor John F. Denehy, 84, of Satellite Beach, Fla., died on August 22, 2003.
Father John, as he preferred to be called, was born in Fall River on June 21, 1919. He attended St. Patrick's School, Fall River; Coule High School, Taunton and Holy Cross College, Worcester. He attended St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and Theological College, Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. He did post-graduate work in economics, labor relations, political science and sociology at Catholic University where he received his MA and LST degrees.
Following ordination to the priesthood in St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River, on Sept. 22, 1945, he served as assistant pastor at St. Mary's Church, Nantucket and then in Martha's Vineyard at Sacred Heart, Oak Bluffs; St. Elizabeth's, Edgartown and St. Augustine's in Vineyard Haven.
In November 1950, Father John volunteered to serve as a chaplain in the United States Air Force and served with great distinction until his retirement from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida in 1977. Among his Air Force assignments were: Selfridge AFB, Mich.; Lockbourne AFB, Ohio; Travis AFB, Calif.; Otis AFB; McGuire AFB, N.J.; and Maxwell AFB, Ala. His overseas tours included assignments in Germany, Japan, Bermuda and Spain where he lived with his late mother. He also served a four-year tour in the Office, Chief of Air Force Chaplains in Washington D.C., and a three-year tour as Commandant, Air Force Chaplain School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
In 1964, Pope Paul VI honored him as a domestic prelate.
Among his military honors, in addition to promotion to the rank of colonel, he received numerous awards and decorations including the Air Force Commendation Medal with one cluster, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one cluster, the Army of Occupation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with two clusters.
A mass of Christian burial was celebrated on August 28 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indiatlantic, Fla. While on Martha's Vineyard, Father Denehy made many friends both in his churches and the entire community.
Marian G. Connors
Was Proprietor of Restaurant
Marian G. (Grover) Connors of Edgartown died Monday, Sept. 29, at Windemere Nursing Home in Oak Bluffs at the age of 98.
She was born on June 15, 1905, in Braintree, the daughter of Ezra Samson Grover and Julia Aspinwall Grover. She grew up in Wellesley and after graduating from high school, she worked for The John Hancock Life Insurance Company.
Mrs. Connors was married
to Francis J. Connors in 1935. The couple then moved to Martha's Vineyard, where Mr. Connors owned and operated Connors Market in Edgartown until his retirement in the 1960s.
Marian was the proprietor of the Rendez-Vous Restaurant on Main street in Edgartown until the birth of her only child, Judith. Judy is the wife of Dr. John Stacy Bulman of England, where she has been living ever since her marriage, although she frequently returns to the Vineyard. During Marian and Frank's retirement years, they often spent winters in Florida. Mr. Connors died at home of cancer in 1995 at the age of 96.
Marian was an outgoing person and a remarkable Island resident. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Edgartown Woman's Club. She was an excellent cook and an avid golfer and bridge player.
In addition to her daughter, Judith Ann Bulman of England, she is also survived by two nieces, Barbara Bell of Canada and June Messier of Vermont, and a nephew, Sumner Mead Grover of Edgartown.
A graveside service will be held at the New Westside cemetery, Edgartown, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, officiated by the Rev. Roger Spinney. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
A memorial service is planned for the spring or early summer.
Olga Litowinsky, 67
Was Author, Editor, Mentor
Olga Jean Litowinsky died July 20, at her home in Edgartown, after a long illness. She was 67. Miss Litowinsky had a long and renowned career in New York publishing as an editor and writer.
Olga was a superb editor, turning many good manuscripts into award-winning novels. "There is nothing that can't be fixed," she said to author Patricia Reilly Giff, regarding writing novels. "And you can always do better than ‘There is' to start a sentence."
She was a member of the worldwide Society of Children's Book Writers from its small beginning in 1971. She worked for Viking, Macmillan and Scribners, and for more than a decade was executive editor at Delacorte Press and Dell, where she acquired and published prize-winning and best-selling hardcover and paperback books for children. She directed the publication of Yearling Classics, a series that included works of Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain, among others. Two books she edited, Betsy Byars' The Night Swimmers and Susan Bonners' A Penguin Year, received the American Book Award. In 1990, she moved to Simon & Schuster as executive editor of Books for Young Readers, and developed and launched the department's first hardcover and paperback fiction list.
In addition to editing the work of others, Miss Litowinsky wrote books of her own, including The Pawloined Paper, The High Voyage: The Last Crossing of Christopher Columbus, Boats for Bedtime, Short Circuit, The Dream Book and It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World, a look at the current state of childrens' book publishing.
She taught courses on publishing at Hofstra and Adelphi universities, and was in demand as a lecturer. During the last 10 years, she became a literary agent and divided her time between her homes in New York and Martha's Vineyard.
On Martha's Vineyard she belonged to several writing groups. Here, she became an enthusiastic gardener and a dedicated cook and reaffirmed nature lover. She loved visiting the Thrift Shop, garage sales and the Dumptique. She wrote her picture book, Boats for Bedtime, on the Vineyard, and at her passing she was working on a children's book about lighthouses.
She is survived by her companion of many years, Edward Babin, a sister, Anne Freidrich of Spring Lake, N.J., two nieces and three nephews.
Plans for a memorial service in Manhattan have not been finalized. Her body was donated to Harvard Medical School for research on ovarian cancer. Those who wish may send memorial contributions to Writer's Group at the Up-Island Council on Aging, P.O. Box 3174, West Tisbury, MA 02575; Hospice of Martha's Vineyard; the Visiting Nurse Service of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2010, Edgartown, MA 02539, and COMSOG, P.O. Box 2048, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.
William L. Peltz, M.D.
Was Surgeon, Psychiatrist
William Learned Peltz, M.D. died at the North Shore Medical Center in Salem on Sept. 23.
William Peltz was born in Albany on Feb. 11, 1909 the son of Katherine Hun Peltz and William Law Learned Peltz. He attended Albany Academy from 1914 to 1926 and took a postgraduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy before entering Yale University. There, he served on the Yale Daily News and the freshman yearbook, was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and Skull and Bones, and participated in the Model League of Nations. As a junior, he organized and was elected president of the Undergraduate medical Society for students who were considering a future in medicine. In his senior year, he was editor of the 1931 Class Book, secretary of his class and a member of the board at Dwight Hall.
After spending a year traveling through Europe and the Middle East, he entered the Yale Medical School, transferring to the Harvard Medical School for his last two years. He was graduated in 1936, took his internship at the Boston City Hospital in internal medicine and at the Boston Mental Health Center for psychiatry, followed by six months at McLean Hospital in Waverly in psychiatry. He took his residency at the Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University in New York city. He then spent a year as an assistant in medicine at Williams College prior to spending two years in private practice of internal medicine in New Haven, Conn., and as a clinical instructor of medicine at the Grace New Haven Hospital.
During World War II, Dr. Peltz served in the Yale Hospital Unit (which became the 39th General Hospital). After being posted to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Camp Stoneman in California, he was appointed the station surgeon and the receiving and disposition officer, serving for two years in New Zealand and for one year in Saipan. While in New Zealand, he was transferred to the Psychiatric Service following an assignment on temporary duty to an Army mobile psychiatric hospital facility. He also wrote the history of psychiatry in the Central Pacific for the records of the U.S. Army Surgeon General before retiring from the service with the rank of major.
After the war, he continued working in the field of psychiatry. He and his family moved to the Philadelphia area, where he received further training in psychiatry and in psychoanalysis. During the Korean Conflict, he served for a month in the Far East, working in Korea and Okinawa as a civilian expert consultant in psychiatry to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. He practice psychiatry for 25 years at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, taught psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and became professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was the psychiatric consultant to the Marriage Council of Philadelphia and to the area schools.
In 1970, he and his wife moved to Manchester, Vt., where he semi-retired and conducted a part-time practice of psychiatry until 1984. In that year, he retired completely and moved to his house at Lambert's Cove. He enjoyed painting pictures of skiing, ships and sailing, as well as scenes from Vermont and the Vineyard. He was represented in several Vineyard galleries.
Dr. Peltz and his wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Ruth Adams, were married
at Exeter, N.H., on Jan. 29, 1938. She was the daughter of Mason Tyler Adams and Juliette Bulkeley Adams and the stepdaughter of Dr. Lewis Perry, headmaster of Phillips Exeter Academy. She was a professional monologuist, presenting her programs over a period of 50 years in the United States and Canada. She died on the Vineyard on Jan. 23, 1998.
Dr. Peltz is survived by his three sons, Mason (Toby), William and Thomas, and by his five grandchildren, Samantha, Kate, Daniel, Jennifer and Lauren.
A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church in West Tisbury on Nov. 8. Arrangements are by the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, Mass., 508-695-0200.
Freeman M. Moore, 77
Was Teacher and Principal
Freeman M. Moore died October 1 at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan after a prolonged illness. He was 77. Mr. Moore was born March 19, 1926 in Somerville, N.J. He was a resident of Beverly Hills, Michigan and Oak Bluffs.
Mr. Moore was an educator in Ecorse public schools for 41 years. Starting as a biology teacher, he taught science and coached swimming. He served as a counselor before becoming assistant principal, a position he held for 18 years. Mr. Moore became principal of Ecorse High School around 1985, retiring in 1995. After retirement, he was named principal emeritus.
Mr. Moore received a BS degree in public health from Springfield College and a masters in public health from Columbia University. He also earned a master's degree in art education from Eastern Michigan University.
Mr. Moore was a member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee in Ecorse and a member of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals. He traveled overseas with his students to enrich their education. He was a decorated Navy veteran, serving in the Pacific theatre during WWII. Later he was active in the civil rights movement.
Mr. Moore enjoyed fishing, landscaping his property and was very interested in genealogy.
His wife, Audrey Caroline Moore, died in 1988. He is survived by two daughters, Kathleen Mary Moore of Beverly Hills, Mich. and Bethanne Louise Moore, M.D. of Chevy Chase, Md.
The funeral service was held at the Nativity Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Mich. on October 7. Mr. Moore was interred at the Oak Grove cemetery in Oak Bluffs on October 9 with local arrangements by Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 18505 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076, Attn: Memorial Department.
Gerald G. Denniston, 84
Summered in Oak Bluffs
Gerald G. Denniston was born in Oak Bluffs in 1919. He was the youngest of five children. His father was the Rev. Oscar E. Denniston, a native of Jamaica, a Baptist minister who came to the Vineyard as a young man. His mother was Medora Denniston. He, like his siblings - Olive, Baron, Dean and Amy - grew up in the homeplace, known as the Bradley Memorial Church.
After attending public schools here, Mr. Denniston graduated from Boston University. Upon graduation, he served in the United States Army, at which time he was assigned to overseas duty. In 1946, he was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant. After his discharge, he met and married
Doris Francis; their marriage was full of love and devotion.
Mr. Denniston was employed as an analyst in quality control for the Social Security Administration for 40 years. He and his wife were members of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in the Boston area until her death, and he continued his membership there. He was one of the founding members of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Committee, and remained a member for more than 30 years.
During the 1980s, he was presented an award of recognition for his contributions to St. Cyprian's. He served in the vestry, was a member of the search committee for the appointment of the present rector, and was a member of the men's fellowship.
Mr. Denniston's love of the Vineyard was obvious to everyone who knew him. He never failed to mention the beauty of the Island in any conversation. Though he worked in Boston, he maintained a second home in Oak Bluffs, where he spent the entire summer season and many holidays.
Those who knew and loved him will cherish his memory. He leaves to mourn his loss a brother, Dean K. Denniston Sr.; nieces Doris L. Clark and her husband, Jerome; Deanna Denniston Clarke; Shirley M. O'Neil, and Barbara A. Scott. His nephews are Dean K. Denniston Jr.; Donald Denniston; Baron M. Denniston, MD, and his wife, Diana, and Sean C. Denniston. He is also survived by a sister in law, Elaine Denniston, and many other relatives and friends.
A requiem mass in thanksgiving for his life was held at St. Cyprian's in Boston on Sunday, Oct. 3. Burial services were held at the Oak Grove cemetery in Oak Bluffs on Monday, Oct. 4. The Rev. Alden Besse officiated.
