April Milestones 2012

Anthony—James W. Anthony, 73, on July 15, 2009, in Sudbury, Mass. Jim was born on June 17, 1936, in Columbus, Ga. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather had been Methodist ministers, and there was some expectation that he would follow in their footsteps, but he was led to study English literature and earned a master’s degree in that subject at Emory University. Over the next twenty years, his career as an English teacher took him to Denver; St. Louis; Istanbul, where he chaired the Department of English at Robert College; and finally the Boston area, where he taught at Phillips Academy Andover and the Pingree School. Though he traveled widely and lived far from home, Jim maintained a warm relationship with his parents. He reflected his mother’s appreciation of art, literature, and music, and had, his brother remembers, many of his father’s mannerisms, the greeting on his voicemail evoking the elder Anthony’s “intoning of scripture as he served communion to his congregation.” Uncertain and vulnerable as a youth, Jim became his older brother’s best friend and advisor, showing wisdom beyond his years. He took part in the civil rights movement in Atlanta and Dallas and became a Quaker when he moved to Boston, serving as assistant director of Beacon Hill Friends House in 1981 and 1982 and as clerk of Beacon Hill Meeting from 1985 to 1987. When he applied for the assistant directorship of Beacon Hill Friends House, his openness about his sexual orientation allowed the Board of Managers knowingly to hire a gay man. Later, he spoke movingly and powerfully about the fact that, though the community welcomed his participation, it would not conduct a marriage ceremony for him, a message that may have been a turning point in the meeting’s decision-making on same-sex marriage. Jim was active in Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (now Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns) and served on their Ministry and Counsel committee. In 2006 Jim and his partner, Bruce Steiner, joined Friends Meeting at Cambridge, Mass. Friends remember Jim as wise, kind, reflective, and good at drawing others out, with a sharp sense of humor, a delightful smile, and a hearty laugh. Jim became a special source of strength to a friend with Alzheimer’s disease, showing kindness and tact. As he came to recognize that he, too, had serious memory losses, he became active in Alzheimer’s advocacy, mobilizing his gift with the English language and his experience in social activism to convey to colleagues, their care partners, their professional care givers, and ultimately legislators and staffs on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill the experiences of an Alzheimer’s patient and what had proved to be most helpful in his struggle. His eloquence, honesty, and courage stirred all who heard him. Friends remember his mix of depth, delight, and mischief. He loved friends, books, music, art, good food and drink, and fun. He kept his sweet disposition to the end, his gentle spirit intact, and his manner smiling, even though he could no longer recognize people. Jim is survived by his partner, Bruce Steiner; his brother, Bascom Anthony; and eight nieces and nephews.

 

Condon—Marie Powers Condon, 83, on February 20, 2011, in Bradenton, Fla., of lung cancer. Marie was born on June 21, 1927, in North Bennington, Vt., to Marion Church and Michael Powers. She met Robert Behrens Condon at University of Vermont, where they and another friend coauthored the script for a one-act play for a college function. Bob and Marie married after Marie’s graduation in 1949 and lived at first in Burlington, Vt., and then in Nyack, N.Y., while Bob attended graduate school at Columbia University. Marie and Bob looked for a church that was different from those in which they had grown up, and they discovered Quakers in Nyack. When they moved to Wilmington, Del., for Bob’s work as an engineer at DuPont, they attended Wilmington Meeting. Marie and Bob did not enjoy corporate life or being separated when Bob had to be away on business, so after two and a half years at DuPont, Bob resigned his position and they spent a year traveling throughout the West, returning to Vermont as managers of a motel in Burlington. In 1955, they bought a ten-unit motor inn in Bennington, Vt., and operated it for 23 years, developing a relationship with Bennington College as the only innkeepers in town who happily rented to people of all colors. They added on to the inn until it had 53 units when they sold it in 1978. Bob and Marie attended a worship group in Arlington, Vt., and became members of the Religious Society of Friends when New England Yearly Meeting formed Northwest Quarterly Meeting. Often their winter meetings convened at the motel. Marie and Bob adopted Robert Powers Condon in 1959 and Catherine Church (Kate) Condon in 1961. They bought a house in town and Marie semi-retired to take care of the children. They traveled through Brazil, Alaska, Mexico, Guatemala, and Panama. Marie took part in nonprofit and Democratic Party affairs, helping to organize and serving as board member of Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council and Bennington Day Care Center, of which she was also president. She was also a board member of residential centers for delinquent-adjudicated young people. Marie served for five years on the state Board of Education and, beginning in 1980, served three terms in the legislature, working on the Education Committee and chairing it for two terms, helping to get legislation passed for mandatory kindergarten. Former Vermont Governor Madeline Kunin praised her “ability to combine good cheer with good policy.” In 1992 Marie and Bob retired to Florida, transferring their membership to Sarasota Meeting in 1993, and Marie served as presiding clerk in 1996 and 1997, helping to hold the meeting together during turmoil that occurred when a potential Quaker retirement community met financial problems and failed to come to fruition. She was later recording clerk, and in 2009, while undergoing treatment for cancer, she began a committee to aid soup kitchens and day centers for the homeless in Bradenton and Sarasota. The North Quakers, a group that meets for fellowship monthly in Bradenton, owes its existence to Marie’s impetus. Friends recall Marie’s gentle guidance and calm voice of common sense and found that her thoughtful words in meeting helped them along the right path. She was a rare combination of intellect, warmth, and spiritual depth, interested in every person she met. Her living out of her personal philosophy, internalized from Quaker testimonies, looked effortless. Marie is survived by her husband, Robert B. Condon; a son, Robert P. Condon (Sandy); a daughter, Kate Hamilton (Ken); a brother, Lawrence Powers (Bernice); a grandson, Jay Condon (Sara); a great granddaughter, Makenna Kate Condon; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.

 

Esmonde—Philip Douglas Esmonde, 61, on December 27, 2011, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after a struggle with esophageal cancer. Phil was born on March 3, 1950, in Oxford, England, to Celia Fairmaner and Roderic Esmonde. His father was a mechanical engineer, and his mother, a nurse, worked as a full-time mother. He grew up as a Catholic in Montreal, Que., Canada, and at 17, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force rather than be drafted after his family moved to Raleigh, N.C. He applied for Conscientious Objector (C.O.) status, but his application was denied; his commanding officers destroyed the letters of support he had provided, and he was denied access to documents that the American Civil Liberties Union requested on his behalf. Phil served out his enlistment as a non-combatant in the Air Force’s telephone system. In 1972, he enrolled in University of Victoria and worked as a photographer and journalist on the student newspaper. At this time, he first encountered Quakers, and after graduation, he worked for the Energy Conservation Centre and attended Vernon (B.C.) Meeting. He helped to found Victoria International Development Association (VIDEA) and took part in the Greater Victoria Disarmament Group, organizing the third annual PeaceWalk. In 1981 – 1989, Phil was a founding director of Pacific People’s Partnership. He joined Victoria (B.C.) Meeting (now under the care of Vancouver Island Meeting) in 1987 and went to Sri Lanka in 1991 to represent British Quakers in efforts to resolve peacefully a decades-old conflict. In 1994, he married Kaushalya Jayaweera, whose Buddhism brought a new dimension into his life. Phil worked as human rights and humanitarian advisor to the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka from 1994 to 1998. Then, recalling his own lonely application for C.O. status, he returned to North America to serve as director of Quaker House from 1998 to 2000. Here he responded to calls to the G.I. Rights Hotline and visited high risk prisoners at Camp Lejeune. Phil worked especially with young people who had entered the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) without having had a chance to consider their options. Learning that recruits with health problems were often told by recruiters not to reveal them on enlistment forms, only to be subject after enlistment to court martial for falsifying the applications, Phil issued a press release with the help of Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors that resulted in a two-part television series, GI Lies, that aired in 1999 in Atlanta, Ga., and in Georgia Senator Max Cleland’s publicizing the report and sending copies of the program to the Pentagon. Soon after, Phil began work that led to the founding of Quaker UK-based Naga Conciliation Group in India. He left Quaker House to return to Colombo, Kaushalya’s home community, in 2000. There he worked with Oxfam and then joined Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SCISL) as director of advocacy and communications, developing a comprehensive five-year Child Rights Strategy and organizing a national Children’s Rights event at which children publicly questioned Parliamentarians (including Ministers) on their policies and suggested improvements. Starting in 2007, he worked for Nonviolent Peaceforce (NVPF) to lead recruitment and training of field staff from Colombo. He developed curricula and carried out training in Romania (2007), Mindanao (Philippines, 2009), and Chiang Mai (Thailand, 2010). He retired from NVPF in July 2010. Phil is survived by his wife, Kaushalya Jayaweera Esmonde; two brothers, Pat Esmonde and Jeff Esmonde; and a sister, Caroline Esmonde.

Hoskins—Lois Janet Roberts Hoskins, 94 going on infinity, on November 9, 2011, in Kauai, Hawaii. Lois was born on June 5, 1917, in Melba, Idaho, to Alice Mendenhall and Frank Delbert Roberts. Growing up in Greenleaf (Idaho) Meeting, her life was shaped both by farmers and educators and by an early and progressive loss of hearing that gave her a balance between her compelling, inward self-creation and her interface with the outer world. She attended George Fox University (then called Pacific College), graduated from Northwest Nazarene College, and worked as a teacher, librarian, printer, and editor. During her time at George Fox University, she attended Newberg Friends Church. Lois married Lewis Hoskins and attended Ann Arbor Meeting during the time he studied at University of Michigan. When Lewis went to China with the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) during China’s civil war, Lois lived with their first child at Pendle Hill before joining him in Shanghai, where she managed the hostel for families of Friends Ambulance Uit (FAU) members and other Quakers. When the family returned to Pennsylvania, Lois and Lewis joined Providence (Pa.) Meeting and worked with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in residence at Pendle Hill. She also worked as librarian at The School in Rose Valley to help pay her children’s tuition and acted as mother/hostess to countless exchange students and foreign luminaries associated with AFSC. Lois gardened and cooked and baked and sewed and kept the lives of four small and two big people more or less in order while Lewis was often away on national and international travels. She never said no when she saw a need for help, and her behind-the-scenes presence made visible accomplishments possible. After a decade, the family moved to Richmond, Ind., to become part of the Earlham College community. She volunteered for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, worked in a community center for disadvantaged families, did international relief work, and acted as hostess to foreign students and guests at Earlham, while participating in the cultural and social life of the college, community, and Clear Creek Meeting. Adept at fitting in and making warm friends wherever she went, she accompanied Lewis on sabbatical trips to Woodbrooke, England, and to Kenya, China, and South Africa. When she and Lewis retired to Lincoln City, Oreg., Lois supported friends, community needs, First Congregational Church, and Salem Meeting. She oversaw nights at the local battered women’s shelter well into her 80s. Nurturing her exceptional flower gardens, feeding people, sewing freely for others, and singing at the slightest provocation, Lois sustained a warm and inviting home for those who streamed to the beautiful Oregon coast. Her love of words and story unending, she never stopped reading every printed word she saw (making food shopping sometimes a challenge), and she could comment on almost any author or piece of classic literature mentioned. She was reading on the day she passed. Lois’s serenity allowed her to fall asleep anywhere, as needed. In 2008, when Lois and Lewis moved to Kauai, Hawaii, to live with their daughter Laurie and her husband, it was hard for her to give up her home and friends, but her interior life was so fertile and expansive that she never lacked for resources. In the face of a torn ligament affecting her mobility, she remained calm and patient, as with all her changes of aging. After Lewis passed, Lois felt that she too would be leaving and about a month before her passing began to turn herself in that direction. She slipped quietly and quickly away in her Kauai home. Lois is survived by her children, Theresa Michel (Anthony), Laurel Quarton (Gerry), Adrienne Muller (Michael), and Scott Hoskins (Susan); her grandchildren, Joel Michel, Sarah Michel, Casey Muller (Ana Yang), Laila Muller, Juna Muller, Nicholas Hoskins, and Dan Hoskins; and one brother, Wayne Roberts. Gifts in her memory may be made to Pendle Hill, AFSC, or Greenleaf Academy.

Hunter—Carole Faye Hunter, 70, on September 8, 2011, at home in Oak Ridge, N.C., following a six-month illness, Carole was born on May 6, 1941, in Surry County, N.C., to Rachel Durham and William Hassell Hunter Sr. A first-generation college student, she graduated from Pilot Mountain High School in 1959, and with the encouragement of teachers and Friends at Pilot Mountain (N.C.) Meeting, she enrolled at Guilford College. She majored in biology and was a member of the Biology Club and Honor Board and president of the Women’s Student Council, graduating in 1963. She earned a Master’s in Physiology/Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University in 1965, and following a physical therapy internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, she did post-graduate work at University of Michigan and Harvard University. She took part in an Ergonomics Study Tour in Stockholm, Sweden, and became a licensed physical therapist and a certified professional ergonomist. In 1969, she filled an emergency three-month volunteer appointment for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) at a prosthetics center in Quang Ngai, Vietnam. Carole also worked with the public health departments in Connecticut and Pennsylvania and the North Carolina Department of Human Resources. In 1981, after building a home in Oak Ridge that incorporated logs from her grandfather’s log cabin, she began her own business, Industrial Biomechanics, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in helping companies alleviate employee musculoskeletal problems caused by repetitive motion and improperly-designed work environments. Among her clients were Black and Decker, Burlington Industries, and Sara Lee Corporation. Carole was a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and American Physical Therapy Association. She served on Guilford College’s Board of Visitors from 1995 to 2003, and in 2008 joined the school’s Board of Trustees, quickly becoming a valued member and serving as secretary of the board. Her sage advice, sense of humor, and dedication to Guilford were inspiring. She had a particular fondness for biology and began an endowment to support student research in biology. Starting in 2007, she was also on the Board of Trustees for Friends Homes, Inc., where she was instrumental in developing a strategic plan. As a member of New Garden Meeting in Greensboro, N.C., she served on many committees, including Investments, Quaker Relations, and Finance and Stewardship, to which she brought astute business skills, orchestrating a pizza sale that raised thousands of dollars. She was an active member of the Singles Group, which held meeting for worship in her home during her illness. In May 2011, she received Guilford College’s Alumni Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding service as a humanitarian and professional. Carole was a true artist, in the kitchen, behind a camera’s lens, and in her garden. She enjoyed spending time with friends and family at her Ashe County cabin, sailing, and traveling. Innovative and knowledgeable, she lived with intention, and Friends describe her as the consummate hostess, as a voice of reason, and as a mentor, remembering also the care she provided for her mother, who died in 2009 at 98. She once said about a stew she had prepared, “If you want to get some of the really good stuff, you have to dip way down deep in the pot.”  A Friend has said that Carole not only dipped down deep in life’s pot of stew and got the good stuff, she also encouraged others to go deep into whatever they were doing and come up with the good stuff that was there. Carole was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by a brother, William Hassell “Bill” Hunter Jr. (Faye); a nephew, Jeff Hunter (Patrina Moore); a great-nephew, Braiden Hunter; a step-nephew, Gordon Myers (Pam); her beloved dog, Daisy; and many friends who loved her. Contributions in Carole’s memory may be made to Guilford College for The Biology Endowment, New Garden Friends Meeting, Friends Homes, Inc. Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, or other causes for the betterment of the human condition.

Lane—Richard T. Lane Jr., 80, on October 28, 2011, in Philadelphia, Pa., within hours of suffering a stroke. Sometimes known as R.T., Richard was born on July 4, 1931, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Anne Brede and Richard Thatcher Lane and grew up not far from the Hudson River tracks of the New York Central Railroad. A lifelong Quaker, Richard graduated from Oakwood Friends School in 1949 and Haverford College in 1953. In the summer of 1952, he was a representative to an international conference of Young Friends, in Oxford, England. He lived in Philadelphia and Maine all of his adult life and enjoyed a lifelong fascination with trolleys and trains. After graduating from college in the early 1950s, he sought work with the Philadelphia Transit Company, which ran the trolley cars and buses in that city. Told at an interview that there was no future in electric streetcar transport, he went to work instead for the Pennsylvania Railroad in their Freight Rate Bureau at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Because he was still interested in trolleys as well as locomotives, Richard spent several summer vacations as a volunteer restoring streetcars, first in the Philadelphia area and later in Maine. He retired from Penn Central in 1973 and moved to Kennebunk, Maine, to become Director of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. He adopted three German Shepherds in succession from the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk. He retired as director at the museum in 1996 and enjoyed several years on the maintenance staff at Cliff House in Ogunquit, while still volunteering at the trolley museum and the animal shelter. In 2002, advancing age and uncertain health took him back to Philadelphia, where he lived at Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley Hall in the Germantown neighborhood for his remaining years. He was a member of Central Philadelphia Meeting and attended Portland Meeting while living in Maine. Along with his love for trolleys, Richard was always active in the local Railfan community, participating in many steam-locomotive excursions and train-spotting trips and amassing an impressive collection of books, photos, movies, and videos about trains and railroads in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His knowledge of the history and technical detail of railroading was a valued resource for fellow railroad buffs. Never married, Richard is survived by two brothers, Charles Lane (Marga) and Peter Lane (Juliet); one sister, Elizabeth Morrison (Vaughn); five nephews, David Lane (Jocelyn Kidd), Daniel Lane, Benjamin Lane (Anne), Matthew Ramsey (Aimee Code), and Alexander Ramsey (Kia Dallons); one niece, Alice Lane; three great-nephews; and four great-nieces.

 

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