Milestones April 2013

Deaths

Bolle—Kees W. Bolle, 84, on October 14, 2012, in Biddeford, Maine, peacefully, in the still of night, held by his wife of 35 years. He was born Cornelis Willem Bolle on December 2, 1927, in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, and was called “Kees” (pronounced like “case”) by his family. Shortly before World War II, his family moved to Oostvoorne, which was occupied by the Germans until 1945. Kees entered University of Leiden, planning to study theology and become a minister, but study as an exchange student at University of Chicago in the early 1950s changed his direction, and he returned to Chicago a few years later for graduate study in the history of religions, specializing in the religions of ancient India. He and his first wife lived in India for two years while he wrote his doctoral dissertation. He taught religion at Brown University, and in the mid-1960s joined the history department at UCLA, where he remained for 25 years, setting up a nationally recognized major in the interdisciplinary study of religion. With a mischievous sense of humor and a memorable laugh, he was a spellbinding lecturer, once saying that although he had wanted to be a clown, he had settled for being a professor. Kees’s intellectual passion sometimes offended others, and his unwillingness to step down from his principles made him a formidable disputant. He met his second wife, Sara Denning, a doctoral student in ancient Near Eastern history and languages, and moved in 1991 to Portland, Oregon, continuing to teach religion in addition to publishing several books. In 2000, the family moved to Maine, where he taught humanities at College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Sara attended medical school. He was a lifelong student of classical music and played his piano or clarinet daily. In addition to writing books on myth and religion, he translated several works and published Ben’s Story: Holocaust Letters with Selections from the Dutch Underground Press (2001), letters written by his close high school friend who had died in Bergen-Belsen; the translated letters are interspersed with selections from the Dutch underground press, showing the connections between the life of an individual and the political/social world. His article “Myth and Mythology” in Encyclopedia Britannica’s 15th edition remained in place until the encyclopedia moved to an electronic format. His final manuscript, Religion Among People, a study of the relationship of religion and politics, is in the final stages of editing. During his last decade, Kees joined Southern Maine Meeting in York County, Maine. Until his early 80s, he continued to ride his bicycle, and he enjoyed quiet trips on Maine rivers with Sara in their canoe. A severe diabetic for 80 years, with no long-term effects on vision, kidneys, or limbs, he distrusted statistics and all medical practitioners, vowing to outlive his doctors. In his last years, he suffered progressive cognitive decline and complications. Not long before he died, a massive stroke made him unable to walk, read, write, talk, or play music. He had great physical and mental strength, however, and physicians, nurses, and therapists noted his ability to recover function. Unable to speak, he expressed himself through facial expressions, remaining at peace, with a keen sense of life’s frailty. Kees is survived by his wife, Sara Denning-Bolle, two children, two grandchildren, a sister, two nieces and a nephew. For those who want to give something in his memory, consider a donation to American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Fraser—Amanda Hilles Fraser, 89, on March 29, 2012, in Richmond, Ind. Amanda was born on December 16, 1922, in Montclair, N.J., to Amanda Chase Hilles and Raymond Webster. She was a 1940 graduate of Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pa., and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Smith College in 1944. She and her husband, Herbert Fraser, were members of St. Louis (Mo.) Meeting in the 1960s and spent time in Colombia, South America, where they started a worship group in Cali. She moved to Richmond in 1967 and was acquisitions librarian at Earlham College, retiring after more than 20 years. Amanda was a member of Clear Creek Meeting in Richmond, Ind., and a participant in Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting and in the Dayton office of AFSC. She was active in Civic Theater and Whitewater Opera performances and was past president of the League of Women Voters, Richmond Chapter. She loved to sing, and she sang in choruses and chorales over the years. She and Herbert frequently entertained people in various venues with humorous college and university songs from the 1930s and 40s as well as popular songs from the big band era. She had a deep knowledge of poetry that she had learned while reciting with her father during her formative years, and she often used this poetry when she was moved to speak in meeting for worship. Amanda was preceded in death by her parents and by her brothers, R. Webster Hilles Jr. and Hugh C. Hilles. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Herbert W. Fraser; a son, Peter H. Fraser (Soffia B.); two granddaughters, two great-grandchildren, and two nieces.

Greene—Elizabeth Swing Greene, 98, on December 17, 2012, at the home of her daughter in Santa Fe, N.M. Frankie, as she was known, was born on October 21, 1914, in Oberlin, Ohio. She was homeschooled by her mother, Suzanne Morin Swing, a renowned suffragette, and her father was Raymond Gram Swing, a news commentator. Frankie grew up on a farm in Wilton, Conn., and graduated from Oberlin College. She earned her master’s in social work from Case Western Reserve University and was a social worker for several years in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Frankie and Gerald Greene were married in 1941 by Fiorello LaGuardia, the mayor of New York City. They joined Cambridge (Mass.) Meeting in 1946. In 1948 they moved to Hartford, Conn., where Gerry practiced as an orthopedic surgeon for over 30 years, and where their three children grew up. Transferring their membership to Hartford Meeting, they took part in the exciting process of building a meetinghouse on land where there had been a meeting from 1749 until 1847 and where there was an old Quaker cemetery. They prominently displayed a photograph of the beautiful Hartford meetinghouse, completed in 1950, in their home for the rest of their lives. Frankie was active in community arts organizations in Hartford and opened her own travel agency as well as two restaurants that she and Gerry supervised. In 1980 they retired and moved to Santa Fe, a town they had always loved. They transferred their membership to Santa Fe Meeting in 1989 and generously supported the meeting, donating the sturdy, padded folding chairs that are still the main seating in the Olive Rush Studio, where meeting for worship is held. They also arranged for an antique Navajo weaving to be restored and mounted on the wall of the meeting room. Frankie volunteered for the Wheelwright Museum, the Indian Market, and the School of America Research. She and Gerry wrote weekly restaurant reviews for two local newspapers and enjoyed treating their friends to lunch at the little ethnic cafés they discovered. In 1990 the Greenes moved to El Castillo Retirement Residences. They spent quite a few winters in Portugal helping to homeschool the children of their son,Dennis, and his wife, Saint. Frankie and Gerry loved to travel abroad and collected folk art from many countries. Gerry died in 2009 at age 95. He and Frankie had been married for 68 years. Frankie stayed on in an assisted living apartment at El Castillo until two months before her death, when her daughter brought her home to care for her. Frankie is survived by three children: Michele Hermann, Dennis Greene, and Erick Greene, and five grandchildren.

Morse—Judith Buckley Morse, 70, on November 28, 2012, at her home in Pleasantville, N.Y., after a short illness. Judy was born on December 24, 1941, in New York City, and grew up in Chappaqua. She briefly attended Antioch College and earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. As a student, she worked at the main branch of the New York Public Library and for the university’s chemistry department. After the births of her two children and the death of her first husband, Blair McMillin, she worked for Guidance Associates in Pleasantville, N.Y. She later worked for several trade publishers in New York City, ending her career as manager of contracts, permissions, and copyright at Penguin Pearson. Judy and Perry Morse married in the manner of Friends at the Chappaqua (N.Y.) Meeting House in 1977. Over the years, she took part in almost every aspect of meeting life, serving as meeting
clerk and on many committees. She was recording clerk for over 25 years and overseer of the Social Committee as well, making sure that Chappaqua’s cupboards were well stocked. Judy had a concern for prison work and participated in the worship group at Otisville Correctional Facility north of Middletown, N.Y., where she also volunteered. She enjoyed gardening and cooking and served as president of the League of Women Voters in Mount Pleasant. Her quiet, luminous presence enriched the life of Chappaqua Meeting and Purchase Quarter throughout her years. Friends will miss her cheerful optimism and support. Judy leaves behind her husband, William Perry Morse; two children: Matthew Ruby and Elizabeth Thompson; a sister, Bonnie Frederickson;
and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on June 15 at Friends Meetinghouse in Chappaqua. Memorial contributions may be made to Chappaqua Meeting or the Visiting Nurses Association
in Westchester and Putnam.

Rizzo—Philip Rizzo, 84, on November 12, 2011, at home in Valencia, Calif. Phil was born on July 24, 1927, in Rochester, N.Y. and lived there until he joined the U.S. Coast Guard at 17. Upon discharge, he studied commercial art at Rochester Institute of Technology, after which he worked at the Rochester Times Union as an ad designer. He served in the Corps of Engineers in the army during the Korean conflict and was stationed in Germany for a year and a half, where he taught troops how to build floating bridges. Phil married his first wife, Mary Jane Thompkins, who was called Peggy, while in the army, and on his return to the United States moved to Phoenix. He became an advertising manager for the 42 Safeway stores in Arizona and after six years moved to the Los Angeles area. He also worked in advertising for the Market Basket grocery chain before starting Rizzo Graphics, serving as a printing broker for 17 years before retiring. He attended Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, Calif., for several years. He was a member of a men’s group for about 15 years that often met in the meetinghouse. His second marriage to Fredda Willis had ended, and he and Susann Nation married in the manner of Friends on August 26, 2000, in Orange Grove Meeting, and he became a member in March of 2003. After they moved to Valencia, Calif., he was a docent for the Southwest Museum for about ten years and presented information about local Indian life to school children. For the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, he adapted his program to reflect local Santa Clarita Indian life. Phil is survived by his wife, Susann Nation Rizzo; four children, Carol Rizzo, Nancy Rizzo Brandt, Regina Rizzo, and Mark Philip Rizzo; ten grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Shore—Phillip Donnell Shore, 80, on January 18, 2013, at Friends Fellowship Community in Richmond, Ind. Phil was born on June 3, 1932, in Knoxville, Tenn., the only child of Pansy Donnell and Marvin H. Shore, and was a lifelong Quaker. His father was at that time principal of the Friends school in nearby Friendsville, but Phil grew up in Pilot Mountain, N.C. He attended Westtown School in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1950. In the 1950s, he was active in the Young Friends of North America, and his first trip abroad was to attend the Second World Conference of Friends at Oxford University in 1952. He graduated from Earlham College in 1954. After college, he did alternative service in Central America and Mexico with AFSC and earned a master of library science degree at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He served for a year on the staff of the library at Cornell University before returning to Earlham as cataloguer and associate library director in 1959. He was one of a group of faculty members who studied during the summer of 1962 in Japan under a Ford Foundation grant, laying the foundations for the college’s program in Japanese Studies. He led off-campus study programs, acted as library director during the 1961-1962 school year, and was central in the creation of the college’s Wilderness Program in the early 1970s. He gave generously of his time to local organizations, particularly Civic Theater and Habitat for Humanity. He retired in 1996, and although he continued to read widely and voraciously and participated in several Elderhostels, he refused to allow a computer into his home. For many years a member of Clear Creek Meeting in Richmond, Ind., he later transferred his membership to West Richmond (Ind.) Meeting, where he was active until shortly before his death. He is survived by several cousins and many friends. Phil donated his body to science and asked that memorial donations be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.

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