Birth
Glines Vera—Mercy Glines Vera was born on May 9, 2014, to Melinda Glines and Arturo Vera of Strawberry Creek Meeting in Berkeley, Calif., and to big brother Mateo Vera and grandmother Elsa Glines, also of Strawberry Creek Meeting.
Deaths
Akins—Marjorie Abbott Akins, 86, of Mitchellville, Md., on March 31, 2014. Marney was born on October 22, 1927, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in Warwick, N.Y., in a family where she heard, “If you don’t have something to say, don’t waste words proving it to everyone.” She graduated from Rockford College (now University) in Rockford, Ill., in 1948, and was influenced by the idealism and pragmatism of one of the school’s early graduates Jane Addams. Marney received a master’s in Russian studies at Harvard University, and worked at American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) work camps in Finland and Germany and in World Council of Churches refugee settlements, meeting James Akins on an ocean journey home in 1952. She worked at AFSC’s International Student House as Jim awaited a Foreign Service posting, and they married in Warwick, N.Y., in 1954. The Foreign Service took them to Rome, Paris, and Strasbourg, with Marney arranging their moves and regularly entertaining. They lived in Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Iraq; adopted two children; and sheltered in their home’s inner rooms during a government takeover in Iraq. They moved to Washington, D.C. in 1965, transferring their membership from Brummana Meeting in Lebanon (part of the Friends school there) to Friends Meeting of Washington (D.C.) in 1966. After Jim left the Foreign Service in 1976, they returned to Washington, and now free from “wife of” duties, Marney extended hospitality to friends from all over the world and served on committees for Religious Education (including time as clerk), Overseers, and Nominating. As historian, she prepared materials for the Swarthmore archives, served on and helped manage the yearly meeting history project for the 1993–2003 volumes, and worked to make Quakerism visible in organizations such as the District of Columbia Historical Society. When she was recording clerk, her minutes showed an understanding of process and right order and exhibited the art of the Quaker minute: spare in expression, omitting nothing important, and capturing with an open heart and attention to inner music Friends’ views. And she was a virtual welcoming committee, demonstrating an inclusive delight in new people, greeting them, and engaging them in conversation. Many Friends recall their first introduction to Friends Meeting of Washington when Marney talked to them and invited them to her home that very day for lunch. She attended Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s (BYM) interim meeting and annual sessions each year, serving on the Education Funding Resources Committee, as BYM recording clerk, and on the BYM Records and Handbook Committee (four years as clerk). Faced with a difficult situation, Marnie would step back, calmly look ahead with strong compassion, and unsentimentally evaluate the possible opportunities. Her frequent gift at memorial meetings, as Friends recalled all that the life now passed had offered, would be, “Who will take up the work that this Friend has laid down?” In the early 2000s, she and Jim moved to Kendal’s Collington retirement community, and she attended a worship group there, although after Jim died in 2010, her stamina was not the same as before. Marney is survived by her children, Tom Akins and Mary Beth Akins Covill.
Chetsingh—Dilawar Chetsingh, 75, on May 31, 2014, in Noida, New Delhi, India. Dilawar was born on October 26, 1938, at Friends Mission Hospital in Itarsi, India, to Doris and Ranjit Chetsingh, who worked at the Friends Rural Centre in Rasulia, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh. He had a carefree childhood at the Friends Rural Centre. After schooling in India and at Friends’ School, Saffron Walden in Essex, England, he studied history in college and went into Indian government service. He was a member of the General Conference of Friends in India, one of the country’s two yearly meetings, and worshipped at a small meeting held at the Central YWCA of India in New Delhi. In his retirement, Dilawar continued to give significant help and support. From 2004 to 2012, he served as clerk of the Asia West Pacific Section of Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and as a member of the Central Executive Committee, organizing the Section Meeting of FWCC in Bhopal in 2008. An FWCC colleague recalls his “perseverance and non-confrontational and even temperament.” He became president of Lott Carey Baptist Mission in India, operating four secondary schools in Noida, as well as AIDS and leprosy clinics, and attended the Biennial Conference of the Mission in the United States. He was a keen and knowledgeable birdwatcher, and he loved to travel and to interact with people, always having plenty of questions to ask them. Tributes since his death emphasize how his names set the benchmark for his life. His first name, Dilawar, can be translated as “greatness of heart,” and his second name, Kripal, means “merciful, compassionate.” His family and friends remember these qualities in him. Dilawar is survived by his wife, Snehlata Chetsingh; his children, Kripa Amritanand and Ranjit Chetsingh; a brother, Rajan Chetsingh; and relatives and friends worldwide.
Cousins—William James Cousins, 89, on July 31, 2013, in Washington, D.C. Bill was born on January 25, 1924, in Derby, Conn., to a father who was a Baptist minister. Raised in the black church, he grew up in Ansonia, Conn., and earned a bachelor’s and a doctorate in sociology from Yale University, coming to know Quakers when he spent a summer in the South’s first interracial work camp organized by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Nashville, Tenn. He worked with AFSC in Pakistan, India, and the United States and taught at Knoxville College, Wellesley College (as the first African American professor), Earlham College (again as the first African American professor), and Federal City College. He and his wife, Gouri, who was from Kolkata, India, traveled around the world for his work for AFSC, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UNICEF, and the Peace Corps. He began attending Friends Meeting of Washington (D.C.) in the 1980s and served as presiding co-clerk. He was also on the board of trustees; the Peace and Social Concerns Committee; and the Healing and Reconciliation Committee, hosting a meeting at his house for that committee just five days before he died. As a sociologist, he was fascinated by human behavior, often asking, “Why do they do that?” Friends and others sought his counsel on hard-to-solve problems because of his keen perspective and his insightful questions. He used his faith in Quaker process when he served on the ad hoc committee for Peace Center issues, faithfully considering all concerns and reminding Friends of the testimonies of justice, equality, and peace during the arduous meetings. Friends who knew him say that he was a Quaker even before he learned about the Religious Society of Friends. He had an authentic curiosity about people and a peaceful presence, a joyful smile, and a gift for listening deeply and honestly. He liked you, even when you disagreed with him. He sought the Light in each person, and as he spoke to you, you could feel that focus. With Bill you felt seen, heard, and known. He often had a beatific, Buddha-like smile. His cousins, nieces, grandnephews, and grandnieces came from far away for his legendary birthday parties. He talked to young people as he would adults, encouraging them to speak freely. He liked to tell stories, and he would tell one or two during a conversation, no matter what the original topic had been. He loved poetry: reading it, writing it, and reciting it. War caused him anger and pain, and even though he supported Obama, he was disheartened by his war policies. At the rise of meeting, Friends would gather around his bench or wheelchair to talk to him. Everyone who knew him wanted to step into his loving, accepting presence to talk to him and share his aura of Light and peace. Bill is survived by his wife, Gouri Bose Cousins, and two children, Ananda Cousins and Christopher Cousins.
Fay—Francis Anderson Fay, 94, on December 19, 2013, at home on Lopez Island, Wash. Francis was born on May 21, 1919, in Jamestown, R.I., on Conanicut Island. Coming from a Navy family, he moved around, growing up in Jamestown, China, and Washington, D.C. He attended a military high school before going into the Navy, and served five years in the South Pacific during World War II. After that he worked as a carpenter and lived in a multi-faith, multi-racial, inner-city Rochdale housing cooperative in Philadelphia, Pa., which was a life-changing experience for him. In 1950, he met his future wife when she came to the home to visit her brother, one of his housemates. They married in 1952. After learning of Quakerism through some of their housemates, Francis and Nancy attended many Philadelphia area meetings, and following their move to Madison, Wis., they attended Madison Meeting and became members there in 1953. He earned a doctorate from University of Wisconsin, where he discovered his passion for teaching. He taught first at Goddard College and eventually at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He attended worship groups and meetings wherever he lived, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Vermont, Chapel Hill, and Lopez Island. He was an integral part of the transition from worship group to monthly meeting in Plainfield, Vt., and in Chapel Hill Meeting, he served as clerk and on many committees. Francis and Nancy moved to Lopez Island of the San Juan Islands in Washington in 2001. He had a wonderful combination of wit and wisdom, attributes that stayed with him beyond the onset of the Alzheimer’s disease that would eventually end his life. Though he was not able to keep up his social contacts in recent years, he maintained his physical health and sense of humor, keeping his family laughing until the end. He was cared for at home by Nancy, with help from their daughters and a wonderful team of local caregivers. His family is grateful for his long and eventful life and the many dear friends who enjoyed his companionship over the years. Francis is survived by Nancy Fay, his wife of 61 years; their three children; and six grandchildren.
Garver—Newton Garver, 85, on February 8, 2014, at home in East Concord, N.Y., after a long illness. Newton was born on April 28, 1928, in Buffalo, N.Y. He attended Nichols School and Deep Springs School, where he learned an ethic of hard physical work and independent thought. At Deep Springs, he first met Quakers and heard about peace activist Bayard Rustin, who became his longtime friend and inspiration. At 18, he joined a group led by A.J. Muste and publicly burned his draft card in San Francisco, Calif., appalling his parents and being sentenced to a year in federal prison. After his release, he earned degrees from Swarthmore College and Oxford University. He joined the Religious Society of Friends at Ithaca (N.Y.) Meeting in 1957. As a graduate student at Cornell University, he met his German-born future wife, Anneliese, and they married in 1958. He joined the philosophy faculty of State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) in 1961 and transferred his membership to Buffalo Meeting, where he served on many committees, as clerk, and as representative to New York Yearly Meeting (NYYM)—serving on NYYM committees nearly every year—and worked with the American Friends Service Committee, Friends World Committee for Consultation, and the Alternatives to Violence Project. At UB he lectured, organized conferences, led the Faculty Senate, and with a colleague in the history department organized a seminar: Human Rights in Theory and Practice. In 1964, he risked dismissal from UB when he and five colleagues refused to sign a New York State loyalty oath. Legal action ensued, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the non-signers. He received a doctorate in philosophy from Cornell in 1965. Named Distinguished Service Professor in 1991, Newton was particularly interested in the twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, writing six books and more than a hundred articles about him. In the western New York community, he was a founding member of H.O.M.E. and co-founder of Citizens Council on Human Relations. After he retired in 1995, he joined an effort to help impoverished Bolivian Quakers without easy access to schools, founding an education fund (BQEF) for computers, dormitories, teacher apprenticeships, and scholarships. Whenever a Friend from Buffalo Meeting met other Quakers around the world, they were likely to ask about him. His presence in any room was large and deep, and his absence leaves a big hole in Buffalo Meeting and in the wider Quaker community. The comfort is that his life’s echo will reverberate for years among Friends. Newton was predeceased by a brother, Bruce Garver, and he is survived by his wife of 56 years, Anneliese Garver; his children, Julia Garver, Cecily Garver, Miriam McGiver, and Geoffrey Garver; a brother, Ted Garver; and five grandchildren.
Henderson—Rebecca Jocelyn Henderson, 70, on March 4, 2014, in Santa Fe, N.M., of complications of myelofibrosis. Rebecca was born on August 29, 1943, in Paullina, Iowa, to Sada Thompson and Arthur James Henderson, and grew up in Paullina Meeting of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), where some still used plain language and dress, and children sat through meeting for worship, attended business meetings after age 10, and served on committees after age 12. She graduated from Scattergood Friends School and attended Earlham College before transferring in 1964 to Iowa State University to study landscape architecture. At Ames (Iowa) Meeting she found rest and comfort from the sexism at school. At a Vietnam War protest in Washington, she first saw women who were open lesbians and came to realize that she was a lesbian. With a bachelor’s in landscape architecture from Iowa State (1968), she analyzed environmental impact of transmission lines, power plants, and waterway improvements for eight years for Stanley Consultants. She moved to Iowa City in 1970 and served on Iowa City Meeting’s Scattergood School Committee; as clerk, recording clerk, and meetinghouse resident; and as representative to the 1973 FWCC Triennial in Sidney, Australia. In 1975, when Stanley Consultants took a Trident nuclear submarine contract, she resigned and began living a simpler life; came out of the closet; and found an Iowa City lesbian community focused on equality, justice, peace, and feminism. She founded small press bindery Prairie Fox Publications in 1977 and protected more than 600 rare books for University of Iowa with custom-sized cloth-covered boxes. Iowa City Meeting’s unreadiness to accept lesbians and gays led her to quietly withdraw from Quaker work and the meeting. In 1985, she sold the bindery when chemical sensitivity made her unable to work. That year she moved to Albuquerque, N.M., for better air and healing, and worked five years for University of New Mexico. She walked 1,700 miles in four summers, mostly in New Mexico and Colorado, the vigorous movement of air through her lungs helping her recover enough to work full time during the winters. With encouragement from Al-Anon, she began attending Albuquerque Meeting. In 1989 Rebecca met Pelican Lee; in 1990 she moved to Santa Fe to live with her, and in 1992 they married at Albuquerque Meeting under the care of Paullina Meeting. With others, they founded West Wind, a lesbian intentional community where Rebecca built straw bale houses, used solar energy, collected rainwater, gardened, and kept chickens. Rebecca and Pelican (and their chickens) lived half the week in Santa Fe and half the week at West Wind. Rebecca served Santa Fe Meeting and Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) on committees, as clerk, and as representative to FWCC peace conferences and gatherings. After she was diagnosed in 2006, she led IMYM’s restructuring; conducted clerking workshops; spoke at Quaker gatherings; and wrote and published Ingridʼs Tales: A Norwegian-American Quaker Farming Story, and a booklet, Quaker Practice and Business Meetings. Rebecca touched many lives as she exemplified how to live by Quaker principles; nurtured newer Friends; and was her meetingʼs informal consultant for just about every project, committee, and connection to other Quaker groups. She will be remembered as a baker of superb pies and Norwegian pastries; for her clever inventions, unswerving optimism, kindness, mentoring, and defusing of conflicts; and for her passion for right action. Buried in the Friends cemetery in Paullina, Iowa, where her parents and nine of her twelve grandparents and great-grandparents are buried, Rebecca is survived by her wife, Pelican Lee Ellen Ackerman; her sister, Matilda Hansen; two nephews, Eric Michener (Kay) and Douglas Michener (Jill); two nieces, Chelsea Ackerman and Serendipiti Mariah Ackerman; two great-nephews; and a wide circle of friends.
Jenks—Effie Dunwiddie Jenks, 63, on June 15, 2014, at home in State College, Pa. Effie was born on February 26, 1951, and was the daughter of Jane Reppert and Barton L. Jenks Jr. She was a birthright member of State College Meeting and grew up in the meeting, active on social issues with the youth group. When the local Southern Student Project brought students from racially segregated school to the State College area to live with local families and attend State College Area High School, she led in integrating them. While still in high school she was inspired by another Friend, Elton Atwater, to make a career of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She pursued this goal by majoring in sociology at Wilmington College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1973. In 1978 she returned to State College to work for the Arc of Centre County, serving as the director of the Arc until she retired in 2014. Helping others was a passion for her, and she took a personal interest in the people she met in her 36-year career. She was kind, compassionate, and faithful. Effie is survived by her mother, Jane Jenks Small; a brother, Barton H. Jenks (Janet Lewis); and one nephew.
Nnoka—Barbara Grant Nnoka, 87, on September 4, 2009, at home in Arlington, Va. Barbara was born on May 18, 1922, in Hartford, Conn., to Anna and Edgar Grant, and grew up in Wethersfield, Conn., attending a Christian Science Sunday school. She graduated from Colby College in 1943, working during the summers at the Hartford Times Farm for underprivileged children. Her commitment to peace began when she met Raymond Wilson as he was starting Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). After earning a master’s in relief and reconstruction from Haverford College in 1945, she worked for Henry Street Settlement in New York City; the Annie Wright Seminary in Tacoma, Wash.; FCNL in Washington, D.C.; and American Friends Service Committee. Her work with Howard Brinton and Douglas Steere influenced and guided her. In the early 1950s, she began to discern a leading to work in Africa, and in 1954, she went to Uyo, Nigeria, to teach village women reading, arithmetic, hygiene, and baby care. She had to leave her job when she married Alphonsus Ethelbert Ifeanyi Nnoka because married women were not allowed to teach. She served as an aide to Nnamadi Azikiwe, the first Prime Minister of Nigeria, and when she and Alphonsus divorced, she taught English in secondary schools, in one town finding enough Quaker families to gather a small meeting for worship every other weekend. In 1966, she returned home with her twin biracial children, teaching African studies at State University of New York at New Paltz, joining New Paltz Meeting, and attending New York Yearly Meeting and Friends General Conference gatherings. Beginning in 1971, she ran the Friends Shelter for Girls in Cheyney, Pa., joining West Chester (Pa.) Meeting. After she began work in Arlington, Va., for the Red Cross county chapter in 1975, she often donned her Red Cross coat in the middle of the night to respond to a local crisis. She received a master’s in legal studies from Antioch College. Barbara could turn well-meaning but fumbling efforts into an efficient, effective response. She was part of a tenant group that saved most of Colonial Village, a thousand garden apartments built in the 1930s, as a mixture of condos, low-income rentals, and a cooperative, where Barbara lived for the rest of her life. She joined Friends Meeting of Washington (D.C.) in 1979 and served on committees (often as clerk) and as trustee. An exceptional recording clerk, she helped to write the meeting’s history, including one chapter during her final weeks; shepherded the Mary Jane Simpson Scholarship Committee; and helped Friends resolve differences over issues ranging from same-sex marriage to automatic dishwashers. She campaigned for several candidates, including Barack Obama, and during the Iraq war, with others, convinced representatives of CACI to drop their contract to staff the interrogation team in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. A devoted letter-writer, she wrote perhaps thousands of letters. Notes from a Pendle Hill class found in her Bible about the story of Mary and Martha (John 11:38–42) say that the best work is not for the work itself, but “grows from a compelling shared, uniting feeling” that puts the worker in touch with God. Her life manifested Martha-like activism from a Mary-like center. When breast cancer returned four years after surgery, she rejected treatment, spending a brief period at a Christian Science nursing home before entering hospice care. Barbara is survived by two children, Catherine Nnoka and Barrett Nnoka (Judith); a sister-in-law, Jane Grant; two grandchildren; her nieces; and multiple f/Friends who knew and loved her.
Plummer—William Plummer III, 94, on June 15, 2014, at home in West Chester, Pa., with his family by his side. Bill was born on October 16, 1919, in Ardmore, Pa., to Letitia Davis and William Plummer Jr. and grew up in Radnor, Pa. A birthright Quaker and a member of West Chester Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, he graduated from George School in 1938 and from University of Delaware in 1942 with a degree in economics. He served as a conscientious objector in Civilian Public Service units in New Hampshire, Oregon, and New York City between July 1942 and March 1946. His work in human testing to help fighter pilots overcome fatigue at high altitudes changed the course of his life: intrigued by the human body’s response during testing, he decided to become a physician. While in New York City, he attended Columbia University for pre-med classes and received his medical degree from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1950. Bill and his wife, Sue, moved to West Chester in 1952. As a general practitioner, he saw patients in his office and made house calls in all weather. Later in his career, he became interested in diabetes and helped to establish the first Diabetic Department at Chester County Hospital. He served on the Chester County Hospital Foundation Board and on the board of trustees. For many years he served on the East Bradford Township Planning Commission Board and on several Westtown School committees. After he retired in 1992, he volunteered at Winterthur Museum helping to restore period furniture. He was an avid golfer and a member of Radley Run Country Club and Divotees Golf Club. His master woodwork filled his home with beautiful reproductions of Early American furniture. Bill was a faithful reader and supporter of Friends Journal. He was his daughters’ best cheerleader, attending their many field hockey and lacrosse games throughout high school and college. One of his greatest joys was spending summers in Vermont, hiking the trails of Mount Mansfield and exploring back roads. He was an amateur photographer and a lover of historical homes, and he appreciated the pleasures of sipping a glass of fine scotch. His sense of humor was his constant companion and the delight of those who surrounded him, and it stayed with him until the end. He was predeceased by a sister, Jane Leimbach. He is survived by his wife, Ursula Sue Jordan Plummer; five children, Rebecca Plummer (Jon Ellenbogen), Elizabeth Plummer, Jenifer Rice (Jim), Robin Latta (Peter), and Sue Aquadro (Dave); ten grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Elizabeth Wiederhold. The family extends their appreciation to his caregivers from Home Instead and West Chester Neighborhood Hospice. Donations may be made to Chester County Hospital, 701 E. Marshall Street, West Chester, PA 19380, or West Chester Neighborhood Hospice, 795 E. Marshall Street, West Chester, PA 19380, or Chester County Historical Society, 225 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19380.
Satterthwaite—Sara Satterthwaite, 70, on July 31, 2013, at home in Washington, D.C. Sara was born on October 5, 1942, in Trenton, N.J., just across the river from her home in Morrisville, Bucks County, Pa. Brought up as a Unitarian, she liked to joke about having Quakerism in her genes, claiming that a Quaker ancestor had been read out of meeting for marrying a Portuguese sailor. She first came to Friends Meeting of Washington (D.C.) in the 1980s, drawn to the social justice and peace testimonies, silent worship, absence of hierarchy, and openness. Working to understand and confront both explicit and implicit racism among Friends, as well as in the larger society, she served on the Hunger and Homelessness Task Force and the committees for Religious Education, Ministry and Worship, Peace and Social Concerns, Personal Aid, and Hospitality. In addition to clerking the William Penn House Board, teaching the Inquirers’ Class, and acting as an advocate for the Washington Peace Center, she was a founding member of Friends of John Woolman. For several years, she and Neil Froemming, her husband, hosted Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors who visited Washington. Complex, independent, and delighting in adventure, with a healthy skepticism and an ironic view of the world, she had a keen sense of her own flaws and those of others. She sometimes ignored advice. But as a natural peacemaker, she delighted in the world around her and wanted to know about everyone she met, literally reaching out to them (her favorite form of greeting was a hug). She often struck up conversations with people she met in stores and on the streets. After a medical appointment, she would sit in her car, calling and writing emails. People who talked with her felt listened to, even if she openly disagreed with them. They sought her out, asked for her help or advice, and wanted to talk things through with her. When she moved to Capitol Hill from McLean, Va., and found two homeless people living in her backyard, she treated them as neighbors, talked to them about their lives, took them to appointments, offered them a place to get their mail, helped them manage their money, and sometimes gave them small amounts of cash. She spent half her life “battling” diabetes, cancer, asthma, and other health problems, but she rejected that metaphor, saying instead that she was living lightly, as a healthy person who had cancer. Even in her last years, when cancer treatments were continuous and harrowing, she did not become absorbed in her illness, changing the subject when people spoke of her bravery or sympathized with her suffering. A Transcendental Meditator in her youth, when her cancer returned, she learned Vipassanā-meditation. Living in the present moment helped her accept the uncertainty of her life. She got special strength from the “don’t know mind” that steadied her with joy, as well as sadness, as death approached. Ten days before she died she sent this message to her friends: “At the end of my journey, I have found peace and . . . there isn’t anything to worry about.” In her final days, she made a final, generous gift to the meeting, inviting them to worship with her at home. Sara is survived by her husband, Neil Froemming, and two children, Pamela L. Satterthwaite and Margaret L. Satterthwaite.
Schempp—Harry Lewis Schempp, known as Woody, 71, on May 21, 2014, at Norwalk Hospital, in Norwalk, Conn. Woody was born on July 30, 1942, in Bridgeport, Conn., to Julie and Harry Schempp. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School and graduated from Georgetown University with a master’s in economics. He began his business career working on Wall Street as a securities analyst. He married Gay Ellen Jackson in 1968 and became a member of Wilton (Conn.) Meeting in 1973, and their two daughters grew up in the meeting. Later, his marriage to Gay dissolved, and he and Gail Palmer-Stone were partners for 26 years. An architect, Woody worked in construction for many years, building homes that featured solar heating. One, built on Chestnut Hill Road in Norwalk in 1980 with notched beams, used no nails at all! He also founded CaddWorks, offering computer integrated systems design. Later, he joined Gail in her accounting firm. In the 1980s, he was active in the Sanctuary Movement and helped Wilton Meeting become a Sanctuary Meeting and host a Guatemalan family. He was clerk or co-clerk of Wilton Meeting for many years, clerk of Ministry and Oversight Committee, and active in Purchase (N.Y.) Quarterly Meeting and New York Yearly Meeting. Wilton Friends were shocked by his sudden death. He had been at May’s meeting for worship with attention to business the First Day before he died and seemed his usual energetic self; he gave a report for the Long Range Planning Task Group (of which he was clerk). Friends will miss his gentle humor, deep Quaker faith, knowledge of Wilton Meeting’s history, and selections to close the afterthoughts and announcements after meeting for worship. Woody is survived by his first wife, Gay Schempp Zeh; his second wife, Gail Palmer Stone; three children, Maia Vargas (Armando), Rhoby Schempp, and David Sloane (Janice); a stepson, Stephen Stone (Kelly); three grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren. If you would like to make a contribution in Woody’s memory, Connecticut Friends School, 317 New Canaan Road, Wilton, CT 06897 would have been his choice.
Westwick—Jennivieve Grace Tootell Westwick, 95, on October 3, 2013, peacefully, at home in Lee, N.H. Jennivieve was born in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China, on May 12, 1918, to Anna Kidder and George Tootell, a missionary doctor. She was taught at home through fourth grade and then went to school in Kuling and at Shanghai American School. She left China at 15 and attended Wooster College and Columbia University Nursing School, where she was active in peace, civil rights, and social justice activities, including work with Bayard Rustin. She moved to California to attend Chinese language school and met Orwin Westwick, who was doing alternative service at a Civilian Public Service Camp, and they married in Berkeley, Calif., in 1946 and joined Berkeley Meeting in 1950. She worked as a school, clinic, and public health nurse in the Bay Area and took part in community, school, and civil rights activities in Berkeley. In 1968, she and Orwin moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where they spent 24 years. They were active in reviving the Chena Ridge Meeting in Fairbanks. Jennivieve worked as an itinerant public health nurse in central Alaska for the state and for the Tanana Chiefs Conference native corporation, visiting villages and training village health aides. They lived in a 14-foot-by-16-foot log cabin for several years, and then constructed a 30-foot concentric yurt to live in while they built a double hexagonal log house and shop. After retiring, they traveled, flying to New Hampshire in their Navion plane and driving their RV around the country. They moved to Lee in 1992, and Orwin died in 1993. Jennivieve enjoyed living in her apartment on the family farm in Lee, surrounded by family, including six of her seven great-grandchildren. She liked keeping up with her roommates from Shanghai American School. Active in Dover (N.H.) Meeting, she always sought ways to help others in her family and community. She appreciated the loving care she received from the nurses, aides, and staff of Cornerstone Hospice of Rochester, N.H., and from Dover Meeting Friends. Jennivieve was predeceased by her husband, Orwin Westwick, and her brother, Jack Tootell. She is survived by two children, Laurel Westwick Cox (Charles) and Marian West Ziemer (Robert); 9 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; 5 nephews and nieces; and 7 grandnephews and grandnieces. Contributions in her memory can be made to Dover Friends Meeting, 141 Central Avenue, Dover, N.H. 03820, or to Cornerstone Hospice, 178 Farmington Road, Rochester, N.H. 03867.
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