Abigail Slayter.
Abby Park Slayter, resident of Maynard and longtime resident of Lincoln and Bedford, died on October 20 at age 46 after a short illness. Abby was the cherished daughter of Henry Sands Slayter and Elizabeth Maclean Slayter; stepdaughter of Barbara Thomas Slayter; sister of Elspeth Slayter Recevik; stepsister of Gwen Michele Thomas, Patricia Karen Thomas, and Stephen Pinney Thomas; and valued friend of many in the Maynard, Bedford and Lincoln communities and beyond.
Abby was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1971 and was adopted by Elizabeth and Henry Slayter as an infant. In 1986, Abby lost her mother to cancer, but was fortunate to gain a new step-family not long thereafter, to her delight. Raised in the Lincoln school system and very involved in the church school at the First Parish, Abby also attended Reed Academy, the Gifford School, and the Cardinal Cushing Academy, from which she graduated in 1993. Abby was a regular participant in the Special Olympics as a young adult and won many gold medals for her swimming capabilities.
Enthusiastic about the outdoors, Abby regularly spent the month of August with her family in Northfield, Maine, where she enjoyed swimming, blueberry picking, hiking and canoeing. For many years, she participated in the Blueberry Festival’s one-mile fun run. Each year, she would swim one-quarter mile to an island on Bog Lake without assistance. In partnership with her sister Trisha, Abby forged a path along the lake through sweet fern, huckleberries and thick brush using hedge clippers to be able to get to a prime blueberry picking spot. At night, Abby would delight in making perfect loon calls that often garnered a reply from loons far across the lake.
In recent years, Abby lived within the Edinburg Center, where she had many friends among staff and residents alike. She especially enjoyed participating in music and dance parties. Abby was an enthusiastic participant in the First Church of Christ, Congregationalist in Bedford. She rarely missed Sunday services and treasured her participation in the church’s “Wonderful Wednesdays” series and other church events. She was also happy to participant in work programs at the Minuteman Arc for Human Services for many years, and previously for the Greater Waltham Arc. Abby delighted in life and charmed many with her infectious good humor and prankster spirit.
A celebration of Abby’s life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the First Church of Christ, Congregational, 25 Great Road, Bedford, MA, 01730. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to The Arc of Massachusetts, 217 South St., Waltham, MA 02453 or the Edinburg Center, 205 Burlington Rd., Bedford, MA 01730.
(Obituary courtesy of Concord Funeral Home)