obits

Elizabeth (Ogilvie) Kimnach, 81, of Lincoln and formerly of Concord, passed away peacefully on August 20, 2020.

Elizabeth was the younger daughter of the late Gordon H. Ogilvie and Florence (Brier) Ogilvie of Concord and Wellesley. A dedicated mother and grandmother, she is survived by her loving family members: sister Marjorie Anne Ogilvie, daughter Deborah Speer Watson, son Robert Ogilvie Speer and his wife Nora, and grandchildren Emily Louise Watson, Jack Morgan Speer, Kendra Rose Watson, Cole Michael Speer and her first husband, Richard L. Speer. 

Betty graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in 1957 and married Richard “Dick” Speer after meeting him at the University of Vermont. A versatile athlete and often a team captain, she was a member of the Concord Country Club and The Country Club of Brookline. Summers before college, she was a lifeguard at Walden Pond. She played team tennis for 35 years and skied all over the United States and Europe.

Santa G. (Messina) Cotoni, 99, a longtime Lincoln resident, died at home while surrounded by her loving family on August 14. She was the beloved wife for 61 years of the late Joseph D. Cotoni, Sr., who died in 2003.  

Cotoni was born on February 23, 1921, the daughter of the late Vincent and Josephine (DiDomenico) Messina. She grew up in Watertown and graduated from Watertown High School, then settled in Lincoln after marrying Joe. She devoted her life to raising her family and assisting in the operation of the family farm in Lincoln. She was a parishioner at St. Joseph Church, and in her later years, resided at the Ryan Estate in Lincoln.  

She leaves behind her children, Joseph Cotoni, Jr. and his late wife Sandi of Wayland, Arthur Cotoni and his wife Penny of Lincoln, and Dianne Mola and her husband Emilio of Shirley, as well as eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. Several siblings also predeceased her. 

Family and friends will gather for visiting hours on Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Dee Funeral Home (27 Bedford St. Concord). Her graveside service will be held at 12:45 p.m. in Lincoln Cemetery on Lexington Road, Lincoln. All attendees are asked to wear masks and practice social distancing. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Lincoln Firefighters Association, P.O. Box 19, Lincoln, MA 01773. Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.

Florence Freed, a longtime resident of Lincoln and then Brookhaven at Lexington, died on August 10. She was born in May 1933 in New York, N.Y., daughter of Irving Wallach, CPA, and Frances Wallach, a teacher. She and her brother Jonathan lived in Riverdale, N.Y., where Florence graduated from PS 81.

She next graduated from Barnard Preparatory School as valedictorian, and then from Barnard College, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Florence earned a master’s degree and a Certificate of Advanced Study from Harvard and worked as a school psychologist in Newton. Later she became professor of psychology at Middlesex Community College in Bedford. 

Florence married Charles Freed, a Holocaust survivor who did pioneering laser research at MIT’s Lincoln Lab. They lived in Lincoln and had two daughters, Lisa and Josie. Florence also wrote and published two books, The Beautiful Blue Bicycle and Transcendence. In later years she enjoyed living at Brookhaven at Lexington with many friends. She spent many hours playing classical music on the piano.

Florence leaves her daughters, Lisa and Josie, her son-in-law Ted, her granddaughters Sara and Rachel, her sister-in-law Janet, her niece Joanne, her grand-niece Lauren, and her grand-nephew Andy. Donations in her memory may be made to Brookhaven at Lexington for the Brookhaven Friends of Music. Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.

Heather M. (Ayers) Panetta, 44, lost her battle with cancer peacefully at home on July 28, 2020 with her husband, parents, and sister by her side. She approached her illness with faith and dignity, which inspired all who knew her. Heather was the loving wife for 16 years of Richard J. Panetta, Jr.

Heather was born on May 24, 1976 in Cincinnati as the beloved daughter of Troy and Sue (Peters) Ayers. She graduated from Milford Christian Academy in Milford, Ohio, before attending the University of Cincinnati.

Heather remained steadfastly dedicated to her job up until a couple days before her passing. Always passionate for helping others, she enjoyed her rewarding ten-year career at Bank of America. She previously oversaw numerous branches in Greater Boston as an operations manager, and more recently, was an assistant vice president in the mortgage department. It was truly her dream job.

Heather’s devotion and admiration for her animals will never be forgotten. She embodied an unyielding love for family, and especially treasured the close bond shared with her nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, she leaves behind one sister, Susan Ogle along with her children, Anne Gasior, her husband Tom, and their son Sutton, CJ Ogle and his wife Lindsay Taylor, and Kenny Ogle, a sister-in-law, Rachel Panetta and her husband Joe Potthoff along with their children, Giuliana and Jackson Potthoff, as well as many friends. She was also the sister of the late James Ayers.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, August 1 at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Cemetery on Lexington Road. In accordance with current COVID guidelines, all attendees are asked to wear masks and practice social distancing.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Heather’s memory may be made to the Jimmy Fund, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or to the ASPCA, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090. Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.

Heather Ammen, a practitioner of western and Asian medicine as well as a painter, potter, fiber artist and seamstress, died of cancer on June 17 at age 57.

Asked what she wanted in her obituary, she said, “Be authentic in your life, and if you don’t know what that means, check out YouTube. In lieu of flowers, send love to the first person that annoys you. If you feel that went well, do it to the next person too. Goodbye, everybody. Live a full life with as much love as your heart can open to.” Click here for full obituary.

Jane K. Canfield

Jane K. Canfield died in June at the age of 83 She was a former bursar at Lesley College and a long-time member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Belmont. Click here for full obituary.

Henry Harrison Hadley IV

Henry Harrison Hadley IV died on June 24 at age 83. He was on several town committees including the Recreation Committee and its subcommittee that designed and built the Codman Pool. He was also the first president of the Codman Community Farms and was active at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. Click here for full obituary.

Kuol Acuek, a former “Lost Boy” from Sudan who lived at Codman Community Farms in Lincoln for a time, died on June 15 after a three-year battle with cancer. At the time of his death, he was at a refugee camp in Uganda with his father and brother by his side.

Born in Bor, Sudan, Kuol was among 20,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned seeking refuge from the civil war in that country. In 1989, at the age of 7, Kuol was separated from his family and travelled over a month by foot from his village to Ethiopia. He lived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia for two years when in 1991, the war forced the Lost Boys to flee once again to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Kuol described living in the refugee camp as “very very hard.” There was little food and the camp was extremely violent.

He lived there for almost ten years before coming to the United States. first to Roxbury and then to Lincoln. He lived at Codman Farm and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS). While at L-S, he was a soccer star and helped bring the soccer team to the state championship. Kuol was loved by his peers and teachers alike. He graduated in 2005 and attended Lasell University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2009. He lived in Chelsea after college and worked at the Langham Hotel.

Kuol was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2017. He was very grateful to the medical professionals at Dana Farber, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and various rehabilitation centers that cared for him during his illness. In March 2020, he went to Uganda to be with his wife’s family and his father and brother. Although he had every intention of returning home to Boston, he became gravely ill and died on June 15.

Kuol is survived by his wife of three years, Achol Tavisa, and his one-year-old daughter Aliee. Donations in his memory may be made to the preschool and education scholarship fund for his daughter. Donations can be sent to the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families, PO Box 492, Lincoln, MA 01773.

There will be a virtual funeral on Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 5p.m. on Zoom. If you would like to attend, please send an email to davidchristenfeld05@gmail.com and you will be sent the link.

Charles Calvin

Charles Calvin died on May 8. After a career at Polaroid, he was actively involved in Parkinson’s studies at Massachusetts General Hospital, where his brain has been donated for research. Click here for full obituary.

James Newkirk

Newkirk, who died on May 17 at age 75, started and ran several businesses in transportation and other fields. He was also an addictions counselor. Click here for full obituary.

Mary O’Brien

Former nurse’s aide and principal’s assistant at the Lincoln School. Click here for full obituary.  

Paola Rossoni

Former researcher in pathological anatomy and histology. Click here for full obituary.

 

 

Richard Puffer

Richard Puffer passed away on May 8 at the age of 82. He served in the U.S. Marines, had a long career as an architect, and was an accomplished painter and birder. Click here for full obituary.

Alan Burt

Alan Burt passed away on May 7 at the age of 84. He spent most of his career in the site location research department at Stop & Shop, with a second career in real estate appraisal. He was also a Lifetime Member of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Click here for full obituary.

Herbert W. Pollack

Herb Pollack passed away on April 26 at the age of 93 in Lincoln. He was the founder of Parlex Corporation headquartered in Methuen, and served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary for 12 years. Click here for full obituary.