obits

Diana L. Powers, 75 (December 29), former MGH nurse. Visiting hours on Thursday, Jan. 11 from 4–7 p.m. at Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford St., Concord, Mass.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church in Lincoln for Stephen E. Vercollone, who died in in Naples, Fla., on December 5 at age 73.

Mary Margaret Steedly, 71 (January 4), professor of anthropology at Harvard.

Robert Livingston Loud, 84, of Lincoln, died of congestive heart failure on December 28, 2017 peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

Rob was the son of John and Mary Loud of Lincoln, a town where Rob lived most of his life. Rob was afflicted with tuberculosis at the age of 3, resulting in numerous orthopedic surgeries over the years, but he surmounted these challenges with a fierce resolve to be active and enjoy life. His radiant smile, curiosity, and joie de vivre were infectious. He was usually the first to shout “Bravo!” at the end of a great performance and would joke in a crowded elevator to make everyone laugh. No one forgot Rob’s strong handshake. Rob regularly wrote letters of appreciation or reflection, always preferring pen and paper to e-mail.

Rob graduated from Weston High School in 1952 and from Harvard College in 1956. Growing  up in a musical family, he played the flute and the guitar, and singing with the Harvard Glee Club was a highlight of his college years. As an adult, he sang with the Cantata Singers and, most recently, with the Harvard Radcliffe Chorus. Rob’s magnificent tenor voice and charismatic leadership brought joy to all when he led carol parties and singalongs.

After college, Rob joined the Merchant Marines for one year, then studied voice in Vienna before returning to Harvard for a master’s degree in music education. Rob taught music at the Hawken School in Cleveland, in the Sudbury public schools and at the Cambridge Friends School, where he met his bride, Gwyneth Elkinton. They became engaged after just three weeks and were married at Westtown School outside Philadelphia in 1966.

In 1969, Rob switched careers and pursued a master’s in library science at the University of Denver. He worked at the Concord Public Library and Hudson Public Library before spending 20 years as the librarian at St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing in Brighton. His library skills were also evident in his well-organized files, books, and records at home.

Rob and Gwyn raised two daughters in their red house on Conant Road in Lincoln and enjoyed a rich family life of gardening, music, birding, camping, travel, and raising bees and chickens. They attended the Boston Symphony regularly and were Anglophiles, visiting relatives and friends in England many times over the years. Rob didn’t let his orthopedic challenges stop him; he painted the outside of their home multiple times, did carpentry projects both large and small, and built a treehouse for his girls, complete with a “space trolley.”

In the 1970s, Rob read aloud and recorded the Freddy the Pig book series by Walter R. Brooks to his daughters. After he donated a set of the tapes to the Lincoln Library, a small Freddy the Pig fan club discovered his talents and he quickly became a celebrity reader at the biannual Friends of Freddy conventions.

Rob and Gwyn were also active members of Wellesley Friends Meeting (Quakers).

Rob loved Lincoln, attended Town Meeting faithfully, and enjoyed reunions of his eighth-grade classmates. He was a thespian with the Lincoln Players and active on various town committees such as the Cultural Council, Historical Society, Commission on Disabilities, and Codman Community Farms.

Rob is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years and two daughters, Miranda Loud of Watertown and Rebecca Zug of Wilmington, Del.; his son-in-law James Zug, two grandsons, Livingston and Collier; his sister, Jean Mallary of Hanover, NH; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A memorial service will be held at the First Parish Church in Lincoln on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m., jointly led by Wellesley Friends Meeting, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Westtown School, 975 Westtown Road, West Chester, PA 19382; Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115-4511; or Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging, P.O. Box 143, Lincoln, MA 01773.

Dorothy Bockoven, 102 (December 21) Maryellen Mullen, 67 (December 19) Phoebe McCarthy, 70 (December 13) — funeral service on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. Gale Mayfield, 89 (December 12) — celebration of her life reception on Friday, Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. at Newbury Court, 100 Newbury Court, Concord. Mary F. Dardani, 64 (December 11)

Mary F. Dardani Gale Mayfield Maryellen Mullen Dorothy Bockoven

Stanley Russel Craig, Jr.

Former longtime Lincoln resident Stanley Russel Craig Jr. passed away on November 8 at his home, Case Mill Farm in Westport , at age 70. Born in Atlanta, Craig grew up in Indiana and Illinois, spent his teen years in Glendale, Calif. He served with distinction in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.

After being discharged, he earned a B.S. in chemistry and electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. His graduate education included a Harvard A.M. in physical and biophysical chemistry and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His interest in high tech and management led him through leadership with various companies, including Teradyne, McKinsey, Genrad, DEC, Arthur D. Little, and Anderson Consulting. Recent consulting included Imthera and Reliant Heart. A knowledgeable wine and food enthusiast, he was also an accomplished farmer and sailor.

Craige is sadly missed by his wife Suze, with whom he recently celebrated a 47th anniversary, his two sons Ole and Linz, and two grandchildren, Sabine and Ole. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his name to the Livestock Institute, P.O. Box 879, Westport, MA 02790, or Friends of Westport Library, P.O. Box 3342, Westport, MA. On his birth date (Sunday, March 25), Case Mill Farm invites his friends to a wine and tapas “Russabration” from 1–4 p.m. Bring a written anecdote to share and to leave for a memory book.

Daniel Tassel, (October 23) — internist, photographer, birdwatcher.

Michael Tannert, 89 (July 2) — General Dynamics engineer, mountaineer.

 

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)

Rhonda J. Htoo of Lincoln died on August 31 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with her husband by her side. She succumbed to the cancers with which she had lived her entire adulthood. She is survived by her husband, John OConnell; her parents, Dr. Maung Shwe Htoo and (Loretta) Anne (Shraybman) Htoo; her sisters Susan Htoo, Nancy Rathbun and Naomi Htoo-Mosher; her nephews, Matthew Mosher and Dan Htoo-Levine; her niece, Mya Mosher; her dear friends Connie Breese, Ava Stone, Betty Lou Edwards, and Annette Trivette; and, finally, her dog, Ella Htoo.

Rhonda was born August 7, 1957 and grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She was awarded a B.A. magna cum laude from Colby College and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later went on to graduate from the Radcliffe Publishing Program and received her M.B.A. in high technology from Northeastern University.

Rhonda’s career in information technology included roles as Director of Information Systems at Inc. Magazine and Inc. Business Resources for the Goldhirsh Group; Director, Consulting at CGI; Systems Project Manager at Northeastern University; and Senior Project Manager, Information Technology at Harvard Business School. She was a certified project manager and member of PMI (Project Management Institute) and SIM (Society of Information Management).

Rhonda was active in support of the Jimmy Fund Walk, raising funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Thoracic Center (see Arlington grad Rhonda Htoo finds hope in Jimmy Fund Walk, Poughkeepsie Journal, 11/16/2016).

She was a gifted artist who excelled at painting, watercolors, drawing, photography, weaving, fiber arts, clothing design and fabrication, and jewelry making. She embraced music from all over the world. She relaxed by performing African drumming. She loved to read, especially literature, Nordic noir mysteries, hard-bitten detective stories, and cookbooks. She traveled the world and made friends everywhere. She enjoyed dancing, biking, skiing, hiking, rollerblading, walking, waterskiing, and snorkeling. She was an excellent, inventive, and adventurous cook. She had a gift for entertaining, and was a creative hostess. Rhonda was exceptionally beautiful, smart, mischievous, vivacious, inquisitive, lively, and funny.

Rhonda loved her home in Lincoln, where she enjoyed entertaining friends and gardening, watching the birds that flocked to her yard, and nature walks with her husband John and Boston terrier Ella.

Rhonda was a fundamentally joyful person, filled with positivity and kindness. She was caring, considerate, passionate and straight talking. She was a gregarious introvert. She was fiercely energetic and animated in discussions. She was extremely industrious and gave her all in everything she did. She never let her diseases turn her head, slow her down, or turn her around. She was cheerful and confident. She cherished her family and friends, for whom she was always present to provide love and advice. She was dependable in a crisis and was always prepared. Rhonda was spirited and courageous.

Rhonda was the best that a human can be. She is deeply missed by all who knew her. She is a bright star in the constellation Leo.

Donations in Rhonda’s name should be made to the Jimmy Fund Walk: https://www.jimmyfundwalk.org/2017/rhtoo.

(courtesy of Legacy.com)

Jack and Eleanor Mahoney

Eleanor (Davis) Mahoney, 79, of Lincoln, died peacefully following a long illness on July 9 at the Sunrise Assisted Living Facility in Weston. She was the cherished wife for nearly 60 years of the late John D. Mahoney, 82, who passed away on June 12 at the Massachusetts General Hospital following a brief illness (see below). They were residents of Lincoln since 1970.

Born on March 25, 1938 and raised in Waterbury, Conn., Eleanor was the daughter of the late Russell and Eleanor (Reihl) Davis. She attended the University of Connecticut before marrying John and completing her bachelor’s degree in art from Wellesley College.

A passionate artist from an early age,Eleanor was devoted to educating others about her knowledge in sculpture, watercolor painting, and most of all, ceramics. Beginning in the 1970s, she taught at Rivers School in Weston, the deCordova Museum in Lincoln, the Danforth Museum School of Framingham, and Camp Nonesuch in Weston.

John Mahoney, a retired real estate attorney, was born in Boston on February 18, 1935, the son of the late Cornelius and Elizabeth (Kane) Mahoney. He grew up in the Allston/Brighton area and was a graduate of Boston University School of Law and practiced at the firm of Goldstein, Mahoney & Levin in Boston prior to his retirement.

John was a talented athlete who qualified for the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team in speed skating. His agility allowed him to participate in barrel jumping, a difficult feat in the sport. He was the founder of the Friends of Boston University Hockey and also initiated the New England Junior Hockey League. He also represented the league for the 1980 Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. In 1970, he built the Olympia Ice Center in Springfield, Mass. John was also a lifelong, avid golfer and a member of Wayland Country Club.

Survivors of the Mahoneys include two sons, Reihl Mahoney and his wife Sheryl of Lexington, and Squire Mahoney and his wife Pam of Douglas; their grandchildren, Jack, Alec, and Sabrina Mahoney, all of Lexington; and Eleanor’s brother, Russell Davis of Waterbury, Conn.

A celebration of Eleanor and John’s lives is planned for September with family and friends.

Eugene Rapperport

Eugene Rapperport died on July 12 at the age of 87. He was an MIT metallurgist who built Lincoln house designed by Lucy, his wife of 67 years. Click here for the full obituary and click here to make an entry into the guestbook.