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Eleanor Lovejoy Woodman March 23, 2012 Eleanor Lovejoy married Tom Woodman ’53 nearly as soon as he graduated from Bates, then moved to Philadelphia with him while he worked on his degree in dentistry. Following that and a stint in the Navy, they settled in Lake Placid, N.Y., where Tom established a successful practice and Eleanor began a life of motherhood, civic responsibility and church leadership. She was vice president of the Placid Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, secretary of the board of the Skating Club of Lake Placid and treasurer of the American Assn. of University Women. She volunteered at the Adirondack Health Uihlein Living Center and the Ecumenical Food Pantry. Besides her husband, her survivors include many with Bates connections: children Christopher, Cheryl Penney, Daniel ’80 and Thomas; six grandchildren, including Hannah Woodman ’12; daughter-in-law Susan Ellis Woodman ’80; and cousins Melissa C. Doukmak ’84, Phyllis Day Danforth ’50, and Leonard and Carolyn Day Chase ’53. Her husband’s late father was C. Everett Woodman ’25. Elizabeth Townsend Henderson June 25, 2012 Betty Townsend Henderson was the third generation of her family to attend Bates. Her grandparents, Arthur and Ina Cobb Townsend, were both members of the Class of 1888; her father, Clarence Townsend, was a member of the Class of 1914. Her degree from Bates was in economics, and she also held a master’s in business administration from NYU. After her children were almost grown, she worked part time for a toy importer, joking that it offered “a solution to the dilemma of disowning offspring through the college years or producing part of the price.” Surviving are her husband, Norman Henderson; children Alan, Karen Garrett, Eleanor Kelly, Andrew and Norman; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. She also had three uncles, now all deceased, who attended Bates: Erland Townsend 1916, Myron Townsend 1918 and Newell Townsend ’28.
1953 Barbara Furbish Geyger January 3, 2012 Her own words tell the story best: “After graduating from Bates, I spent several years as a telephone service representative. This, however, was not for me. After a two-month vacation in Europe, I decided to look for a new career.” That soul-refreshing vacation reminded Barbara Furbish Geyger that she was an English major, and that she liked
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books and libraries. That led her to Simmons College, where she got a degree in library science, which led to a job as a children’s librarian in Washington, D.C., work and a city she would enjoy for the next 32 years. She retired in 1991 as chief of the children’s division of the District of Columbia Public Library. There, she had met and married Alexander Geyger. Their love of the written word was so evident that in 2008, Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Md., where they lived, renamed its library the Alexander and Barbara Geyger Library. He died two weeks after his wife. Among her survivors is a brother, George Furbish. Frederic Karl Littlefield February 27, 2012 Frederic Littlefield, “Fritz” to some classmates, was at Bates for a short time before leaving for the U.S. Navy. He then began a career as a fisherman and charter boat captain in Newburyport, Mass. His wife, Marilyn Bamford Littlefield, passed away in 1995. Survivors include children Sarah Quill, Lisa Colom and Frederick Jr.; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Ann Parnell Davis February 18, 2012 Ann Parnell Davis was a nursing student who spent more time off campus than on, because of her degree requirements. But she made up for it as an alumna, serving on several Reunion committees. And she put her nursing degree to good use. After marrying George Davis and moving to Potsdam, N.Y., where he taught at Clarkson College, she was recruited by the local hospital to set up a recovery room. She then took a mommy break, working only when a flu epidemic became so severe that the college had to set up an infirmary in the gymnasium. Later, she became involved with establishing Planned Parenthood in the area and soon was in charge of heading up services for four counties. She also helped found a hospice for the area, and served as program chair for the local heart association. In 1989, the Potsdam Hospital board presented her its service award, noting that she “represents the highest standard of volunteer service in health care.” Besides her husband, survivors include children Richard, Karen Riggs ’79 and Gregg.
1954 Clyde Hill Eastman August 23, 2011 Clyde Eastman did everything a smart young man from a small town in Maine (Fryeburg, in his case) is supposed to do: make the dean’s list, get a master’s from Columbia, then get a doctorate in education from SUNY, all within 10 years of graduating
from high school. He married well, had children, then got a job with a good school system. The perfect life for many — but not for Clyde. That first marriage ended in divorce. With his second wife, Zita Eastman, he spent more than a decade attempting to live a self-sufficient life on a 100-year-old farm in rural New York, with their own chickens and goats and vegetables, all the while teaching English at the local school. When he retired in 1987, they threw it all away, hopped in their VW camper and headed west. Two years later, they landed in Sonoma County. Clyde was the kind of man who feels more comfortable outside than inside. He loved to run, ski, bike and backpack. He was a campground host in Alaska, ran 50 miles on his 50th birthday and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail at age 63. Shortly before his death, Clyde self-published Hopalong Cassidy: Creation of a Western Hero, a 25year writing project that focused on the life of Clarence Mulford, author of the original Hopalong Cassidy novels and a Fryeburg acquaintance of Clyde’s father, Harry Eastman. Clyde is survived by his wife, Zita Eastman; four children from his first marriage, Philip, Peter, Carolyn and Glenn; stepchildren Alison and Christopher; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His cousin is Donald Hill ’81. Richard Arthur Hayes Jr. July 28, 2011 “The pool room taught me some things I didn’t learn in the classroom — or in Chapel,” wrote Dick Hayes in a note to the college in 2001. He was writing to lament that when he visited campus, the pool room was locked up, and didn’t display tournament champs earlier than 1971. He recounted memories of teaching a talented freshman (Richard Hilliard ’57) all he knew about pool when he was a senior, and how the freshman went on to win the tournament. He earned a master’s in finance at the Univ. of Michigan and doctorate in college administration at Wayne State Univ. He worked first for Dun & Bradstreet as a credit analyst, then for Ford Motor Co. as a financial analyst and a senior labor relations analyst before joining the Detroit Institute of Technology, where he was the director and then dean of the office of cooperative education and placement. He was a member of the Economic Club of Detroit, the Cooperative Education Assn. and the American Assn. for Engineering Education. Virginia Kimball Davenport November 6, 2011 Ginny Kimball Davenport was a lifelong resident of Reading, Mass., and took an interest in its residents. She was active in the
Reading College Club, primarily a social club for college-educated women, but she emphasized the scholarships it gave to high school graduates. She also was active with her church, First Congregational in Reading. After her husband, William Davenport ’54, passed away in 1989, she worked as a sales secretary for Crown Lift Trucks, retiring in 2002. Survivors include children Teresa Hagerty, Peter, Paul and John Davenport, and Marcia Kennedy; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Her late mother was Inez Farris Kimball ’26; her late aunt was Mamie Farris Hulsman ’27. Gordon Linley Peaco November 20, 2011 Gordon Peaco was an economics major, which led him to a long and rewarding career as an English teacher at high schools in the Maine towns of Casco, Oxford, Dixfield and East Machias, as well as Littleton, N.H. He was also a principal at schools in Searsport, Maine. He coordinated regional and state drama festivals throughout his teaching career, and he and his wife, June Johnson Peaco ’54, were instrumental in establishing a community theater in Searsport in the 1970s. She passed away in 1995. He continued to be involved in community theater after he retired in 1988, by joining the Lake Region Community Theater in Bridgton in 1996. In 1997, he was invited to become a member of the board of the Deertrees Theatre and Cultural Center of Harrison, Maine, and served as president in 2004. He credited Lavinia Schaeffer for introducing him “to all aspects of backstage work as well as acting, writing and directing. She even introduced me to June,” he wrote. Survivors include children Penelope, Steven, Thomas, Daniel and Deborah; and five grandchildren. Donald Miller Bridgeforth February 11, 2012 Donald Bridgeforth left Bates to finish his degree in economics at Boston Univ. He went on to earn a law degree at Valparaiso in 1962. An opera fan, he was a real estate attorney and worked for Allstate Insurance Co. as associate counsel for many years. He was divorced at the time of his death, and is survived by many cousins and friends. Ellen Conron Brunelle March 18, 2012 Ellen Conron’s major in speech took her directly into the arms of her leading man, albeit via a secretarial route. She was directing a play at a radio station where Jim Brunelle was an announcer. The play was The Boyfriend, and soon enough he was — the boyfriend, that is, in real life, if not in the cast. He went on to a career as a political