In Memoriam
by Karen Tongue Hammond ’64 For more obituaries, and to post comments: unhmagazine.unh.edu
Stanley Shmishkiss ’40
He devoted his life to finding a cure.
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tanley Shmishkiss ’40 was hesitant at first when the publisher of the Lynn Daily Item called in 1955 to ask him to chair the local fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society. But as the owner of a real estate and insurance agency in Lynn, Mass., he knew the importance of good publicity. “If you were in business, you didn’t say no to the publisher of the local newspaper,” says his son, Richard ’68. And so he said yes—the start of what became a lifelong dedication to the cause of finding a cure. Shmishkiss, who died on Jan. 22 at age 93 of complications from Alzheimer’s, volunteered with the society until he was 88, rising from local fundraiser to chair of the national board. In 1992, he helped establish the American Cancer Society Foundation, and in 1998, he was honored for 43 years of service. Today his portrait hangs in the society’s Atlanta headquarters. Shmishkiss went from knocking on doors for donations to soliciting millions from wealthy philanthropists. He met famous people like Bill Clinton and Katie Couric, and he traveled abroad well into his 80s, raising money and organizing cancer awareness programs. He never accepted payment for his services. After graduating from UNH, Shmishkiss served six years in the Army and then went on to earn an MBA from Boston University in 1954. He and his former wife, Pearl Bernfeld Shmishkiss, were married 40 years and in addition to Richard, also raised a daughter, Joan. A visitor to Stinson Lake in Rumney, N.H., throughout his life, Shmishkiss ran the lakeside Hawthorne Lodge from 1959 to 1975. At the family’s summer cottage nearby, he took a daily 5-mile run, often accompanied by his granddaughter, Laura Shmishkiss. He would return home to whip up his famous blueberry pancakes and iced tea with orange juice, lemon, and mint. “Grandpa was a wonderful cook,” she says, remembering that he charmed guests with his gourmet feasts and accordion playing. A loyal supporter of UNH, Shmishkiss received the Alumni Meritorious Service Award in 1957. He was a big fan of UNH hockey games, Homecoming chicken barbeques, and UNH Magazine. Late in life, when he was taken outside in his wheelchair, he insisted on wearing his UNH cap. Over the years, Shmishkiss volunteered with many organizations, but Dr. Alexander R. Amell, professor emeritus of chemistry Dr. A. Linn Bogle, professor emeritus of plant biology Ms. Alanna Connors, research scientist, Space Science Center Mr. Robert R. Grzywacz, entire career in UNH maintenance department Mr. John F. McCarthy, assistant professor of business, UNH Manchester The Hon. Warren B. Rudman ’81H, New Hampshire senator
Col. John F. Grady, Ret. ’32 Mr. John P. Munton ’34 Ms. Dorothy Sirhakis ’34 Mr. Paul R. Bell ’35 Mr. Milton W. Boothby ’35 Dr. Doris Hosmer Steele ’35 Mr. Montgomery Farrington ’36 Mrs. Natalie Hawkins Ewaldson ’37 Mr. Howard R. Locke ’37 Mr. Raymond A. Huse ’38 Mr. Paul I. Mann ’38 Mrs. Maxine Agle Osgood ’38 Mr. Charles C. Davis ’39 Mr. Roy B. Feinauer ’39
his heart belonged to finding a cure for cancer. “I gave a lot of my life to that effort,” he told a reporter for the Jewish Journal in 2008, “which I will never regret.”
Syliva Fitts Getchell ’47 and L. Forbes Getchell ’47
Birds of a feather shared a zest for life, history, and community.
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ylvia Fitts Getchell ’47 knew her wildflowers. She could point out Joe Pye weed and bladder campion. And she delighted in sharing her knowledge of trees and birds, too. Members of the Girl Scout troop she led years ago still reminisce about how much they learned from her, says her daughter Ann Marden Getchell Gray ’74. An avid reader, expert seamstress, and prolific knitter, Getchell especially loved spending time in the mountains, picnicking, and swimming in the ocean off the coast of Maine. After graduating from UNH magna cum laude with a degree in history, Getchell earned a second bachelor’s degree in library science from Simmons College in 1948 and married her classmate and best friend, L. Forbes Getchell ’47. While her husband attended dental school in New York City, Sylvia worked as a cataloger at Columbia University. After they returned to New Hampshire, where they raised their four children (Ann, Ned ’78, William ’95, and Faith), she worked as a cataloger at UNH and a school librarian in Newmarket, N.H. She served as a volunteer curator of the Newmarket Historical Society from its founding in 1966 until her death on Nov.12, at the age of 87, following a stroke. Pillars of the Newmarket community, the Getchells received the town’s first annual Keeper of the Heritage Award in 1998, honoring their tireless involvement in town committees and organizations. Forbes Getchell, who died just months before his wife, on May 16, 2012, after a period of failing health, shared Sylvia’s love of the outdoors. “Dad took us camping, and he took me hiking as soon as I could keep up with him,” says Ned. Forbes, who was also a marvelous skater and dancer, walked back and forth to work in downtown Newmarket—four times a day, since he went home for lunch—for 30 years. After he retired from dentistry,
Mr. Allan L. Bonney ’40 Mr. Carleton W. Brown ’40 Mr. Alfred O. Costanzo ’40 Mrs. Margery Codaire Diggs ’40 Ms. Margaret B. Harrison ’40 Mr. Thomas P. Kichline ’40 Mr. Stanley Shmishkiss ’40 Mr. Harold A. Sweet ’40 Mr. Charles C. Wiggin ’40 Mr. Elwin C. Hardy ’41 Mr. Winston T. Leavitt ’41 Mrs. Leila Lister Maynard ’41 Mr. William B. Moore ’41 Mr. Bruce W. Carr ’42
Mrs. Dorothy McCloskey Elstrom ’42 Ms. Alice B. Moran ’42 Mr. Walter S. Prescott ’42 Dr. Edwin H. Richardson ’42 Mr. Robert D. Sanborn ’42 Mrs. Virginia Lambert Smith ’42 Mr. Adolph J. Anderson ’43 Mr. Chester F. Augustin ’43 Mrs. Ruth French Bemis ’43 Mr. Roger R. Chamard ’43 Mr. Robert H. Clark ’43 Mrs. Doris Randall Conde ’43 Mrs. Evelyn Blankenberg Curhan ’43 Mrs. Ruth Larty Desmond ’43
Mrs. Edith Fisher Douglas ’43, ’50G Mr. Francis P. Edes ’43 Mr. Leroy E. Fisher ’43 Mrs. Esther Peterson Flanders ’43 Mrs. Esther Peaslee Fox ’43 Mr. John J. Hassett ’43 Mr. Earl I. Krauzer ’43 Mr. William S. Lovell ’43 Dr. Philip C. Martin ’43 Mrs. Elinor Sawyer Osgood ’43 Mr. Greenleaf Pickard ’43 Mrs. Dorothy McCready Roy ’43 Mr. Herbert W. Smith ’43 Mr. L. Rudolph Valonen ’43
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