IN MEMORY
Class of 2000 (continued) and thus began my pursuit to be an occupational therapist. I will graduate in May 2016 with a Master’s Degree. In December, my fiancé, Joseph Bosik IV, and I plan to marry at Rockwood Carriage House. Joe is an attorney at Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A. We currently live in Hockessin.” Karen said of Friends, “Wilmington Friends taught me about responsibility and hard work. I have always valued the Quaker education, and find it a substantial influence in my life still today.”
Please note that in order to include as many memorial tributes as possible, original obituaries may be edited. We make every effort to recognize connections of survivors to Friends School, but know that our records may not be perfect. Please help us to correct any errors or omissions by emailing info@wilmingtonfriends.org. Thank you.
Danielle Greenberg Riedel received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. She wrote, “I live in downtown Phoenixville with my husband, Matthew Riedel. We met in 2009 and were married last year. We have two wonderful cats. I spent five years working as a counselor after spending most of my time in college studying psychology. Almost three years ago, I realized that working in an office was stifling my creativity, so I boldly chose to give up my counseling career and devote my time to writing, acting, and community service….I am serving as second vice president on the executive board of the Forge Theatre in Phoenixville. The Forge Theatre is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing quality live theater to the community. It has been around for 54 years and currently does six productions per year—a mixture of comedies, dramas, and musicals. I am also regularly on stage there and am currently starring as Janet Weiss in Richard O’Brien’s classic, The Rocky Horror Show.” She continued, “My experience at Friends showed me that, unlike my previous experiences in public school, there are wonderful teachers in the world who care about not only their students’ education, but their personal well-being. My small classroom experiences prepared me very well for the academic rigor of Sarah Lawrence, and the academic enrichment I received from both institutions has given me a deeper appreciation of literature and the other fine arts.”
Louise Wescott White, 94, died on October 7, 2015 of complications from pneumonia. She had been a resident of Los Alamos for 67 years. She was an editor of the Whittier Miscellany in 1937-38. Alice Louise Wescott grew up during the Depression. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1942 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, and worked for the DuPont Company as a paint chemist during and post-WWII. The first woman accepted for graduate study in chemistry at Brown University, she graduated in 1949 with a Master’s Degree.
David Scofield attended Wake Forest University and received a BS in Biology. He wrote, “I have become a founding partner and veterinarian at Select Breeders Services-Veterinary Services in Chesapeake City, MD. My wife, a small animal veterinarian, and I live in a small town on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.” About his volunteer work, David said, “Madeline and I are active in the Kent County Ducks Unlimited Committee and help organize an annual fundraising dinner. My company supports the Delaware Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.” Kate Stark graduated from the University of Delaware with a BA and an MA in French literature and pedagogy. She wrote, “I’m in my eighth year teaching middle school world languages in Cecil County, MD. I love it. Three years ago I helped revive our school’s drama club, and we’re looking forward to a great show this year. I still live in Wilmington, not that far from WFS. Two cats, no kids.”
Louise Wescott White ’38
Married to George Nichols White, Jr. in 1948, they moved to Los Alamos in 1950 when he accepted a position at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a mathematician. Louise devoted much of her time to raising a family, and was active in a variety of local organizations. She served as a Den Mother for local Cub Scouts and was a long-standing member of the League of Women Voters (LWV). She assisted with a variety of voter education projects, and worked with the LWV to establish the Los Alamos Farmer’s Market in 1970, one of the first in the country specifically limited to locally grown fresh produce. Louise is survived by three sons and their families, and by many other relatives and friends. Deborah Cox Harrington ’39 Deborah Cox Harrington (Debbie), age 93, of Wilmington, Delaware, passed away on August 20, 2015 at Foulk Manor North in Wilmington. Debbie graduated from GoldeyBeacom, and was employed by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company during World War II. In 1943, she married her loving husband of 71 years, Joseph S. Harrington. Debbie was a very active member of New Castle Presbyterian Church for 65 years and was involved in Women’s Noon Circle, teaching Sunday School, and assisted in organizing the annual New Castle Presbyterian Church’s Antique Show. She was also an honorary member of the Wilmington Manor Lions Club and volunteered with the Junior Board of Christiana Care. Debbie was a summer resident of Indian Beach, DE, for many years. She was active in the community and served as Mayor. She was a long-time member of Alcoholics Anonymous and held numerous leadership positions at the local, state, and national level. She was most fulfilled and felt her greatest achievements were in helping others.
Mrs. Harrington is survived by her son, Joseph (Jay) S. Harrington, Jr., and his wife, Pamela W. Harrington; her daughter, Joanne H. Speakman ’67, and her husband, H. Porter Speakman ’63; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Wills Passmore ’45 Wills Passmore, farmer and agricultural preservationist, died on October 13, 2015, at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. He was 88. A lifelong resident of Delaware, Wills grew up working on his father’s dairy farm on Concord Pike, known as Lynthwaite Farm. In the 1930s and 1940s, the farm produced and delivered milk in the Wilmington area, and later operated Lynthwaite Farm Ice Cream serving delicious homemade ice cream to generations of Wilmingtonians. In 1953, Wills married Joanne Ouweneel (1927-2005), who was his wife and business partner for 52 years. Joanne was also a former Trustee of Wilmington Friends School. In 1963, the couple bought a farm in New Castle County south of Odessa, which was also named Lynthwaite Farm. Together, they owned and operated the farm until her death in 2005. They were instrumental in helping establish agricultural preservation districts in Delaware, and permanently preserved Lynthwaite farmlands for agriculture and its forests and marshlands for wildlife. In 2006, Wills married Grace Shorts Caulk, a farmer from Woodside, DE, and fellow Grange member. Together, they continued to be active in the statewide agricultural community, and maintained Lynthwaite’s historic barns and farmhouse dating to the early 1800s. Wills was a leader in the Grange, 4-H and numerous agricultural and community organizations. He was the past master of the Delaware State Grange (1980-1986) and a past trustee of the University of Delaware. He was appointed to the state Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee by Governor Thomas Carper (1995-1998, 1999-2002), to the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Farmland Preservation by Governor Pete Dupont (1980), and to the Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation by Governor Michael Castle (1991-1993). A Quaker, Wills attended Appoquinimink Meeting in Odessa. He was the heart and anchor of that modest place of worship for many years, helping to preserve its facilities and spiritual community. Wills’ stewardship of the land, dedication to living a productive life, and unfailing fair-mindedness made his little corner of the world a better place. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends and community. He is survived by his wife of nine years, Grace Caulk Passmore; daughter Cynthia Passmore Rolfe ’81 and husband Andy Rolfe; daughter Judith Passmore ’75; daughter Susan Passmore ’72 and husband Malcolm Bedell; a grandson and two stepgranddaughters.
Fall/Winter 2015-2016 • QuakerMatters
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