IN MEMORIUM

Elsie Barrows Woolaver - 2008
CHATHAM -- Elsie Barrows Woolaver, 87, died May 9 at Pleasant Bay Nursing Home in Brewster. She was born in Woburn, the daughterof Herbert Cyrus Barrows and Nina Kincaid of Wilmingtonon, Feb. 24, 1921. She married Howard Woolaver of Wilmington in 1949. Mrs. Woolaver was a graduate of Boston University and served as guidance director and social studies teacher at Tewksbury High School from 1944 to 1981. She was a member of the Chatham Woman's Club, serving as secretary and corresponding secretary. She is survived by her husband, Howard Woolaver, and a cousin, Kenneth Kirkman, of Warwick, RI. She was predeceased by her brother, Herbert Barrows of Ann Arbor, Mich. A memorial service was held May l7 at the Nichols Lyford Funeral Home in Wilmington, followed by burial in Wildwood Cemetery in Wilmington. Memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer's Association of Cape Cod and the Islands, 712 Main St., Hyannis, MA. 02601.

Jane Alcott Hurlburt Wade - 2008
CHATHAM --- Jane Alcott Hurlburt Wade died May 1 surrounded by her family. She was 81. She grew up in Waterbury, Conn. before attending Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., where she met the late John R. Wade to whom she was married for over 50 years. Together they reared a family of five children: Peter Wade of Eastham, the late Wendy Wade Costello of Chatham, Timothy Wade of Chatham, Stephen Wade of Franklin, and Michael Wade of Chatham.

Jane’s ancestral ties to Chatham go back at least as far as her great-grandfather, sea captain Benejah Crowell. She became a summer resident in 1952 before retiring and moving to Chatham fulltime in 1990. Her professional life was devoted to educating children with special needs. She taught and cared for children in the Waterbury Educational Treatment Center of the United Cerebral Palsy from 1958 to 1967. After earning her bachelor’s degree part time from the University of Southern Connecticut in 1967 (master’s degree, 1972), she spent the next 22 years in the Watertown school system teaching children with learning disabilities.

She was a member of the Special Education Association of Connecticut and the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. In Waterbury, Mrs. Wade served in various official capacities in her local PTA, Cub and Girl Scouts, and Community Club for 35 years.

After moving to Chatham, she was an active member of the council on aging, serving as chairman of the board and as vice president of the Friends of the COA. She joined the zoning board of appeals in 1992, where she served as chairman. She also worked on the advisory board of the Cape and Islands COPD support Group, and is a former director of the Chatham Women’s Club, where she received the Friendship Cup in 2006. Her other affiliations include the Chatham Republican Town Committee, Chatham First Night Committee, The Art of Charity, Friends of the Monomoy Theatre, Chatham Music Club and the Chatham Historical Society. She was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Waterbury for 55 years, where she served two terms on the Vestry. At St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chatham, she served on the Vestry, was co-chair of the Pastoral Concerns Group, and was a frequent lay reader and lay communicant.

Along with her four sons, Jane is survived by five grandchildren, Emily Wade, Andrew Wade, Ashley Wade, Christopher Wade and Molly Wade; a daughters-in-law, Dale Michaels Wade, Kathy Calvert Wade, and Beth Hardy Wade; a son-in-law, Richard Costello; and her beloved Cairn terrier, Archie. Services will be held at St. Christopher’s Church on Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m. Donations in her memory be made to St. Christopher’s.

Iris Sams Usowski - 2008
HARWICH — Iris Usowski died peacefully at the Eagle Pond Rehabilitation and Living Center in South Dennis on Friday, March 28, 2008, after a brief illness. She was the wife of Andrew J. Usowski for the past 25 years, living in Harwich. Born in Joplin, Mo., Nov. 29, 1916, she was the daughter of the late Steve and Genevra (Holman) Sams. Iris was sister to Myrtle Skroupa of Montana, Lorraine Reeves of Virginia, and the late Ruth Finney of Florida.

She attended the University of Montana and studied journalism. She went on to work in Washington, D.C., for a Montana senator. Iris later worked for Eugene Riotte, whom she married in 1947, and had three children. She was a lifelong bridge player, was passionate about learning and music, and loved to dance. She leaves her husband, Andrew J. Usowski; her son, Ray Riotte of Nevada; and her daughters, Carol Cvercko of Connecticut and Anita Heslin of Missouri. In addition, she leaves five grandchildren, Deborah Orosz, Sharon Turcotte, Jeremy Heslin, Michael Heslin, and Jane Heslin. She also leaves seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, April 2, at 10 a.m., at the Pilgrim Church in Harwich Port. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Pilgrim Church Memorial Garden Fund . Published in the Cape Cod Times on 3/30/2008.

Clara Leonore Wichmann - 2008
CHATHAM - Clara Leonore Hartson Wichmann of Chatham died Feb. 5, 2008, at Liberty Commons Nursing Home in Chatham. She was the wife of the late Alfred W. Wichmann. She was born in New York, N.Y., and was a graduate of White Plains High School and the United States Secretarial School in New York City. She was employed by Rogers, Hoge and Hills law firm in New York City, eventually becoming manager. She retired after 50 years of service. She was a longtime resident of New York City.

After she retired, she moved back to the family home in White Plains and then to Chatham, after being a longtime summer resident. She traveled extensively with her sister, who was with the YMCA International Committee, widely visiting people in YMCAs in many countries. She was a member of the Chatham Women's Club, the Chatham Garden Club, the Dorcas Nickerson Questers and the First Congregational Church of Chatham. She was also a past member of the Chatham Planning Board.

A funeral service will be held in the First Congregational Church, Main St., Chatham, on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. Burial will be held in Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church, Main St., Chatham, MA 02633, or to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, Main St., Brewster, MA 02631.
Published: February 17, 2008 in the Cape Cod Times

Anne M. (Kenny) Smyth - 2007
BREWSTER - Anne M. (Kenny) Smyth, 79, died unexpectedly at Epoch of Brewster, surrounded by her three loving children on Friday, May 18, 2007. She was born June 17, 1927, in Greenwich, Conn. to John Kenny and Anne (Robinson) Kenny. She was a graduate of Gorton High School, Yonkers, N.Y.; Berkley School, White Plains N.Y.; and attended Fordham University in the Bronx. She married Richard A. Smyth in 1952, at Christ the King Church, Yonkers, N.Y. Together, she and Dick raised three children in and around the New York area and spent 10 years just outside Chicago, Ill. They owned a summer house in Harwich for many years, before retiring to Chatham almost 20 years ago.

Anne was very active in her church, Holy Redeemer, where she was involved in the Women's Guild as well as being an ecumenical minister, along with her husband Dick. She volunteered at the Chatham Food Pantry and at the Eldredge Public Library in Chatham. She was also a member of the Chatham Women's Club and Chatham Garden Club. She and Dick were former members of the Monomoy Yacht Club, as well as the Hyannis Yacht Club. She won the Friendship Cup in 2000 from the Chatham Women's Club. Anne loved animals and nature; she was a backyard bird watcher. She loved to read and was involved in a variety of book clubs as well as a women's Bible study group.

She enjoyed art, theater, music and films. She enjoyed playing bridge with lots of her wonderful friends, travel in the U.S. and Europe, and keeping up with the news via newspapers and television. She was addicted to any of the ''Law and Order" television programs as well as ''CSI." She is survived by her beloved husband, Dick Smyth of Chatham; son James Smyth of Chatham; daughters Christine Cornetta of Fishkill, N.Y., and Virginia (Ginna) Smyth of New Britain, Conn.; and sister Claire Kenny of Harwich. She is also survived by two granddaughters, Megan Smyth and Elizabeth Cornetta.

A time of remembrance will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, at the Nickerson Funeral Home, 87 Crowell Rd., Chatham, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. in Holy Redeemer Church, Highland Avenue, Chatham. A private burial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following: American Cancer Society; VNA of Cape Cod Hospice & Palliative Care; Holy Redeemer Church, Chatham; Animal Rescue League, Brewster; ASPCA; MSPCA; Humane Society of U.S.; Defenders of Wildlife.

Mary Smolens - MEMORIES OF MARY by Barbara Sifflard - 2007
I first met Mary Smolens at a Woman's Club Board meeting back in 1990. She was new to the Club and suddenly she was asked to be 1st Vice President (and next in line for the Presidency). Her sense of humor crackled through the room, and I can still hear her saying "but I just joined the club". The Board members didn't know it, but they had just secured the BEST and that decision was to have a profound positive effect on the Chatham Woman's Club. I remember Mary saying to me "We're just going to have fun!!!" FUN WE HAD!!!! I had the privilege of serving for two years as her 1st Vice President,. Mary's infectious good cheer galvanized everyone around her. She was outgoing and always gracious, and her cheerful, can-do attitude won her instant friends and followers.

She met every goal in her life with steadfast determination and infinite courage. Moving to the Cape as a widow would be insurmountable for many people! From her cozy home base in Harwich, Mary plunged right in and joined the Newcomers Club (which was composed of mostly couples). In no time at all, she was elected President Not surprising to anyone who knew Mary! Her wide range of interests (especially bridge), her sparkling wit and her incredible hospitality endeared her to everyone she met. She could whip up a dinner for 12 people, throw a bridge party with four tables or hostess a large cocktail party. Her little house expanded to hold whatever amount of people she wanted. An invitation to Mary's was always a treat!

As President she supervised a successful raffle, with tickets sold over the summer months. Another fundraiser involved selling sweatshirts decorated with a sketch (done by a club member) of the Mitchell River Bridge. She worked hard on the idea of the Chatham Woman's Club donating special signage on the history of the "Break" to be erected at the Chatham Light Overlook. That project continued under other Presidents but always seemed to be stymied by the town. To this day, there is no sign on that site!

Mary loved literature, and one of her proudest moments as President was when author William Martin came and spoke at a meeting. She also loved introducing her son, John, a successful best-selling author and English professor at the University of Michigan. Her health brought problems over the years, but Mary handled it all with a smile. When she made the decision to move to Oregon to be near her daughter and grandchildren, she treated it as another of life's great adventures.

Her farewell party, held at a tearoom in Brewster, was attended by 50 women and was a wonderful, upbeat affair. She told of how she had driven all around Chatham for one last time and then set her sights west! How fitting it was that after her memorial service here in Chatham, her children donated $500.00 in her name to the Chatham Woman's Club. This legacy will assure that the memory of an extraordinary woman will live on.

Tina Durham - 2007
Tina Durham died on Monday April 16, 2007 after fighting cancer for more than two years. She was staying at Epoch Assisted Living in Brewster with recent Hospice care with the assistance of the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod.

Tina Durham was born in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Lviv, Ukraine). Her father, William Gegner, was a first violinist at the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini and her mother, Raya Selvinskaya Gegner, was an actress and poet. Her mother's brother, Ilya Selvinsky, was a revered Russian poet. Her early childhood in Russia was difficult due to the Russian Revolution. Her Father, an officer in the Czar's army fought in the Revolution against the Bolsheviks- when the Bolsheviks won, Tina and her family were evacuated to Turkey from Crimea by British forces. After the Sultan of Turkey fell from power in another revolution, Tina and her family came to New York in 1923 where she attended Haran High School and became an American citizen.

She married Harry A. Grunewald in 1932 and had two children, Donald Grunewald of Wilton, CT and Chatham, MA, a former president of Mercy College Dobbs Ferry, New York and currently a professor at lona College in New Rochelle, New York, and Lawrence C. Durham, who worked as an independent architectural designer of homes until his death about 15 years ago. She is survived by her son, Donald, her daughter in law, Barbara S. Frees, and by two grandchildren, Donald F. Grunewald, a graduate law student at the University of Pennsylvania who graduated from Haverford College and Oxford University and a granddaughter, Susan Christina Grunewald, who is a senior at St Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut and by her favorite niece, Nina M. Frankenheim and Nina's spouse, Samuel, and by their two children, Robert and John Frankenheim and by her brother, Lionel Gegner. Two sisters, Inna Mennerich, and Theresa Gegner, pre-deceased her.

In 1946, Tina married Richard I. Durham and lived in New Rochelle and later in Scarsdale, New York. After Richard's death in 1961 she started a career as a real estate broker in Westchester County and later relocated to her summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts where she operated Sage East Real Estate until she retired several years ago.

In Chatham, she built a new house on Shore Road opposite the Chatham Bars Inn, designed by Lawrence Durham which was striking in its architecture. She later sold this house to the Chatham Bars Inn and has resided near White's Pond in Chatham in recent years. Tina was active in women's golf as a member of the Eastward Ho Country Club and sang in the Holy Redeemer Church Choir for many years. She spent her winters in Key Biscayne, Florida. She loved her garden and loved entertaining her family and friends.

She will be buried in Seaside Cemetery in Chatham next to her son, Lawrence and her sister, Theresa Gegner. Please omit flowers. Donations may be made in her memory to the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod or to the American Cancer Society. A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Redeemer Church in Chatham on Saturday May 5, 2007 at 11 AM.

Marcella M. (Stevens) Daniels - 2007
SOUTH CHATHAM - Marcella M. (Stevens) Daniels died on Saturday, June 9, 2007, after a lengthy illness associated with diabetes and osteoporosis. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in the Sconticut Neck section of Fairhaven, she was the daughter of Herbert L. and Dorothea (Silvia) Stevens. Marcella graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1935. Arriving on Cape Cod in 1937, Marcy worked as a summer housekeeper, cook and nanny, and met and married Gerald ''Gerry" Daniels in 1942. Marcy and Gerry worked together building homes throughout the Lower Cape, including the building of their own cottage colony in Chatham, known as Eel Pond Colony. Mr. Daniels died in 1987.

The ''old Cape" meant much to Marcy. Devoted to preserving the Chatham she loved and adopted as her own, Marcella was elected to and served on the Chatham Planning and Appeals Boards for many years. A committed citizen, she was a frequent advocate of her views at hearings and town meetings, always with an opinion and rarely hesitant to express it. Mrs. Daniels was a longtime member and past president of the Chatham Women's Club and a supporter of the South Chatham Village Hall. She taught cribbage at the Chatham Council on Aging.

On at least two occasions, she was also a candidate for town selectman. In the early 1960s, the Daniels, seasoned beach walkers, collected enough flotsam to supply and operate a driftwood shop in South Chatham, called the Beachcomber Retreat. Mrs. Daniels is survived by her foster daughter Janet Eldridge Brennan and her husband, William ''Bill" Brennan, of West Chatham, and their children, Peter Brennan of Coppell, Texas, and Pamela (Brennan) Bowden of West Chatham; and three grandchildren, Emily Brennan, Sarah Brennan and Emma Bowden. Many cousins in the Perry family survive in the Framingham/Natick area.

Surviving on Cape Cod are several children and grandchildren of Marcella's sister, Dorothea ''Nina" Norgeot, who predeceased Mrs. Daniels in 2000. They include Peter S. Norgeot, Albert J. ''Skip" Norgeot and Marc Norgeot, all of Orleans; and a nephew, William Daniels, now or formerly of Chatham. Also predeceasing their sister were Herbert Stevens of St. Regis Falls, N.Y., and Walter Stevens of Lebec, Calif. Mrs. Daniels leaves many friends and caregivers from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Brewster and from the many agencies and health care services she has been associated with in recent years. A Mass in Marcella's name will be offered at the Holy Redeemer Church, Highland Avenue, Chatham, on Thursday, June 14, 2007, at 11 a.m. A reception will immediately follow. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Chatham Rescue Squad, c/o Fire Department Association, Depot Street, Chatham, MA 02633; or to the Chatham Council On Aging, Stony Hill Road, Chatham, MA 02633.