BERNARD H. BEAUREGARD

AMHERST, Bernard H. Beauregard, 83, died on Sept. 19, 2013 at the Center for Extended Care at Amherst. Born on Nov. 23, 1929 he was the son of the late Henri and Beatrice (Millette) Beauregard. Prior to his retirement Bernard bought and sold horses and tack equipment. He is survived by his wife, Rita (Gaumond) Beauregard, his children: Rachel Shumway (Bruce), Richard Beauregard (Donna), Louis Beauregard (Patricia), Donald Beauregard (Cindy Korb), Rhonda Seyfried, 13 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Raymond and his grandson Raymond Jr. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 11:00 a.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst. A calling hour will precede the service from 10 – 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

ROBERT A. HART

HADLEY, Robert Allen Hart, 84, died peacefully at Cooley Dickinson Hospital on September 11, 2013, after a serious illness.   He was born on January 19, 1929, and his experiences as a child of the Depression Era made for many interesting stories.  He received his B.A, M.A, and Ph.D. at Indiana University, first specializing in Journalism and English, then focusing on History; he was also editor of the University newspaper. 

After an early career as a columnist for The Chicago Tribune, Robert taught English at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and History at SUNY Cortland.  He came to Amherst in 1966 as a professor at the University of Massachusetts, specializing in the field of American and Diplomatic History.  He educated hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students there until retiring in 1989, after which he pursued a career in finance and investing.  Robert was particularly interested in naval history (the photo was taken on the decks of the U.S.S. Constitution), and his published books included The Great White Fleet; its Voyage Around the World, 1907-1909, The Uncertain Crusade; America and the Russian revolution of 1905 (with Arthur Thompson), and The Eccentric Tradition: American Diplomacy in the Far East.  He is also the author of numerous short stories, published in various magazines in the mid-1950’s.

Robert was a passionate appreciator of music, and especially enjoyed the operas of Wagner, the works of J.S. Bach, and anything by Gilbert and Sullivan.  He loved to paint, and his oil landscapes grace the walls of many of his family members; he was also an avid Boston sports fan.  He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Hart Damon and her husband, Richard Damon, of Amherst, his sister and brother-in-law, Martha and Charles Osborn of Bloomington, Indiana, his grandson, Christopher Marcus of Greenfield, and nine adoring nieces and nephews from New Hampshire to Hawaii.  A private funeral will be held at Grace Episcopal Church on September 18^th. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Edna Louise Tillis

AMHERST, Edna Louise (Dillon) Tillis, 84, of Amherst, passed away at home after a long, difficult illness on September 8, 2013.  Born in Houston, Texas on September 6, 1929 though her legal birthday given was January 6, 1930 due to record keeping during segregation. Her parents were the late Edna Mae Levingston and the late Reverend West Levingston, Jr. of Houston.  For the past 43 years, Louise and her husband, Dr. Frederick Charles Tillis, along with their two children, Patricia Louise and Pamela Charlene, lived in Amherst until the children moved from the area as adults.  The devoted couple recently celebrated 63 loving years together. 

One of two children, she and her late brother West Levingston, III were raised in the Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Houston and attended schools there. Louise and Frederick met at Wiley College at the age of 17 and 16 respectively in Marshall, Texas in 1946, where they were both pursuing Bachelor of Arts degrees in music.  Louise studied piano and voice. She was head cheerleader, a sister of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, and was crowned college queen “Miss Wiley” in 1949.  She became the first queen to break the color barrier for complexion diversity at this historically black institution.  They became college sweethearts in their sophomore year. Frederick graduated in three years and taught at Wiley during what would have traditionally been a fourth year while Louise completed college in the spring of 1950. Following graduation, they married on July 9, 1950.  During the early years of their marriage, Louise taught music in elementary schools in Texas while Frederick continued teaching at Wiley College.  Frederick obtained his Master’s Degree in Music from the University of Iowa in 1952 and then joined the United States Air Force during the Korean Conflict. Louise taught music at elementary schools in Texas while Frederick was in the service from 1952 through 1955 and after the war, resumed his studies at the University of North Texas College of Music on the G.I. Bill.  At Louise’s suggestion and encouragement, the couple then returned to Iowa for Frederick to complete his PhD in Music Composition from the University of Iowa.  During those years, Louise taught management courses at the University of Iowa.

After completing his PhD in 1963, Frederick’s next academic appointment was at Grambling College, Louisiana where they started a family in 1964.  Louise also held a position as the assistant to the Dean of Grambling College.  The family then moved again to Louisville, Kentucky in 1967 where Louise was assistant to the Dean at Kentucky State University while Frederick was on the faculty as the Head of the Music Department.   In 1970, Frederick was recruited to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst by his former University of Iowa professor and mentor, Philip Bezanson to initiate a jazz studies program at UMass.  Louise continued her administrative career first at Smith College as assistant to the Class Deans in 1972 and then as Chief Administrator in the Dean’s Office at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1974. Louise remained at the School after it was reorganized into both Public Health and Nursing, becoming Executive Administrator in the Dean’s Office of the School of Nursing for seven years until her retirement from dedicated service to the university in 1996. As an educator and administrator throughout her life and career, Louise was known and admired for her meticulous managerial integrity, exceptional organizational skills, and pragmatic wit.        

Louise and Frederick have been active members of the Amherst community over the years. Louise served for two terms as a member of the Amherst Citizens Review Commission as appointed by the Amherst Board of Selectmen and was also a volunteer at Jones Library.  Louise’s many interests included cultural pursuits such as music, theater, dance, art, fashion, and travel.  She and Frederick were longtime philanthropists of cultural and educational organizations such as Wiley College, The Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the United Negro College Fund, the NAACP, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.  She also enjoyed watching collegiate football and basketball and following such sports as tennis, track and field, swimming, golf and the Olympics.  Other pastimes included gardening, bird watching, reading, sewing, crossword puzzles, games, classic movies and television viewing.  

A wonderfully charming, beautiful, stylish, sassy woman with an engaging sense of humor and grace, she will be greatly missed by her beloved husband Frederick of Amherst; daughters Patricia of Fort Pierce, Florida and Pamela and son-in-law Paul Hammacott of New York City; nieces Edna Louise Richards, (husband Jervis) and Janet Williams of Houston; great nieces Nicole Eaglin (husband Freddie) and Myosha Smith; great nephew Christopher Smith and great nephew, godson and Sweet Baboo Jervis II; and newborn great, great nephew Freddie Fitzgerald, all of Houston; and a host of dear friends and family near and far.

Louise’s funeral will be Friday morning at 11 a.m. at the Douglass Funeral Home, 87 North Pleasant Street in Amherst.  The burial will be at Wildwood Cemetery.  The family welcomes flowers or if desired, contributions may be made in Louise’s memory to their alma mater Wiley College under the Dr. Frederick and Edna Louise Tillis Scholarship at Wiley College in support of students majoring in music, 711 Wiley Avenue, Marshall, Texas 75670. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Norman C. Ford Jr.

Amherst- Norman C. Ford Jr., professor of physics, inventor and entrepreneur, died August 25, 2013. He was 81. 

He passed away peacefully at Bay State Hospital in Springfield shortly after suffering a stroke. 

Born Feb. 9, 1932 in Springfield, MA, Norm graduated with a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT he met his future wife, Barbara. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley.

During the Korean War Norm was drafted into the army and assigned to program a missile defense system to defend Washington D.C.  He joined IBM in 1956, where he did basic research on thin films, a technology that has wide relevance to the computer memory, electronics and optical industries.

Norm and his young family arrived in Amherst in 1965 to join the expanding physics department at UMass, where he taught for 15 years.  In 1971 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which he used to conduct research at Oxford University.  In 1976 he was an exchange professor at the University of Freiburg in Germany.

Shortly before leaving academia, Norm, along with fellow UMass physics professor Kenneth Langley, co-founded Langley Ford Instruments (LFI), among the earliest high-tech start-up companies in Amherst.  In the 1980s, LFI designed and built precision light-scattering instruments for use in industrial and academic research. Among other applications, these devices are used for blood analysis in hospitals and medical labs across the country.

Norm, whose dozens of patents and inventions were used in processes from cheese making to detecting eye diseases, went on to found two other technology companies, Precision Detectors and Phoenix Instruments.

In his retirement Norm was adviser to start-up companies in New England.  

During his 48 years in Amherst, Norm’s contributions to public life included working on a blueprint for economic development as part of the town’s 2010 master plan, serving as town meeting member and as clerk for voting precinct two. He enjoyed tutoring students in physics and math.

At the time of his death, Norm was treasurer of “Save Historic Cushman,” an organization opposing a luxury student dormitory complex proposed for rural North Amherst that Norm believed would destroy the character of the town he loved.

Throughout his life Norm applied his inventiveness to everyday tasks, and to some not-so-everyday tasks. After deciding to tap the maple trees on his property, he turned a discarded hot water heater into an automated syrup boiler.  When his eldest son proposed raising calves for beef, the family built a barn and fenced in fields.

Norm aspired to excellence and enjoyed mastering challenges, from solving sudoku to working on an early detection technique for Alzheimer’s disease.  He encouraged similar aspirations in his family and associates.  

In the mid-1960s, when Norm and Barbara commissioned renowned MIT architect Maurice Smith to design an avant-garde house, the contractor insisted it couldn’t be built.  Norm and Barbara prevailed and got their dream house, guided by Smith’s philosophy of building  “habitable three-dimensional fields” that showcase surrounding trees. To this day, the house remains an example of Norm’s vision, derring-do and “can do” spirit.

Norm’s love of nature inspired climbs of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park as a graduate student, canoe trips and family hikes in the Austrian Alps.  After retirement, he vacationed with his family at Squam Lake in NH, where he would entertain all with his master storytelling and razor-sharp wit, and (for those above the drinking age) fine wines.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Barbara; son David, his spouse Carol and their children Andrew and Rachel, of Philadelphia; son Daniel and his partner Emily, of New York; and daughter Jocelyn of Beijing.

A memorial is planned for 3 p.m. on Sep. 21 at the UMass Campus Center Hotel 11 Fl.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the UMass Physics Dept. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

JOELLE ADLERBLUM

AMHERST, Joelle Adlerblum, of Amherst, died August 25, 2013, at the age of 78, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital following hip surgery. She was born in New York City and spent her youth living with her parents, Cullen and Evelyn Adlerblum, in Riverdale, New York.

Joelle received her education from many schools, including Smith College, Washington Square College, Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her work included early childhood education and research at New York University and Brooklyn College. She lived in the Boston area in the 1980s and explored much of the American Southwest, Mexico and Central America, especially Guatemala. She was fluent in Spanish.

Although fiercely independent, she is remembered by many friends and acquaintances who had “deep regard” for her as a musician, painter, a lover of nature and the outdoors, a courageous seeker and religious sojourner who passionately applied herself to the things in life that were important to her. She was a highly spirited woman with a lively mind and ready sense of humor.

At various times Joelle was active in the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst and the Mount Toby Friends Meeting, and she annually contributed to the Friends’ Thanksgiving Dinner gathering. She had a deep meditative practice as a devoted practitioner of the Buddhist tradition, spending many hours in silent retreats over the past decades at the Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, Massachusetts. She was active in the peace movement and was particularly pained and passionate about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She was especially attracted to the writing of Uri Avnery, founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement.

A talented musician, Joelle loved many kinds of music, especially folk music from the left underground; she wrote many songs including her wonderful “Chocoholic Round”; she played guitar and banjo, sang, and was active in the Peoples’ Music Network, the FSSGB and the Raging Grannies.

A memorial gathering will be held at the Woodbury Room in the Jones Library, in Amherst, on Wednesday, September 25, at 6:00. Gifts in her memory may be made to the Jones Library, Inc. and to the Insight Meditation Society, and in each case noted as for the Joelle Adlerblum memorial. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Angeline E Schwartz

AMHERST, Angeline “Angie” Emma Schwartz, 92, of Lexington, MA, formerly of Amherst and Hadley, passed away on Friday, August 2, 2013 at PineKnollNursingCenter in Lexington.

Born September 27, 1920 in New York City, she was the daughter of Leopold David and Emma (Bietenholz) Stern.

She was educated in New York City schools and graduated from JuliaRichmanHigh School with honors. Angie was awarded a scholarship to Long IslandUniversity but was unable to accept due to family circumstances.

She worked for the family real estate and insurance business before relocating to WashingtonDC, where she worked for various Federal government departments including War Production Board and Department of Commerce. Angie also worked for the Motion Picture Association of America.

She married George Schwartz in 1950. They relocated to Philadelphia, PA and Rochester, NY, before settling in the Amherst area in 1965 and building their home on Frost Lane in Hadley, where she lived for almost 40 years. In Amherst, Angie worked as an Administrative Assistant for the Amherst College History Department while George taught at UMass Amherst. After retirement in 1983, she and George traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad. She continued traveling with friends after George passed away in 1992. She enjoyed socializing, dancing, gardening, hiking, walking, golfing, summer theatre productions, concerts and other cultural events.

She moved to the Applewood Retirement Community in 2003, where she found many new friendships among the other residents and staff and renewed acquaintances with many old friends. She moved to LelandHome in Waltham, MA in 2010, and PineKnollNursingCenter later that year.

She was predeceased by her husband George of 42 years, her brother Leopold Stern and his wife Lillian Stern.

She is survived by her nephew Lowell Stern of Bedford MA, her niece Lynnell Stern of LexingtonMA, three grand-nephews, three grand-nieces and two great grand-nephews.

Private burial will be in PlainvilleCemetery in Hadley, MA next to her husband George, at a later date.

Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com. To Sign a Guest Book, express condolences, share memories and read other obituaries, go to www.gazettenet.com/obituaries.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

JANE EILEEN SANCTUARY

AMHERST, Jane Eileen Sanctuary, 75, of 33 Kellogg Ave., died on Sept. 4, 2013, at Calvin Coolidge Rehabilitation Center in Northampton.

She was born on May 2, 1938 and was the “baby” of seven children of the late Everett and Mary Sanctuary. She has lived in Amherst all her life and loved this town very much.

Jane was a graduate of New England Art School and has always enjoyed artwork and painting. Many aspects of her talent were evident in all the activities she participated in. She wrote many poems as well and loved to teach others about the Bible.

She has loved living in the Ann Whalen building for over 25 years and has found many dear friends there.

She loved life but her faith was very strong and she now lives with her heavenly Father just enjoying all Jesus has prepared for those who love God.

Jane’s body will be buried in the South Amherst Cemetery with her beloved parents and family. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 10:00 a.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst. Many thanks to them by her family. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Angel Santana

1944 – 2013

Granby – Angel Santana of Granby, passed away at home, with his loving family by his side on Friday, Aug. 30, after a long battle with renal disease. Born in Yauco, Puerto Rico, he is survived by his wife, Marta Santana, daughters, Sharon Santana, Angie Mercado  and son-in-law, Pablo Mercado, son, Angel Santana Jr and daughter-in-law Susan Santana. He was preceded by his daughter Marangelie Santana. He is also survived by two brothers, Jesus Santana and Andres Santana and grandchildren, Natasha, Pablo, Aryanna, Katelyn and Michael. He enjoyed playing dominos, going to the casino and vacationing with his family, with his true passion of enjoying time with the grandchildren.  Angel spent most of his career as a police officer in Puerto Rico. In 1988, he moved to Amherst, Mass. and retired from the Holyoke Public School system in 2001.  He will be sorrowfully missed by all who knew him. Funeral services will be Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 10:00 a.m. from the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. in St. Brigid’s Church, Amherst. Burial will follow in St. Brigid’s Cemetery, Hadley. Calling hours will be Tuesday, Sept. 3, from 5-8 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Angel Santana

1944 – 2013

Granby – Angel Santana of Granby, passed away at home, with his loving family by his side on Friday, Aug. 30, after a long battle with renal disease. Born in Yauco, Puerto Rico, he is survived by his wife, Marta Santana, daughters, Sharon Santana, Angie Mercado  and son-in-law, Pablo Mercado, son, Angel Santana Jr and daughter-in-law Susan Santana. He was preceded by his daughter Marangelie Santana. He is also survived by two brothers, Jesus Santana and Andres Santana and grandchildren, Natasha, Pablo, Aryanna, Katelyn and Michael. He enjoyed playing dominos, going to the casino and vacationing with his family, with his true passion of enjoying time with the grandchildren.  Angel spent most of his career as a police officer in Puerto Rico. In 1988, he moved to Amherst, Mass. and retired from the Holyoke Public School system in 2001.  He will be sorrowfully missed by all who knew him. Funeral services will be Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 10:00 a.m. from the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. in St. Brigid’s Church, Amherst. Burial will follow in St. Brigid’s Cemetery, Hadley. Calling hours will be Tuesday, Sept. 3, from 5-8 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

DAVID A. GIBSON

HADLEY, David Appleton Gibson, age 96, of Hadley Massachusetts, died on August 22, 2013 after a brief illness. He was the husband of the late Margaret Fay (Weishaar) Gibson, with whom he made a home in Coventry, Connecticut for 52 years.

David was born on December 6, 1916 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of the late Hamilton and Mary W. Gibson. He attended Evanston public schools, graduating from Evanston Township High School in 1936. He enrolled in Dartmouth College—where he was known as Pete—as a member of the Class of 1940, but interrupted his education to volunteer for Selective Service.

David served his country honorably throughout World War II, first as a private soldier, then as an infantry officer in the 79^th Infantry Division, and finally as an intelligence officer on the staff of XV Corps, where he participated in the campaigns of the European Theater of Operations from the Normandy breakout to the Central Europe campaign. His war ended in Salzburg, Austria in May, 1945.

After completing his A.B. in government at Dartmouth in 1947, David worked as a staff reporter for the Greenfield (Mass.) Recorder through 1950, then as an award-winning journalist for the Hartford (Conn.) Times. He was business editor of the Times when it ceased publication in 1976. David spent the last five years of his professional career in corporate communications with the Travelers Corporation.

David joined the Second Congregational Church of Coventry in 1975 and remained a member all his life. He was a deacon and a choir member, and served on numerous church committees. He was a member and officer of the Coventry Lions club, a founding member of the Coventry VFW Post, a director of the Porter Library Association, and a director of the Central Cemetery Association. He also served on the Coventry Board of Education. At Dartmouth, he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and the Sphinx Senior Society.

David loved to read and to follow business and financial news, and was an avid jazz enthusiast and fan of WFCR’s Jazz á la mode.  Although a Cubs fan from boyhood, he nonetheless became an upstanding citizen of Red Sox Nation after relocating to Hadley in 2002.

Besides his beloved “Ta” and his parents, David was predeceased by his older brothers Harold H. Gibson, Jr. and Arthur H. Gibson. He leaves his daughter Rosemary G. Ryan and son-in-law Robert M. Ryan of Hadley, Mass; and granddaughter Hannah Rose Ryan and her partner Christopher Collins of Somerville, Mass.  In addition, David leaves many grieving neighbors, extended family members, and friends, some of whom he has corresponded with for decades. The pen is silenced, but the words live on.

Following a private interment, a memorial service will be held at the Second Congregational Church of Coventry, Connecticut at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 31^st, 2013. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Second Congregational Church of Coventry (www.secondchurchcoventry.org).  Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.