Norma G. Sibley; Loved Music
ORANGE - Norma G. (Healy) Sibley, 78, of 519 East River St., died Thursday, Sept. 21, 2001, in Athol Memorial Hospital.
She leaves four daughters, Karen Charest of Little River, S.C., Jean Ramsay of Gorham, N.H., Edith Keach of Orange, and Sharon Euvrard of Athol; two sons, Brian Sibley of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Clayton Sibley of Greenfield; a brother, Everett Healy of Athol; a stepsister, Edith Cole of Deltona, Fla.; 19 grandchildren; 15 great - grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, Hampton L. Sibley who died in 1984; her stepbrother, Ray Lavalette Jr., who died in 1995 and a stepsister, Marion Abare who died in 1999.
She was born in Cambridge, Aug. 11, 1923, a daughter of Ray and Gertrude (Hobbs) Lavalette. She attended schools in Athol and graduated from Athol High School.
She and her husband owned and operated several local businesses: Highland Lawnmower Service, Pine Ridge Campground and the Box Car Restaurant. She was also employed by the Athol School District as a food service worker. She was an active member of the Athol - Orange Baptist Church for over 50 years.
She loved music, flowers, nature and children. She had a lovely singing voice. Her church was very important to her as well as her family.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m. in the Fiske Funeral Home, with the Rev. Mark Bariloni, pastor of the Athol - Orange Baptist Church, officiating.
Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.
Calling hours will be held Saturday from 12 to 1 p.m. in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Athol - Orange Baptist Church 131 Ridge Ave. Athol, Mass. 01331.
Doris C. Mayhew Devoted Mother
ORANGE - Doris C. (Gunn) Mayhew, 87, of 383 East River St., formerly of Erving died Wednesday at Charlene Manor Nursing Home in Greenfield with family at her side.
Born on April 18, 1914 in Montague (Millers Falls), she was a daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Carr) Gunn. She grew up and attended school in Millers Falls and had lived in Erving from 1927 until moving to Orange in 1991.
Her husband of many years, Raymond James "Jim" Mayhew Sr., died in 1991.
She was a machine operator for 17 years at the Leavitt Machine Company in Orange, retiring in 1976.
A warm, caring lady, she enjoyed her family and also took in kids in need before there was foster care and gave them the love and support they needed to get their lifes back together. She enjoyed dancing, baking, and especially cake decorating.
She was a member of the Erving Congregational Church, the Order of Easter Star, Athol - Orange Emblem Club, Erving Senior Citizens, Orange Senior Citizens, and the King James Association.
Survivors include her sons, Raymond J. Mayhew Jr. of Parrotsville, Tenn. and Lyman Mayhew of Colorado; a daughter, Thelma Ripley of Parrotsville, Tenn. 36 grandchildren, several great - great grandchildren; and several nephews and nieces.
Besides her husband, she was also predeceased by two sons, John Mayhew and Harold Mayhew, and a sister, Ethel Conant.
A graveside service will be held on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. in Erving Center Cemetery with the Rev. Gordon Newell of the Erving Congregational Church officiating.
There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Memorial Fund of Erving Congregational Church, Main St., Erving.
Witty's Funeral Home, Orange, is directing arrangements.
King Services
A funeral Mass for Arthur T. King, 89, of 30 Elizabeth St., Athol was held Friday in Our Lady Immaculate Church. Rev. Stephen D. Johnson, pastor, was the celebrant of the Mass. The organist was Theresa Gabis. Burial was in Gethsemane Cemetery.
Bearers were Laura Emmons, Jennifer Jirkovsky, Teal Emmons, Joe Melanson, Kenneth Akey and Ron Akey.
J. Edward Murphy Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
William Hastings, Printer, Publisher
William Howard Hastings, 89, a printer, publisher and editor, and a resident of North Easton for more than 29 years, died Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001 at the Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brewster, after a long illness.
He was the husband of Marguerite E. (Hall) Hastings for nearly 62 years. He was born in Athol and was a 1931 graduate of Athol High School. He was a linotype operator for the Fitchburg Sentinel for many years. Later, he owned and published the Townsend Times and the Pepperell Free Press. He lived in Lunenburg for many years, then moved to Cape Cod in 1972. He later worked at the Wayside Studios in South Yarmouth.
He was a member of the Eastham United Methodist Church, and the Friends of the Council on Aging in Eastham. He enjoyed sailing and gardening and his family.
Surviving besides his wife are two daughters, Susan A. Stone of Black Mountain, N.C. and Carol J. Wiley of Portland, Conn.; two grandsons, Jason W. Stone of Allentown, Penn., and Christopher H. Wiley Jr., of Canton; two granddaughters, Jennifer Wiley Falk of Belchertown and Ellen Stone Bordman of Quincy; a brother, Allen Hastings of Athol; two sisters, Marion Lillie of Athol and Eleanor Kimball of Torrington, Conn.; and several nieces and nephews.
A private memorial service will be held in Athol in October.
Memorial donations may be made to the Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 383 South Orleans Rd., Brewster, MA 02631.
Yvonne C. Ouellette
LEOMINSTER - Yvonne C. (Bourgeois) Ouellette, 80, of 1161 Main St., formerly of Gardner and Fitchburg, died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 in the Lep P. LaChance Nursing Home in Gardner.
Among her survivors is a son, Dennis A. Ouellette, of Royalston.
Doris C. Mayhew
ORANGE - Doris C. (Gunn) Mayhew, 87, of 383 East River St., died Wednesday evening, Sept. 19, 2001, at the Charlene Manor Nursing Home in Greenfield.
Funeral arrangements under the direction of Witty's Funeral Home are pending.
Eleanor M. Johnson Gardener, Musician
Orange - Eleanor M. (Merry) Johnson, 96, of 429 North Main St., died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001, at the Quabbin Valley Healthcare after an illness.
She was born June 3, 1905 in Boston, the daughter of Walter and May (Mundell) Merry. She grew up in West Brookfield and attended West Brookfield schools. She later lived in West Fairlee, Vt., Ware, Athol, and since 1945, had resided in Orange.
She enjoyed her family, plants, flower gardening, feeding and watching the birds, and playing the piano and organ.
Her husband of many years, Elwyn F. Johnson Sr., died in 1986. She leaves a son, Elwyn F. Johnson Jr. of Athol, eight grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and several great great grandchildren. A daughter, Eleanor L. Castine, died in 1986 and a son, Ronald P. Johnson, died in 1988.
Graveside services will be held Monday, Sept. 24, at 10 a.m. in Silver Lake Cemetery, Athol, with the Rev. Dr. R. Lee Smith, pastor of Starrett Memorial United Methodist Church, officiating.
There are no calling hours and in lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Western Massachusetts Chapter, 11 Campus Lane, Easthampton, MA 01027.
Higgins - O'Connor Funeral Home, 146 Main St., Athol is directing arrangements.
Allen Hastings, Known For His Music, Humor
ORANGE - Allen Hastings, 87, of the Walnut Villa Home for Senior Care in Whittier, Calif., formerly of Orange, died on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001 at the Presbyterian Hospital in Whittier.
He was born in Lynn on Nov. 10, 1913, son of the late Howard and Lottie Hastings of Orange, the second of four children.
The family moved to Orange where he grew up and graduated from high school. He loved playing baseball, the piano, and the cello. He was the tenor soloist in a local church in both Athol and Orange at a young age. But he hated the cold.
He worked as a correspondent at a Worcester paper and was able to save money for college. Then he moved west to pursue a vocal music degree at USC where his future wife, Roberta Kraft, was working on her masters degree. A woman from the university church youth group introduced them telling Roberta that Allen was "one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet." Music was an instant bond between the two as was their Christian outlook.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude in Music. He always wore the keys he received for those honors on the chain of his pocket watch. He had also been in Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Kappa Lambda, Phi Eta Sigma, and Phi Mu Alpha honorary societies.
He and Roberta were married in 1942. They travelled to Kansas to be married by Roberta's father, a Methodist minister there.
After the war, they had their first son, Arthur, and moved to the Los Angeles area to Torrance where he had an administrative position with an oil company. He then got a teaching position in Westwood, a small lumber town near Mt. Lassen where Lloyd was born. After a year they returned to the Los Angeles area settling in Whittier in 1949 where he lived the rest of his life.
In the late '40s and early '50s Allen was the tenor soloist on the radio for the Church of the Open Door with Pastor J. Vernon McGee. But since he wasn't able to make much money as a soloist, he sought out positions as a choral director and became the choir director at the South Hollywood Presbyterian Church.
Meanwhile, Roberta had already gotten the job as organist at the Montebello Methodist Church in 1950. A couple of years later, the choir director position came open and they then became a team that would last for nearly 40 years, retiring in 1990. Roberta always said that Allen was her favorite director. He would always move in such a way that she knew exactly how he wanted the music to sound.
Allen taught sixth grade in the public schools. He was looking for a career change and worked towards becoming a court reporter. While he was never able to get quite fast enough to pass the test to become a licensed court reporter, he passed the level to become a legal secretary. He then took a position as a legal secretary at the district attorney's office for a number of years.
The family remembers him for his love for singing, his leadership of the choir and how he was able to make people laugh and entertain them with jokes or by playing the piano.
His Christmas letters were famous and loved far and wide. He started them in 1957 and they ran until the early 90s.
He had two sons but wound up with four granddaughters and he loved all of them dearly. He was often the one that picked out dresses as gifts for the girls.
In recent years, Allen fell victim to Alzheimer's disease. His wife, Roberta, his brother, Gordon, sons Art and Lloyd with their wives Sharon and Claudia, granddaughters Becky, Sarah, Julia and Carolyn all live in California and will all miss him as will so many friends and loved ones.
He was predeceased by his brother Paul of Orange and sister Mildred of Ann Arbor, Mich. Paul's wife, Carmel Hastings, continues to reside at the family residence in Orange.
His older brother Gordon still resides in San Diego.
Funeral services were held at the United Methodist Church in Montebello, Calif. and he was interred at the Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
