John Howard VanPutten, 46, died peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 27, at his home in Vineyard Haven. John was born on July 11, 1970, in New York City, and moved to Martha’s Vineyard at the age of 2. He attended the Tisbury Elementary School and was a graduate of Milton Hershey High School in Hershey, Penn. After graduating from high school, John returned to Martha’s Vineyard and worked as a meat cutter and manager for both the A&P and Stop and Shop supermarket chains for 29 years. John was a kind, generous, and loving soul who always lent a helping hand to those in need. His infectious smile lit up a room, as people often gravitated toward his friendly personality and caring nature.

John was well known on the Island for his love of sports and his extraordinary athletic talents in football, baseball, and basketball. His unwavering affection for professional sports teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees often sparked friendly debates with fellow New England/Boston sport fans. At age 24, John had the opportunity to try out for the New York Mets organization, making it all the way to the final round of cuts. Such drive and passion for the sport of baseball made the transition to playing in the Martha’s Vineyard Men’s Softball League even easier. John played for his beloved Brewhas for the past 29 years. He was highly respected by everyone in the league, not only for his superior level of athletic play but also for his leadership qualities and competitive composure.

John is survived by his wife, Channon C. Capra; his mother, Arba Clark; his maternal grandmother, Willa Cherot; his brothers Walter Holliday (Erica), Eric Wildanger (Elexis), and Jamie Wildanger (Stacy); and his sister, Arba Marte, also survive him. Many nieces and nephews also survive him.

A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 11 am in the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs, officiated by the Rev. Michael Nagle. Please arrive by 10:30 am. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made in his memory to Hope Health Hospice, P.O. Box 4188, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

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Leslie Ingraham Malcouronne died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, Nov. 15, at her home in Oak Bluffs. She was 69.

She was married to John H. “JB” Bunker. She also leaves behind her daughters, Veronica Malcouronne and fiancé George Sparacino and Michelle Duarte, her husband Richard, and granddaughters Mariah and Lily Duarte; stepdaughter Erica Ponte, her husband Kenny, and their three children; and stepsons Rodney Bunker, his wife Pam, and their two daughters, and John Bunker Jr. and his partner, Lynley; her brother Billy Ingraham and his wife Carol; nephew Elias Ingraham; niece Jenny Ingraham and her fiancé Jason Robinson; and great-nieces Samantha and Elizabeth Robinson.

Visiting hours in the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. will be held on Friday, Nov. 18, from 4 to 7 pm and Sat., Nov. 19, from 11 am to 1 pm, with a funeral service at 1 pm officiated by Pastor Marcia Buckley. Donations may be made in her name to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 1748, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date at the family home. A complete obituary will appear in another edition of this paper. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.

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Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, Anne Virginia “Ginny” Langley of Edgartown and Naples, Fla., died peacefully after a brief illness on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, surrounded by her large and loving family.

Ginny was born Sept. 8, 1931, to the Honorable William J. Keenan and Irene Keenan of Dorchester.  She attended St. Gregory’s Catholic School, and was a graduate of Mount Ida College.

Ginny met her husband, Laurence “Roy” Langley, in Dorchester. They were married Oct. 12, 1950, and recently celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. They raised their family in Milton until 1974, when they moved to Naples and began spending summers in Edgartown.

Devoted in faith and family, Ginny was an active member of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Edgartown for over 38 years, where she was a eucharistic minister and CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) teacher. Ginny was devoted to raising her seven children. She was happiest when surrounded by her children, their spouses, and her 12 grandchildren.

In addition to being an extraordinary homemaker, Ginny enjoyed gardening, and was an avid baker and an accomplished knitter.

Ginny leaves behind her adoring husband Roy. She is also survived by her seven children, Roy Jr. (Kathy) of Charlotte, N.C.; Jackie Driscoll of Edgartown and Naples, Fla.; Brendan (Lisa) of Edgartown; Maryanne Jerome (Ed) of Edgartown; Betsy Stabler (Larry) of Chevy Chase, Md.; Merrill (Jamie) of Edgartown; and Justin of Fairhaven. In addition, she is survived by her grandchildren Roy III and Keenan Langley; Nicholas Jerome; Will, Charlotte and Peter Stabler; Catherine, Merrill, and Charlie Langley; Caroline and Jack Langley. Ginny is also survived by her sisters Carole Keenan of Weymouth and Irene Burgess of Milton. She was predeceased by her sister Patricia Terrella, her brother William J. Keenan Jr., and her grandson Joseph Jerome.

A celebration of her life was held on Friday, Nov. 25, at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church. Memorial gifts in her honor may be made to St. Elizabeth’s Church of Edgartown, Good Shepherd Parish, P.O. Box 1058, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, or the Joseph Jerome Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 2232, Edgartown, MA 02539.

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Claudio Gasparini, 59, died on Nov. 19, 2016, in Lancaster, Pa. A former resident of Martha’s Vineyard, Mr. Gasparini was an artist who exhibited at the Granary Gallery for over a decade.

Claudio was raised in the Friuli region of northern Italy. His father was Italian, and his mother Basque. His parents met in Venezuela after their families relocated following World War II, and they married and had three children there — Claudio the youngest — before returning to Italy.

Claudio’s two loves as a youth in school were art and geography, and as a teenager he decided he wanted to explore the world. For a period of 10 years he traveled as a young man, first through Europe and then to Morocco, Madagascar, the nations of Africa, India, Thailand, Australia, and Canada’s British Columbia, among others. He often spoke of the great importance to him of his world travels, and considered them his life’s education. He was proud of what he learned about other peoples, their languages, cultures, and politics. He often remarked that although he was poor and his travels could be difficult, good and kind people always came along at the right time to assist him.

Following his travels, Claudio worked in a Swiss vineyard for several years, where he learned the techniques of winemaking. Later, he joined his sister Rossana in Venice at La Zucca Osteria.

In 1984 Claudio was introduced to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, and it became his home for many years. In 1988, while working at the Charlotte Inn, Claudio met his wife, Jeanne, who was also employed there at a seasonal job. While living on Martha’s Vineyard, Claudio returned to creating and showing his artwork, oils on canvas that incorporated the scenes and colors of Europe and his world travels.

In 2000, Claudio and his wife relocated to a waterfront cottage in rural south-central Pennsylvania, where he enjoyed the peace and serenity of nature. Claudio particularly loved creating his artwork, and was happiest in his art studio, listening to classical music. Beethoven was one of his favorite composers, and he often recalled that his father played Beethoven’s music at home.

Claudio is survived by his wife, Jeanne; his immediate family in Italy, including his mother Annamaria of Gorizia; sister Rossana and her husband Massimo and children Elio and Chiara of Venice; brother Diego and his wife Giulia and children Greta and Marco of Trieste.

Claudio was a big presence in many ways. His was an intense light, and we are all happy that it passed for a period along our paths. We shall greatly miss him.

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Marilyn Spitz Abrams, who spent summers on the Vineyard for more than 40 years, died — peacefully and painlessly — at home in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day. She was 94.

She was born in Brooklyn to Polish immigrant parents who ran a flower shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. While at Brooklyn College, she went to a summer program at Cornell in 1940, and met her husband-to-be, Herb Abrams, who was a student there.

They married in 1943. The marriage lasted 73 years until Herb died earlier this year at 95.

For a few years after their marriage, she worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to help put him through medical school, and at the same time was able to receive her master’s degree in economics from Columbia.

Soon after, in 1946, she gave birth to her daughter Nancy. In 1948 Marilyn and Herb drove across the country after he accepted a job at the Stanford Medical School in San Francisco. The following year her son John was born.

She raised her kids in the Bay Area and practiced interior design. Beauty in all things was woven into the fabric of her life — she had a tremendous sense of design about space, furnishings, fashion, and gardens; later in life she would devote herself to creating art.

In 1967, with their children pursuing their own paths, she and Herb moved to Boston, where she dedicated herself to social work. She was a longtime pregnancy counselor at the Florence Crittenden Clinic. During her time in Boston, she began to study and practice wood sculpture. Despite all her personal endeavors, she also managed to be a tremendously supportive partner to her husband’s professional career.

During this time she began to vacation on the Vineyard. In 1975 she worked with her son John to design and build a house on Middle Road in Chilmark. Marilyn and Herb spent every summer there.

In 1985 they moved back to California. Marilyn continued to do social work, but ceramic sculpture became her great passion. For many years she produced elegant abstract free-form ceramic pieces.

The Bay Area was the place she loved the best. During the two long periods in California (1948–67 and 1985–2016) she created wonderful homes and gardens in San Francisco, Marin, and Palo Alto. She was truly at home there, and during the second period, she enjoyed hosting her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren at her gracious home in Palo Alto. She was a homemaker in the largest sense of the word.

During her last 10 years, as the ravages of Alzheimer’s irrevocably altered her experience of life, she was lovingly cared for by her husband and her two devoted caretakers, Juliet Peralta and Regina Malonzo, who became important members of the family.

Marilyn is survived by her daughter Nancy (Richard Eilbert) and son John (Christine); in addition to three grandchildren, Pinto and Sophie Abrams, and Natasha Eilbert, and three great-grandchildren,Kalib, Silas, and Axel Abrams.

Memorial donations in memory of Marilyn Abrams may be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington Street, Suite 200, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481; curealz.org.

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Longtime Squibnocket resident Margaret Whitton, best known for her sultry performance as Rachel Phelps, the showgirl turned team owner in the “Major League” movie franchise, died peacefully at her home in Palm Beach on Dec. 4, 2016, surrounded by loving friends and her beloved husband of 23 years, Warren Spector. Her home on Martha’s Vineyard, which she purchased in 1996, was her favorite place to be. In 2010 the emergency room at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is named for her and her husband.

Margaret, whom film critic Pauline Kael once hailed as “a knockout,” had a distinguished career in New York theater before her many film and television roles, which eventually led her to directing and producing.

Immediately recognizable for her fair complexion and striking red curls, Margaret became known for playing the kind of multitasking, strong, sexy woman who could stylishly seduce, cleverly outwit, and effortlessly outmaneuver any man who crossed her path — all while landing a perfect one-liner.

Margaret made her off-Broadway debut at the American Place Theater in 1973 alongside Olympia Dukakis in “Baba Goya.” She became a regular player at Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival — at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park and its downtown home, the Public Theater — working with directors such as Arthur Penn, Max Stafford-Clark, Les Waters, and Howard Davies. She appeared in several productions by the Phoenix Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club. Her Broadway performances include “Steaming” with Judith Ivey; “The Apple Doesn’t Fall”; and “Marlene” — and she was Raul Julia’s victim, Lucy, in the national tour of “Dracula.”

Her most recognizable film roles include Aunt Vera in “The Secret of My Succe$$” with Michael J. Fox; Rachel Phelps in “Major League,” 1 & 2; Molly in “9½ Weeks” and Catherine in “Man Without a Face” with Mel Gibson. She also starred in television series, including “Good & Evil,” opposite Teri Garr, and “A Fine Romance,” among many others.

When Ms. Whitton left acting, she turned to directing — first for the theater, with Marina Carr’s “Portia Coughlin” and “By the Bog of Cats,” and the Public Theater’s production of “Dirty Tricks,” starring Judith Ivey as Martha Mitchell. She made her feature-film directing debut with “A Bird of the Air,” a romantic drama based on Joe Coomer’s novel, “The Loop.”

In 2008, Margaret and Warren formed independent production company Tashtego Films. In addition to developing and producing “A Bird of the Air,” Tashtego Films has been involved in a number of notable films, including “Casting By,” a feature documentary about Margaret’s dear friend Marion Dougherty, who revolutionized Hollywood.

People who never met her will always know the artist. If you were fortunate enough to have the backstage pass, you know the ardent baseball fan, the voracious reader, the dog whisperer, the passionate fighter, and the astonishing horticulturist with an inexplicable eye for color and beauty.

Margaret kept her brief battle with cancer very private. She faced her illness with all the grace and wit she brought to every facet of her life. A memorial service will take place in New York City in early 2017.

Those who wish to honor Margaret are invited to contribute to two charities that were especially close to her heart: The Marion Dougherty Safe Haven Fund, which supports victims of domestic violence with their pets; and the African Mission Healthcare Foundation, in support of Dr. Tom Catena, an American physician saving lives in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan in the face of genocide.

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Cecile Marie Patricia Lampl Mooney was born in Yonkers, NY, August 28, 1918, and died on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 24, 2016, at the age of 98. She wanted to make it to 100. On her 98th birthday party, held on the porch of the Menemsha Galley, someone asked her how old she was; “100,” she replied. She was ready.

Her mother’s family was from Ireland, and her father’s was from Austria. Her love of beauty and design was fostered by her mother, who sewed a fine seam and made all her daughter’s clothes. Ceil studied ballet, and knew in her heart she could have been a prima ballerina. At 98, she could still do an arabesque and a plié. Her father could fix anything, and always had a sweet dog by his side. He passed his love of dogs on to Ceil. Her apartment was a shrine to them, from porcelain dogs to art books detailing them through the ages.

When Ceil told stories of her youth, she included everything she was wearing at a particular event. She remembered every single dress, coat, and pair of shoes. She married James J. Mooney. Shortly after the wedding, he left for World War II to serve as a naval officer. At the end of the war, Jimmy went to work for the government, and the couple moved to Alexandria, Va. Ceil and Jimmy had four children. Later the family moved to the New York City area, where Ceil studied interior design.

After Ceil’s husband unexpectedly died, she moved from New Jersey back to Alexandria and put her skills as an interior decorator to good use. She decorated many lovely homes and medical offices in the northern Virginia area, and taught design courses to adults. When she became an empty-nester, Ceil sold her house and took off for Key West to open a shoe store, Shoe Fly, on Duval Street. She enjoyed the freedom of life in Key West, but yearned for New York City. Five years later, she made another move, this time to her beloved Manhattan. She had exciting jobs at Barney’s and then Bergdorf Goodman’s as head of the bridal registry department. Each day she dressed to the nines, and was even photographed by Bill Cunningham. She had many friends in the fashion and design world there.

She moved to Martha’s Vineyard when she was 89. From her apartment at Havenside, she kept an eye on the comings and goings of the ferry and the local turkeys. She often walked to town to have a coffee at Waterside or visit the Stop and Shop for heavy cream or Häagen-Dazs ice cream. The hardest things for Ceil about her advancing age was not being able to find a job or drive a car. She was a doer. First thing every morning, she put on her face, black pants, a shirt and scarf, and her jewelry. A few days before her fall, Ceil was devising a scheme to order Keds slide-on sneakers from Amazon in every size and resell them from her apartment.

She is survived by her daughters, Sheila Muldaur of Chilmark, Deirdra Bonkemper of Maryland, and Maura Mooney of Arizona. She was predeceased by her son, Kevin. Her granddaughters, Dardanella Slavin and Clare Manchon, and step-granddaughter Jenni Muldaur all looked to her as a leader in style. Her grandsons-in-law, Sean Slavin and Olivier Manchon, made her feel loved and well cared-for at family gatherings. Her great-grandsons Quinlan, Corrick, and Gustave were to her “the cutest boys in the world.” She was so fortunate to meet and hold her new great-granddaughter, Ernestine, and show her the ferry out the window leaving for yet another trip.

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Frederic Arthur Sonnenberg, 84, of The Villages, Fla., and Oak Bluffs died at home, Nov. 25, 2016, surrounded by his family.

Fred was born in East Orange, N.J., on Oct 21, 1932, to Margaret I. (MacClellan) and Arthur J. Sonnenberg.

Fred enjoyed a long career as a professional engineer. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northeastern University. After graduation, he served as an officer with the Army Corps of Engineers as an aeronautical research engineer for NACA (later NASA) Ames Aerolab at Moffett Airfield in California. His assignment in atmosphere-entry simulation gave him the opportunity to meet and work with many space pioneers such as Alfred Eggers and Wernher von Braun.

After NACA, he returned to the East Coast, and spent several years at the Foxboro Co. in Foxboro. As a dedicated Patriots fan, he worked to get town approvals and funding for the first Patriots Stadium.

Fred was an avid golfer. After moving to Martha’s Vineyard he found his best job ever — course engineer for Farm Neck Golf Club. He worked there for 30 years, and was a familiar sight, traversing the course in a golf cart with a big yellow dog at his side. While on the Vineyard , Fred served on various town committees, was a director of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp-Meeting Association, and was active in humane groups, rescuing and fostering animals. “Retiring” to The Villages, he continued to work as a consultant until his illness this spring.

He was many things to many people — loving husband, father, grandfather, friend — everybody’s Mr. Fix-It, always ready to help friends and neighbors with any project, big or small. If you want to honor Fred, his family asks that you “pay it forward.” Use your talents to help someone else as Fred would, or donate to your local animal shelter.

Fred was predeceased by his brother, Alan. He is survived by his children Alan (Linda) of The Villages; Wade (Aliona) of Oak Bluffs; Kristen (David) and son Nicholas of Oak Bluffs and Norton. He also leaves his wife and partner of 40 years, Marion Burke.

A gathering will be held on Martha’s Vineyard next summer. Please visit the online guest book at hiers-baxley.com.

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In a very short two years, Father Brian Murdoch cut a wide swath of joy and grace, offering the experience of deep spiritual engagement on Sundays at Grace Episcopal Church on Martha’s Vineyard, as well as every day where he extended the ministry of Grace Church beyond its walls into the Island community where he became well-respected and deeply loved. Fr. Brian died peacefully at his Vineyard Haven home on Oct. 16, 2016.

Father Brian’s first vocational assignment was as priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charlestown, from 1985 to 1990. Beginning in 1991, and for the following 10 years, Fr. Brian was the director of recovery for the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston. He then founded and directed the Malcolm-Garrison-King House, a recovery-centered community in Boston, through 2014. During that time, he also served as interim director of St. Paul’s Church in Hopkinton for a year, and from 2002 to 2006, Fr. Brian was an adjunct professor in sociology, psychology, and group dynamics at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown.

Between 2004 and 2011, Fr. Brian was priest-in-residence at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in West Roxbury, then served as chaplain at the Barbara McInnis House in Boston.

In 2011, Fr. Brian took a position as house staff agent for Safe Haven Homeless Veterans’ Program in Boston. The following year, he worked as street priest for Common Cathedral in Boston, where he bore a ministry of presence on the Boston Common to the unhoused and poor people to help sustain their hope and dignity.

In 2014, Bishop Alan Gates of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts appointed Fr. Brian priest-in-charge of Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard, where he was serving when he died.

Brian grew up in the midst of a great Irish Catholic clan of aunts and uncles, and 33 first cousins, who all lived in seven houses on Connors Road in West Peabody. As a high school student athlete, he was privileged to receive a full scholarship to Boston College, where he earned a bachelor of arts and was a linebacker and defensive lineman for the BC Eagles for several years.

A year abroad in Ireland and the Middle East brought Brian a variety of experiences in ministry. On his return to Boston, Brian cofounded Many Mansions, and continued work there as café manager. Brian’s spiritual journey took him on a quest to deepen his personal faith, which had grown out of a conversion and profound commitment to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, whom he followed with all his heart for the rest of his life. This led him to the General Seminary in New York City, where he earned a master’s of divinity.

Gregarious and engaging, his upbringing in a crowd of loved ones set the stage for his lifelong dedication to creating communities of support. His spiritual guidance was infused with humor, offering everyone he met his undivided attention, and lifting them up with his uncanny ability to resonate with them. As a result of his embodiment of the light of the Gospel, Fr. Brian lived his life espousing the joys and hard work of grace, and in grace he carries on.

He is survived by six siblings and their spouses, Bill (Sally), Kevin (Gail), Kathy (Tom), Donna, Karen, and Maureen (Chris); 14 nieces and nephews, seven grand-nieces and -nephews, and numerous cousins, and by John Bradley, and his lifelong best friend, Philip Mangano.

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Ralph John Jones of West Tisbury died on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. He was 93.

Ralph was born in Haddam, Kansas, to Charlotte Robinson and William John Jones. He grew up in Stafford, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State College and Rutgers University. Ralph went on to work at Merck Chemical Co., where he worked opposite his wife to be, Alvida Cleveland Riggs — he was known to say “the chemistry was right.”

Ralph served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and again in the Korean conflict, returning to work at Merck afterward. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was actively recruiting, and making what turned out to be a great decision, he joined the AEC. He went on to work for the Nuclear Fuel Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and finally for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.

Ralph and his wife of 69 years, Alvida, then became world travelers for many years, retiring to Martha’s Vineyard in 1986, where he was very active in his church, hospital, Up-Island Council on Aging, and the local thrift shop.

In addition to his wife Alvida, Ralph is survived by his four children, Douglas Jones (Karen), Duncan Jones, Deborah Pearce (Philip), and Daniel Jones (Barbara). He is also survived by seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Ralph was a man of many talents, especially woodworking (but not singing, though he thought he could). He loved to read, enjoy his offspring, and had a wonderful sense of humor.

The Reverend Kathlin Baker conducted a private interment service on Dec. 10 at the West Tisbury Cemetery, with military honors. A celebration of his life is being planned for spring 2017.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury.

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Arthur James Hoe Jr., 69, of Vineyard Haven, died on Saturday night, Dec. 10, 2016, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. His memorial service will be held in the springtime. Donations may be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission, P.O. Box 2057, Edgartown, MA 02539, or the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, RR-1 Box 319X, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. A complete obituary will appear in another edition of this paper. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.

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Philip W. Reynolds, 87, of Hillside Village in Vineyard Haven died on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after a period of declining health. He is survived by his daughter, Melissa Baker of East Falmouth, and his son, Scott Reynolds of Belmont, N.H. His remains will be interred in the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne at a later date. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.

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Arthur James Hoe Jr. (Jimmy Hoe) of Vineyard Haven died on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, from pneumonia. He was born Feb. 19, 1947, in Glen Cove, Long Island, N.Y., and raised in Weston, Conn. He graduated from Buxton School in Williamstown in 1966, and attended Boston Museum School before moving to Martha’s Vineyard in 1969. He led a varied and satisfying life of sailing, clamming, construction, art, fishing, golf, doing raw bars, and many other things for 50 years. His friends were myriad and as colorful as he.

He was the son of Arthur James Hoe Sr., who restored antique cars, and Elizabeth Reed Hoe, a homemaker and artist.

He is survived by his two sisters, Vaughn K. Hoe and Linda Hoe Palmer, both of Vermont, and a brother, Richard March Hoe of Oklahoma. He is also survived by his five stepbrothers, Michael and Thomas Boughton of California, David Boughton of Florida, and Jonathan and Nathaniel Boughton of Massachusetts. He was adored by his nieces and nephews..

Jimmy was free-spirited and dynamic, and lived his life on his own terms to the last. He deeply loved his life on the Vineyard. Whether he was out fishing on his beloved boat, serving raw bars, working at the Reading Room, caddying at Farm Neck, building and shingling houses, or painting scenes of the Vineyard, he was full of dry humor and a commitment to life on the Island. He was a unique character, well-loved by many, and is already missed.

A memorial celebration of his life will be held in the spring, at a time to be announced. Donations may be made in his name to a Vineyard conservation land trust of your choice.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.

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Mary Haigazian, 91, died peacefully on Dec. 11, 2016, at Long Hill in Edgartown. Mary was born in New York, N.Y., on March 30, 1925, to Avedis and Hirupsome Agizigian. She was a resident of Philadelphia, Pa., for many years, and a member of Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Cheltenham, Pa. After moving to the Island, she resided at Woodside Village for many years, where she and her Boston terrier Lilly had many friends. Her proudest accomplish was her first entry in the Agricultural Fair, which won a blue ribbon for rug hooking, a skill she learned in her 70s. She is survived by two daughters, Rosemarie Haigazian of Edgartown and Berjoohy Haigazian Murray of Mount Laurel, N.J. She is also survived by four grandsons, three great-grandsons, and a sister, Anne Zdyrski. Donations in her memory may be made to Holy Trinity Armenian Church, 101 Ashmead Road, Cheltenham, PA 19102.

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The Rev. Walter W. Witte of Oak Bluffs died at Massachusetts General Hospital on Dec. 12, 2016. Father Witte, the son of Walter W. Witte Sr. and Pauline Praker Witte, was born on Sept. 11, 1927, and grew up in North Tonawanda, N.Y. He was a graduate of Hobart College, the Berkley Divinity School at Yale University, and Union Theological Seminary in New York. Ordained to the priesthood in 1954, he served churches in the dioceses of Western New York, Missouri, Newark, Springfield, and Massachusetts.

As a bivocational priest, he worked as personnel director at St. Louis City Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., and at the St. Louis Housing Authority. He also was a vice president at Drake Beam Morin and at New Directions, both in Boston.

He is survived by his wife Patricia, his son Matthew (Roslynn) Witte, his stepchildren Margaret (Terry) Heffner and Michael (Megan) Griffin, and his step-grandchildren, Deanna and Tricia Heffner, Britnee Knox, and Brandon and Blake Griffin. He was predeceased by his sister Karen Witte Hutt.

The funeral will take place on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, at 11 am at St. Andrew’s Church, 51 Winter Street in Edgartown.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Father Witte’s memory may be made to Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, 780 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118; Animal Rescue League of Boston, 10 Chandler Street, Boston, MA 02116; or St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 73 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA 02121.  

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Philip Warren Reynolds, 87, died on Dec. 13, 2016. He was surrounded by his daughter Melissa, son Scott, daughter-in-law Jennifer, and longtime friend Sofia Anthony.

Philip, an Army veteran who was proud to serve his country, was born in Falmouth. He moved to Martha’s Vineyard, where he lived for nearly 55 years. There he worked primarily as a mason until his retirement.

He is survived by several children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other family members.

Philip will rest at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

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Marilyn Spitz Abrams, who spent summers on the Vineyard for more than 40 years, died — peacefully and painlessly — at home in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day. She was 94.

She was born in Brooklyn to Polish immigrant parents who ran a flower shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. While at Brooklyn College, she went to a summer program at Cornell in 1940, and met her husband-to-be, Herb Abrams, who was a student there.

They married in 1943. The marriage lasted 73 years until Herb died earlier this year at 95.

For a few years after their marriage, she worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to help put him through medical school, and at the same time was able to receive her master’s degree in economics from Columbia.

Soon after, in 1946, she gave birth to her daughter Nancy. In 1948 Marilyn and Herb drove across the country after he accepted a job at the Stanford Medical School in San Francisco. The following year her son John was born.

She raised her kids in the Bay Area and practiced interior design. Beauty in all things was woven into the fabric of her life — she had a tremendous sense of design about space, furnishings, fashion, and gardens; later in life she would devote herself to creating art.

In 1967, with their children pursuing their own paths, she and Herb moved to Boston, where she dedicated herself to social work. She was a longtime pregnancy counselor at the Florence Crittenden Clinic. During her time in Boston, she began to study and practice wood sculpture. Despite all her personal endeavors, she also managed to be a tremendously supportive partner to her husband’s professional career.

During this time she began to vacation on the Vineyard. In 1975 she worked with her son John to design and build a house on Middle Road in Chilmark. Marilyn and Herb spent every summer there.

In 1985 they moved back to California. Marilyn continued to do social work, but ceramic sculpture became her great passion. For many years she produced elegant abstract free-form ceramic pieces.

The Bay Area was the place she loved the best. During the two long periods in California (1948–67 and 1985–2016) she created wonderful homes and gardens in San Francisco, Marin, and Palo Alto. She was truly at home there, and during the second period, she enjoyed hosting her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren at her gracious home in Palo Alto. She was a homemaker in the largest sense of the word.

During her last 10 years, as the ravages of Alzheimer’s irrevocably altered her experience of life, she was lovingly cared for by her husband and her two devoted caretakers, Juliet Peralta and Regina Malonzo, who became important members of the family.

Marilyn is survived by her daughter Nancy (Richard Eilbert) and son John (Christine); in addition to three grandchildren, Pinto and Sophie Abrams, and Natasha Eilbert, and three great-grandchildren,Kalib, Silas, and Axel Abrams.

Memorial donations in memory of Marilyn Abrams may be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington Street, Suite 200, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481; curealz.org.

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updated Dec. 21, 6:30p

Helen Mickelson, a devoted mother, companion, and the longtime Island office mainstay for Lawrence-Lynch Corp., died unexpectedly late Saturday evening, Dec. 17, 2016, in Cape Cod Hospital despite the heroic efforts of first responders, nurses, and doctors to save her following a heart attack she suffered at her Vineyard Haven home one day earlier. She was 65.

Helen was born Nov. 20, 1951, in Providence, R.I., to Gloria and Howard A. Mickelson. As a young girl she often visited family members on the Vineyard, a connection that would prove enduring and bring her back to the Island as an adult to live.

She graduated from Pinkerton Academy in New Hampshire in 1969, and in 1970 she married David A. Enright Sr., who served in the Navy and was later a private contractor whose job responsibilities took the young couple around northern New England.

In January 1971 the couple had a son, David. He was followed by a daughter, Amy, in September 1976. Following a divorce, Helen and her teenage daughter moved to Martha’s Vineyard where her mother, happily remarried to Carl George, then lived. “Her heart was always on the Vineyard. She loved the Island,” Gloria said.

She went to work in the office of Island dentist Dr. Peter Strock. Several other office jobs followed. It was while waitressing at the Get a Life Cafe on Main Street in Vineyard Haven in 1994, now Mocha Mott’s, that she met Tim Donald.

Together they built a house on a small lot adjacent to his shop. “She really made our house a home,” Tim said. With a broad smile he added, “And she was always changing things around when I would go away.”

Helen loved to read, most often while sitting on the front porch. Her reading list was broad and extensive and ranged from beach fiction to history and the arts. “Everything. She read constantly,” Tim said.

The couple enjoyed spending time in Tim’s hunting cabin in Harmony, Maine. Her domestic touch provided a welcome transformation to the simple cabin previously shared only by men.

When not reading, she would make clothes or do needlepoint art. Her son David recalled her talent in most any craft. “It seemed like forever that all of our clothes were homemade,” he said.

And there was his mother’s unvarnished, sometimes profane, sense of humor. “There were no filters with her sense of humor,” David said with a laugh.

A hard-working mother of two, Helen was a familiar Island face, in part because over the years she had worked in numerous medical and business offices where her attention to detail was well appreciated. For the past 10 years, she worked for contractor Lawrence-Lynch, which operates an asphalt plant in Oak Bluffs. “She was a force,” was how Lawrence Lynch described her.

One of a family of six, Helen was devoted to her large and extended family of sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews; her longtime companion Tim Donald, with whom she shared a home; their 6-year-old Lab Maggie; and her beloved Patriots football team.

A sheet metal worker and cooper, Tim said he would often have to leave the house and go to his adjacent shop when the Patriots were playing. “She’d be screaming so loud Maggie would come to the shop, and she’d be shaking,” he said. Losses to the hated New York Giants were always devastating.

Helen leaves behind her mother Gloria and her husband of 52 years, Carl George of Marlboro; son David Enright, 45, of Oak Bluffs; daughter Amy Pendergast, 40, and her husband, Derek, of Covington, Ga.; longtime companion Tim Donald of Vineyard Haven; and siblings Michael A. Mickelson of Derry, N.H., Catherine McLean (and Arthur) of Derry, Marybeth Linscott (and Keith) of Oak Bluffs, James A. Mickelson (and Tammy) of Bedford, N.H., Ruth Pendergast (and Dennis) of Derry, and Thomas C. George (and Jacque) of Winslow, Ariz., as well as many nieces and nephews. Her father, Howard Mickelson, predeceased her.

A visitation will be held from 5 pm to 7 pm, Tuesday, Dec. 27, at the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. There will be a memorial funeral Mass at 11 am, Wednesday, Dec. 28, at St. Augustine’s Church, Franklin Street, Vineyard Haven, followed by burial at the West Tisbury Cemetery. A celebration of life will follow at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs at approximately 1 pm. Please bring a dish to share.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Helen’s memory may be made to the Vineyard Haven Public Library, 200 Main Street, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

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John Gilpin, 51, died on Dec. 12, 2016.

John was born in Neptune, N.J., and grew up in Lincroft, N.J., where he was trained as a farrier, and later worked as a machine operator for an excavation company.

John moved to Martha’s Vineyard In 1987, and continued a career as an operator at DECA Excavation, a job he was very proud of, which allowed him to leave a lasting mark all across the Island. With his passing, John leaves a hole in the hearts of his innumerable friends and loved ones larger than any that even he would be able to dig.

John is survived by his mother Kitty Applegate, soulmate Annette Bowes and her daughter Eliza, his sons Sean and Wesley Gilpin, and his faithful dog Dozer. Donations may be made in his name to the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 1829, Edgartown, MA 02539, as well as to Vineyard House, P.O. Box 4599, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

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Denise Margaret Dorsey died at her Vineyard Haven home on Dec. 4, 2016. She was 59. Denise was born on Dec. 29, 1956, in Oak Bluffs to Toby and Lucille Dorsey. She graduated from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. She was a recipient of the MV NAACP scholarship. She went on to attend Massachusetts General School of Radiology. Denise was a member of the First Baptist Church, Vineyard Haven. She was an avid reader, and enjoyed singing.

Denise is survived by her daughter Ashleen Cafarelli of Moore Haven, Fla.; two sisters, Lori and Corinne Dorsey, both of Vineyard Haven; as well a granddaughter, Zoey. A service will be held at a later date and time to be announced. Donations in Denise’s memory may be made to the Island Food Pantry, P.O. Box 1874, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568; to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, P.O. Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557, or to the First Baptist Church, Fellowship Fund, P.O. Box 806, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

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