Obituaries & Death Notices

Editor’s note: The state delayed the weekly reports because of the Thanksgiving holiday. CAPE COD – The Death toll from COVID-19 in Massachusetts is 10,400 people. There were 444 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 8 days in Barnstable County. One person died from COVID-19 on Cape Cod bringing the death toll to 191. […] The post Weekly COVID-19 update 11/27/20: Barnstable moves up to high risk appeared first on CapeCod.com.

June ManningDuring the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, only one person in Aquinnah passed away from the flu.

Regina Mary Cuddyer Policastro, 68, of Mission Hill and a summer resident of Chilmark, died after a brief illness on November 13. She was a native of Jamaica Plain, attended Cathedral High School, Suffolk and Harvard universities and numerous clinical laboratory technology courses She worked as a clinical laboratory... ...

BARNSTABLE – An amendment that would change eligibility requirements for Student Trustees for all state colleges and universities has been passed by the Massachusetts State Senate. The change was led by the Cape Cod Community College Student Government Association. State institutions elect a Student Trustee to sit on their... .

Carol S. (Merry) deBettencourt, 75, lifelong resident of Oak Bluffs, died peacefully on Sunday evening, Nov. 22, 2020, with her family at her side at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.  She was predeceased by her husband, William N. (“Bink”) deBettencourt Jr. in January 2011. She is survived by her children, Nora Jardin,... ...

Hunter Pinckney Wootton Denman, 40, died on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, at his home on Martha’s Vineyard. The son of Margaret-Love Gathright Denman and William T. (“Rusty”) Denman III, Hunter was the youngest of their five children. Born in New Orleans, La., Hunter grew up in Mississippi and North Carolina, graduated... ...

A funeral procession was held Saturday for Allan “Buddy” deBettencourt Sr. with a vintage fire truck carrying his casket to St. Augustine’s Church in Vineyard Haven. According to his obituary, deBettencourt served for 58 years as a member of the Oak Bluffs Fire Department before retiring as a captain. He died on... ...

HYANNIS – The Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed a $46 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021. Passed 40-0, the budget aims to move the state towards equitable recover amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by making investments in sectors impacted most, including early education and childcare, food security, housing... .

William Herbert Dyer (“Bill”) died on Nov. 15, 2020, at home surrounded by his family. He was born on June 11, 1937, in Springfield, to Margaret and Edwin Dyer. When he was 7 years old, his family moved to Otis. Bill spent his youth in the woods and streams of Otis, with his brother Eddie […] The post William... ...

CAPE COD – The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States has surpassed a quarter of a million people. In Massachusetts, 10,204 people have died from COVID-19. In Barnstable County there were 246 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week. 4 people died on Cape Cod from COVID-19 bringing the total to 190. […] The post COVID-19 update 11/19/20: U.S. death toll soars past 250,000 appeared first on…

Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 2:09pm Sharon Elizabeth Kelley of Woodside Village died on Tuesday morning Nov. 17 at home. She was 83. She was predeceased by her parents, George and Ethel (Dillon) Kelley and is survived by her brother, Robert J. Kelley of Yorktown Heights, N.Y. A private funeral service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest…

Miriam S. Frankel, long-time seasonal resident of Lambert’s Cove, died in Sarasota, Flordia, on November 16th of complications from a fall.  “Mimi”, as she was known to friends and family, was a familiar frequenter of Lambert’s Cove Beach where she loved to walk, swim and meet new people. She had an artistic flair... ...

Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 11:01am Nelson Joseph deBettencourt Jr., for more than 30 years the owner of N.J. deBettencourt and Sons Inc. Gas Station and Repair Shop in Oak Bluffs died peacefully at his home in Oak Bluffs Oct. 29. He was 84 and would have celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife, Sandra Geddis deBettencourt on Nov. 5. Although officially retired for the last two years, he continued to maintain an office in the garage. There he would visit…

Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 10:59am Doris Virginia Toll Andrews Gregory died at the Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Oct. 31, 17 days shy of her 96th birthday. The cause was cancer. She was a modest person who lived a quiet life and died the same way, slipping away peacefully. She was born in Chicago, Ill., to John and Ruth Toll on Nov. 17, 1924. Her parents, both immigrants from Sweden, met in South Dakota, married, then…

Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 10:57am Miriam S. Frankel, a longtime seasonal resident of Lambert’s Cove, died in Sarasota, Fla., on Nov. 16 of complications from a fall. Mimi, as she was known to friends and family, was a familiar frequenter of Lambert’s Cove Beach where she loved to walk, swim and meet new people. She had an artistic flair which she expressed through knitting and crocheting, creating pressed flower and seaweed pictures, arranging fresh flowers,…

In Massachusetts, 16,358 residents died in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, according to the official figures of the time. Twelve of them were from Martha’s Vineyard. But both numbers were undercounts. The best modern estimates bring the statewide toll well north of 20,000, and a close examination of the Island’s... ...

When Doris Virginia Toll Andrews Gregory succumbed to cancer at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Oct. 31, 2020, she was 17 days away from her 96th birthday. She was a modest person who lived a quiet life; she died the same way, slipping away peacefully.  She was born in Chicago, Ill., to John and... ...

Sharon Elizabeth Kelley, 83, of Woodside Village died on Tuesday morning, Nov. 17, 2020, at home.  She was predeceased by her parents, George and Ethel (Dillon) Kelley. She is survived by her sister Patricia and nieces Kim and Amie of Providence, R.I., and by her nephew Robert J. Kelley of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and... ...

Samantha F. Drogin, wit and firecracker, beloved mother, proud grandmother, and doting great-grandmother, passed away in Edgartown on Friday the 13th, three days shy of her 98th birthday. Born in New York City, Sam grew up in the Depression, but said she was largely immune because her parents ran a kosher chicken shop... ...

Allan A. deBettencourt, Sr. (“Buddy”), 83, lifelong resident of Oak Bluffs, died on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, at Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, surrounded by his family.  He was predeceased by his wife, JoAnn R. (Fontaine) deBettencourt. He is survived by his oldest son, Allan A. deBettencourt, Jr (Gina)... ...

CAPE COD – The COVID-19 death toll in the Commonwealth of Massachusestts has topped 10,000. As of today, 10,015 people have died from the virus in the state. There were 121 new cases of COVID-19 in Barnstable County in the past week. There were no new deaths on Cape Cod where the toll is 186. […] The post Weekly COVID-19 update 11/12/20: State death toll tops 10,000 appeared first on CapeCod.com.

Bruce E. Kennedy, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard from 1994 to 1999, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Oct. 22, 2020, at the age of 70, after a six-year struggle with white matter disease of the brain. Bruce was born in Washington, Pa. He received his bachelor’s degree from... ...

Deborah Jeanette Huddleston, 64, died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. She was at home in her own bed, following multiple, long hospital and nursing home stays, and her family is so thankful she was able to see her dog Cocoa and her granddaughter Izzy again, and to eat her favorite foods... ...

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn has died at age 86. Heinsohn was a player, coach and broadcaster who was with the team for all 17 of its NBA championships. He beat out teammate Bill Russell for the NBA’s rookie of the year award in 1956 and combined with his fellow […] The post Celtics Hall of... .

Doris Virginia (Toll) Gregory, 95, formerly of Aidylberg Way in Oak Bluffs, died on Sat., Oct 31, 2020 at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation.  Her funeral service will be held at a later date and a complete obituary will follow. The post Doris Gregory appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times. ...

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:35am Vance P. Packard of Bear Lake, Thornhurst, Pa. died peacefully Tuesday morning, Oct.  27. He was 78 and had been a regular seasonal resident of Chappaquiddick from a young age. He claimed to have found the house his parents bought, as he and his friends roamed the land and came upon this seemingly abandoned residence in the 1950s. Vance delighted in spending summers there. As teens, he and his neighbor John Seibel started a newspaper…

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:31am Lise Luborsky died Oct. 18 at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. She was 74. The cause was complications from a fall 10 days prior. A resident of Philadelphia and Chilmark, Lise was a remarkable lawyer and a wonderful family member. She brought clarity and a sense of purpose to both dimensions of her life. She had a rare blend of ethics and kindness that no one who knew her will forget. She was born in Philadelphia, but spent…

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:26am Nelson J. deBettencourt Jr. of Oak Bluffs died Oct. 29 at home, surrounded by his family. He was the husband of Sandra (Geddis) deBettencourt and would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Nov 5. A memorial service will be held next year, hopefully when the pandemic clears. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. Article Updated: Date Updated: Thursday, November…

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:24am William A. Hayden of Old Saybrook, Conn., died Oct. 27. He was 81 and had been a Martha’s Vineyard visitor and resident for decades. Bill was the president of Spring & Buckley in New Britain for many years, and prior to that served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Princeton during the Vietnam War. He was a graduate of St. Michael’s College in Vermont. The grandson of a naval lieutenant commander, he always said he had saltwater…

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:22am Carole A. (Crowley) Gale of Bucksport, Me., died Oct. 29. She was 80. She was born April 15, 1939 to Richard and Mary Crowley at the Brockton hospital. She grew up in Brockton and attended local schools. Following high school graduation, she worked as a medical secretary at Carney Hospital in Boston. She met her future husband Henry Gale in Edgartown. They were married on May 21, 1960 and moved to Portland, where Henry was a newscaster…

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 10:18am Theodore Richard (Ted) Balcomb died at Suncoast Hospice in St. Petersburg, Fla. on April 17, 2020 after a prolonged illness. He was 75. The oldest of three siblings, he was born August 4, 1944, in Kingston, Pa. He was a 1962 graduate of Linton High School in Schenectady, N.Y., and went on to earn a bachelor of science in business administration from Hartwick College in 1966. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. He received…

Two older couples sat in a booth on the Island Home. They had masks and face coverings nearby, but not one of them was wearing a mask as a Steamship Authority employee passed by. He said nothing to them. But should he have to say something? There are signs. There are announcements. At this point, […] The post... ...

HYANNIS – Massachusetts voters approved one statewide ballot question on Tuesday and rejected another in an election that saw near a near record turnout. Question 1 passed with a strong majority, allowing independent auto repair businesses to have access to data collected by cars to fix vehicles. Opponents had said that... .

Christy L. Dobson, 40, of West Tisbury died on Monday, October 12, 2020, surrounded by family.  She was born on July 18, 1980, in Maine, the daughter of Michael E. Dobson and Kelly J. Morrison. Christy graduated from Lisbon High School in Maine. She worked for many years in home healthcare, and owned a home... ...

Nelson J. deBettencourt Jr. of Oak Bluffs died on Thursday evening, Oct. 29, 2020, at his home, surrounded by his family. He was the husband of Sandra (Geddis) deBettencourt, with whom he would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Nov. 5.  A memorial service will be held next year, hopefully, when the... ...

Flowers were left at the intersection of Pine Tree Road and State Road on October 31 in memory of Virginia Iverson, who was struck by an SUV while crossing State Road at the intersection. She later died in a Boston hospital. The accident happened October 31, 2017. The motorist was not found at fault.  “That... ...

ORLEANS -- Orleans has joined the list of communities that permit retail recreational marijuana sales.Town Meeting voters on Saturday reversed a ban on retail sales (Article 38), passed exactly two years and two days prior, by a 295-113 vote moments after approving changes in the Zoning Use Table 303-123 (Article 37, requiring two thirds majority) to permit retail sales in the industrial, limited and general business zones of Orleans.“Many people here use marijuana…

LONDON (AP)-Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died, aged 90. Bond producers EON Productions confirmed his death, first reported by the BBC. Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were “devastated by the news.” In a varied career, Connery played James Bond... .

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:41pm Lynn Gatchell died peacefully on Sept. 30, surrounded by her loving family holding her hands and telling her stories. Lynn Barbara Pearce was born to Lillian (Greenwalt) and Richard Pearce on July 19, 1951. She was forever a child of the summer, loving hot weather, tie-dye, and swimming. She held swimming and diving records at Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University). Lynn met Rob Gatchell in the fall of 1973. Rob…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:39pm Marie Beverly (Johnson) Kotik died June 26 at home, surrounded by family. She was 96. Marie was born Nov. 24, 1923 in Harlem, New York city, to Dr. Douglas Beverly Johnson, of Petersburg, Va., and Myrtle Capehart Johnson, of Raleigh, N.C. She was the second of three daughters. She lost her older sister and father before she was two years old, and her mother then took her and her newborn sister to live with her parents in Raleigh.…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:38pm William J. (Billy) Bernard, died unexpectedly on Oct. 21. He was 49. He was born on Nov. 3, 1970, in Oak Bluffs to parents Francis Bernard and the late Joyce (Sydeski) Bernard. Billy graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and began his own landscape company at a young age. He owned and operated Greenlawn Company of Martha’s Vineyard. He had a love of the outdoors and took advantage of all that Martha’s Vineyard…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:36pm Barbara Ann Nolan died peacefully on Oct. 25 after a brief illness. She was 71. She was born in Boston on July 15, 1949. Barbara attended nursing school in the early 1970s and was an LPN at Brigham and Women’s and Mass General. She moved to Martha’s Vineyard in the mid-1970s where she worked briefly as a nurse at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She loved the Island so much that she became a shuttle and tour bus driver during…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:33pm Barbara Waller Kudravetz died July 25 at Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, in Charlottesville, Va. She was 98. For nearly 50 years, Barbara and her husband George spent summers on the Vineyard at their home on Beach Road across from the hospital. She swam in the ocean in front of their house, usually by herself, often several times a day, in good weather, and not-so-good, until last summer. She spent her days on the Vineyard…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 2:32pm Lenore Adele Irion of Saxton’s River, Vt., died peacefully just before daybreak on Sept. 11. For seven weeks she had been in the care of her sister and medical hospice in her home in Alstead, N.H. Her sister and two devoted friends were at her side. Even as her physical strength diminished, her sense of wonder kept growing. The late summer weeks provided so much richness outdoors in the gardens that surrounded her. Friends brought…

William J. Bernard (“Billy”) passed away unexpectedly on Oct. 21, 2020 at the age of 49. He was born on Nov. 3, 1970, in Oak Bluffs to Francis Bernard and the late Joyce (Sydeski) Bernard. Billy graduated from Martha’s Vineyard High School, and began his own landscape company at a young age. He owned and... ...

Barbara Ann Nolan was born in Boston on July 15, 1949. She passed away peacefully on Oct. 25, 2020, after a brief illness.  Barbara went to nursing school in the early 1970s, and was an LPN at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General. She moved to Martha’s Vineyard in the mid-1970s, where she worked briefly... ...

Lynn Gatchell passed away peacefully on Sept. 30, 2020, surrounded by her loving family holding her hands and telling her stories. Lynn Barbara Pearce was born to Lillian (Greenwalt) and Richard Pearce on July 19, 1951. Lynn was forever a child of the summer, loving hot weather, tie-dye, and swimming. She held... ...

In a 52-48 vote on Monday night, Amy Coney Barrett became the fifth woman to be confirmed to the United States Supreme Court.Coney Barrett, a 48-year-old U.S. Court of Appeals judge nominated by President Donald Trump, fills the seat left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a staunch liberal and feminist icon who died Sept. 18.Coney Barrett will join two other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, on the bench. The first woman confirmed to the Supreme…

In a 52-48 vote on Monday night, Amy Coney Barrett became the fifth woman to be confirmed to the United States Supreme Court.Coney Barrett, a 48-year-old U.S. Court of Appeals judge nominated by President Donald Trump, fills the seat left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a staunch liberal and feminist icon who died Sept. 18.Coney Barrett will join two other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, on the bench. The first woman confirmed to the Supreme…

Allyson Courchene Getsinger died early Sunday morning, Oct. 18, 2020, at home on Chappaquiddick. She was 66, and had struggled with cancer for the past 10 months. The wife of Peter Getsinger and mother of three, Allyson was a person of grace, beauty and unfailing optimism who made a deep impression on everyone she... ...