The Rev. Paul W. Sawyer

Paul Sawyer

The Rev. Paul W. Sawyer, 75, died June 23, 2010 from pancreatic cancer. He had just finished his memoir, Untold Story: A Short Narrative History of Our Time. A graduate of Harvard College and Starr King, he served churches in CA, NJ, PA, WA, OR and Russia. The Pasadena Weekly called Paul “a tireless advocate for the dispossessed who often risked arrest in his opposition to war, capital punishment and nuclear energy.” The LA Times described him as “a scholar of American Transcendentalism and ancient Chinese texts, a founder of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace… [who] served on the boards of the UN Assn. and the Jackie Robinson Center in Pasadena.” He enjoyed jazz, politics and history. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their son, Alexander, and by his first wife, Carolyn Colbert, and their daughters Sharlyn, Shanda and Katherine Sawyer, and his son Adam Sawyer, and Adam’s mother, Carole Selter Norris.

The Rev. Grant F. Haskell

Grant Haskell

The Rev. Grant F. Haskell, 94, March 3, 2010. He served congregations in Saco, ME; Medford, MA and White Plains, NY and helped start two UU fellowships. He also was youth and camping director for the YMCA. After his retirement in 1981, he was a school bus driver for ten years in the Central Bucks school district located in Eastern PA, and was president of the bus driver union. He loved camping, working with kids and teenagers and fixing things around the house. In addition to his wife, Betty, he is survived by his children Richard A. Haskell of Alamogordo, NM, Jonathan F. Haskell of Newark, NY and Beth M. Haskell of Brooklyn, NY, two sisters and two grandsons.

Betsey Ross Skeirik

Betsey Skeirik

Betsey Ross Skeirik, 79, widow of the Rev. A. John Skeirik, died in Brewster, MA, January 31, 2010. She taught music in public schools, and directed church choirs and choral groups. She performed as a vocal soloist and served as church administrator in Middleboro, MA, where she arranged for speakers and did a number of services herself. She was an active member of the Brewster congregation and the UU Meeting House in Chatham, MA. She served as secretary to the ministers of the West Dennis Community Church for 22 years. She and her husband actively supported the Partner Church Program. Through their efforts the Brewster Church formed a partnership with the Valea Church in Romania. Betsey was an avid reader of poetry who enjoyed concerts, theater, opera and ballet.

The Rev. Carl Bierman

Carl Bierman

The Rev. Carl Bierman, 79, died January 6, 2010. A native of Germany, he emigrated to the US in 1935. He was educated at Columbia, City College of New York and Harvard Divinity School. He served congregations in Woodstock, VT; Springfield, MO; Washington Crossing, NJ; Kennebunk, ME, overseeing construction of churches in Washington Crossing and Springfield. He taught religion at Missouri State U and was active in the civil rights movement and in the Torch Club in Trenton, NJ; he had a passion for history and also enjoyed astronomy and playing chess. He is survived by his wife Dolores Hart Bierman, three daughters, Natalie, Daphne and Sally, a son, Andrew, and their spouses and twelve grandchildren.

The Rev. John Nicholls Booth

John Nicholls Booth

The Rev. John Nicholls Booth, 97, died Nov. 11, 2009. As a young man he worked as a professional nightclub magician. His enrollment in Meadville Lombard in 1940 made Newsweek. He served churches in Detroit, MI; Long Beach, CA; Belmont, MA; and Evanston, IL. He was a world traveler and an adventurer who climbed the Himalayas. He enjoyed giving talks about his travels. Throughout his long life he retained his connections to other magicians; his monthly column for Linking Ring Magazine ran from 1963-2000. He is survived by a daughter, Barbara Christie, two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Jeanne Tobin Bletzer

Jeanne Tobin Bletzer, 91, widow of the Rev. Russell Bletzer, died November 8, 2009 in hospice care in Surprise, AZ. A native of Chicago, she was first married to the Rev. G. Richard Kuch. The Kuchs served the Ft. Worth TX congregation. The couple divorced in the early 1960’s. Jeanne did a great deal of work in RE over the years and served as DRE at the Evanston IL congregation, prior to marrying Russell R. Bletzer in 1967. The Bletzers also served in Woodstock VT. Jeanne was an avid golfer and an active community volunteer in Woodstock. She had been in assisted living for several years following a stroke. She lived out her later years with dignity, despite the limitations of arthritis and macular degeneration. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Ken and Sheila Kuch and her daughter, Cameron Kuch.

Lois Ann Jones Samsom

Lois Samsom

Lois Ann Jones Samsom, 84, widow of the Rev. Dr. Peter Samsom, died Oct. 5, 2009 in Asheville, NC. A native of Indiana, she later lived in San Diego, CA, Cleveland, OH, White Plains, NY, and Asheville. She was a faithful churchgoer, who devoted her life to supporting her husband’s ministry, which included six settled and seven interims. She also was also devoted to caring for her children. Her daughter was born with cerebral palsy and required a great deal of attention. After her husband died in 1992 she and her daughter moved to Asheville. She enjoyed gardening throughout her life. Lois had taken art classes as a young woman and picked up that interest again late in life. She is survived by her son Peter and her daughter Diana and her sister, Mary Jane Myers.

Carolyn Farr Gaebler

Carolyn Gaebler

Carolyn Farr Gaebler, 87, wife of the Rev. Max D. Gaebler, died, Aug. 21, 2009, at her home in Madison, WI. A graduate of Western College for Women in Miami, Ohio, she pursued graduate study in government at Harvard University, where she met and married the Rev. Max D. Gaebler, who was then Unitarian minister to students at the historic First Parish in Cambridge. They served churches in Westford, MA and Davenport, IA, and from 1952-1987 Madison, WI. A committed supporter of social justice issues, she never tired of recounting her experience in the summer of 1943 as a participant in a Quaker sponsored work camp on Chicago’s then heavily segregated south side. All her life she remained an ardent advocate for social justice. She loved good music, and for a number of years was a staunch member of the Unitarian Society choir and also of the Madison Philharmonic Chorus. She is survived by her husband, five children and their families.

The Rev. Kenneth C. Hawkes

Kenneth Hawkes

The Rev. Kenneth C. Hawkes, 96, was our oldest living Universalist minister. He died July 26, 2009, having served at the parish, district and national level throughout his long career. He was a graduate of Gorham Normal School (now U of Maine) and Colby College. A board member of the Maine Council of Churches, he also was president of Massachusetts Universalist Convention, and a trustee of the UCA. He was the first executive minister of the Northeast District of the UUA, which encompassed Maine and the Maritime Provinces. He was proud that he was one of a very few State of Mainers who marched in Selma with the Rev. Martin Luther King. June Wheeler, his wife of 53 years, died in 1987. In 1989 he married Janet Hall Beiling, who survives. He is also survived by his children: Roland K. Hawkes, Carolyn Gaines and Margaret St. Pierre; a sister; two step-daughters, and 33 grandchildren, step grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The Rev. James Marshall Bank

James Marshall Bank

The Rev. James Marshall Bank, 65, died July 23, 2009, after three years of living with cancer. A native of Michigan, he was educated at Baldwin Wallace College, Berea, OH, and Boston University. Ordained at King’s Chapel, he served in the US Navy, as chaplain on Okinawa and then aboard the aircraft carrier Constellation. He next served congregations in MA, MD, and interim ministries in VT, NC, NH and PA. An active voice for social justice — especially for gay rights and AIDS ministry — he advocated strongly for local inter-denominational cooperation. He was in our Minister on Loan Program and a member of the Religious Education Futures Committee, and the AIDS Community Review Panel of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He saw his ten years as a member — and later as president — of the National Cancer Institute’s Institutional Review Board as one of the most significant lifetime contributions. He was truly a Renaissance man, who loved history, books, films, music, gadgets, animals, telling stories, and being a good Dad. He is survived by his wife, Cathy Miller and their daughters Julia, Sarah, and Sasha Bank.