Category: Obituary: B

The Rev. David M. Blanchard, 75, died August 18, 2008. He was honored this year by the UUMA on the 50th anniversary of his ordination. He served UU congregations in Swampscott and Palmer, MA. In 1965, he became the minister of the North Parish UU Church of North Andover, MA, where he served until his retirement in 1997, when he was named minister emeritus. He was an advocate for civil rights and social justice in his community. He is survived by his wife, Joan DesJardins Blanchard of Andover, MA, with whom he would have celebrated 51 years of marriage in September. He is also survived by two sons, two grandchildren, a sister, and several nieces and nephews.

The Rev. Penelope (Penny) Anderson Binger, 82, died following a brief illness on June 1, 2008 at in Hiawatha, IA. Rev. Binger was ordained by the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, California on November 10, 1985.  She served the First Unitarian Church of Sioux City, Iowa from 1986 until 1996.  Upon her retirement, the congregation honored her as Minister Emerita.  In addition to her large and loving family, the main passions in Rev. Binger’s life were the fight for Civil Liberties /ACLU, support for the drive to increase diversity and inclusiveness in our society, and working to improve the status of women.  Rev. Binger is survived by her six children: Penny Brisson of Santa Clara CA; Ginna Himschoot (Robert) of Cedar Rapids; James Binger of Oakland CA; Elizabeth Binger (George Dowker) of Niantic CT; Paula Binger of Waterloo IA; and Julia Daugherty (Darren) of Cedar Rapids; her brother Frank Anderson (Dorothy) of Eugene OR; a niece Patricia Allard (Robert) of Marion; a nephew Keith Binger of Irving TX; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The Rev. Paul H. Bicknell, 84, died May 31, 2008 in Medina, OH, from complications of a heart attack. He served the UU Church of Elgin, IL from 1957 until 1972. The church and its members were active leaders of social change. Rev. Bicknell also held several Community Ministry positions, working with older adults and he served a number of congregations as interim minister in Hobart, IN, White Plains, NY, Kansas City, MO, New Haven, CT, Rocky River, OH, Golden, CO, West Hartford, CT, and London, Ontario. Rev. Bicknell is survived by his long-time friend Mary Anne Kehoe Ford, his sons, Richard (Carmen) and Brian, by his daughter, Deborah Leader, and by seven devoted nieces and nephews.

The Rev. Robert D. Botley, 84, died March 28, 2008. He served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II, then served Congregational Churches in Sedgwick, CO; Pinedale, WY; and Rapid City, SD. In 1961, he joined the UUA and served the church in San Mateo, CA. He marched with Dr. King in Selma. After a long bout with cancer, Rev. Botley retired early from formal ministry. As his health improved, he started a business, Specialized Yachting Services, then an accounting business. In 1999, the Botleys moved to McKinleyville, CA, joining the UU Fellowship. He loved wilderness, and won awards for his landscape photography. He built a boat and sailed to Mexico and back. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Anna Mae Botley; two children, Steve Botley of Cave Junction, OR, and Becky Blackshaw of New Zealand; and two grandchildren. A service will be held May 31 at Humboldt UU Fellowship in Bayside, CA.

The Rev. Berjouhie (Berjie) Andreassian Bergler, 86 died July 10, 2008. Born in Turkey, she fled with family to Lebanon and later moved to New York State. She graduated as class valedictorian from Keuka College, later earning a BD in Ministry from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, again graduating as valedictorian, and as the only woman in her class. She was Assistant Professor of Religion at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. She also preached regularly at the UU Society of Amherst, MA. She served as Director of Religious Education at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York, NY and was the first woman to preach there in its 142 year history. She was ordained in 1962 at Community Church of New York City jointly by five New York churches as Minister to College Students. In 1965, she married Robert Bergler. She joined the faculty of Douglass College of Rutgers University as Assistant Professor of Religion and continued teaching there until her retirement in 1984. Even though her work was primarily academic, she often conducted weddings, dedications, and memorial services. She and her husband were also active members in the Unitarian Society of New Brunswick, NJ. In a letter of reference for Rev. Bergler’s application for Fellowship, Rev. Sophia Lyon Fahs said “Her personal integrity is of the finest. Her philosophy of life is wholehearted and all-encompassing; and she is forthwright [sic] in expressions of her thoughts, as well as unusually capable intellectually in expressing them.” Rev. Bergler is survived by her sister, and thre Alice Rabah of Chapel Hill, NC.

Evangeline Bachelder, 87, widow of the Rev. Horace Bachelder, died Nov. 12, 2007, in Melrose, MA. They served the Atkinson Church, Oregon City, OR, from 1946-1971, where Evangeline directed a 30-voice junior choir and often composed music. She composed a hymn, “I Held the Planets in my Hand” which was pasted into the hymnal and sung often by the (then) 600-member church. Under their leadership, the church went from Congregational to Unitarian in 1959. They moved to Plymouth, MA, in 1971, where Horace ministered until his death in 1981. Evangeline again directed the Jr. Choir.

Virginia Bicknell, 78, widow of the Rev. Kelsey Bicknell, died in July, 2007, and David Pohl conducted her memorial service at the Unitarian Memorial Church, Fairhaven, MA. David writes, “Ginny was a teacher as well as mother, grandmother and friend. Her children spoke of her as a great cook, one who loved puzzles, and had a boundless love for her family. She was also ‘a second mother’ to many college students. I shall always remember her as a smart and kind person who lived with courage and grace throughout her 78 years.” She leaves a son, Michael, and three daughters, Rebecca Bicknell, Leigh Hemingway and Anita Langley.

The Rev. Michael Edward Boardman, 68, died Dec. 9, 2006, of progressive supranuclear palsy. He had dreams of becoming a dairy farmer, but he soon realized one must have money to buy a farm. Instead, he entered Starr King School for the Ministry. He served churches in Whittier, CA, and later in Sudbury, Brookline and South Natick, MA and several interim ministries. Shortly after an incorrect diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Michael retired in 2002 and moved with his wife, Barbara Prairie, to Berea, KY. Despite declining health, he participated in various organizations, converted to Catholicism and regularly attended mass at St. Clare. He is survived by Barbara; daughters Katherine Edwards and Sheila Boardman; stepdaughters Adrienne Cruise and Karen Ransom; and five grandchildren.

Laile E. Bartlett, Ph.D., 90, wife of the Rev. Josiah R. Bartlett, died May 11, 2006 in Ft. Bragg, CA. Laile received her sociology Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a social settlement post in the east end of London, a government internship with the National Institute of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C, and a lectureship with the League of Nations in Geneva. For the first half of her career she taught on college campuses and the second half was research and writing: Bright Galaxy, an analysis of the Unitarian fellowship movement (Beacon Press), The Vanishing Parson, on the clergy exodus (Beacon Press), New Work/New Life (Harper and Row), on career change, and Psi Trek, (McGraw-Hill). This book, in which she explores psychics and psychic phenomena, resulted in more than 90 invitations to appear on TV and radio programs. Most distinctive was her long and extensive collaboration with her husband, who was president of Starr King for nearly 20 years. Her radio program, “The Family Reads,” co-hosted with her husband, was nominated for a Peabody Award. The Bartletts created an interim ministry program for the UU denomination. They served in interim ministries in more than 25 churches throughout the US. She is survived by four children: Joel Emerson Bartlett of Phonenixville, PA, Joselyn Kingsley Bartlett Miksak of Caspar, CA, Loel Starr Bartlett Miller of Walnut Creek, CA, and Noel Channing Bartlett, of Lafayette, CA; and three grandchildren.

Rosella Macomber Bemis, 85, of Athol, MA, died Feb. 2, 2006. Her husband, Eldred Bemis, died in 1994. She was previously married to the Rev. Wilton Cross and Norman Guertin. She was a member of the Margery Morton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and and the Petersham Orthodox Congregational Church. Survivors include her children, James Guertin of Jupiter, FL; Mitchell Guertin of Lake Wales, FL; Norma Guertin of Stuart, FL; Joyce Nelson of Athol; and Peter Guertin of Orange; 10 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; a brother and a sister. The family held a private graveside service in Petersham in the spring.