Category: Obituary: B

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.