Category: Obituary: D

The Rev. Robert L. (Rel) Davis, 75, died Nov. 1, 2011. A native of Gainesville, TX, he was the son of the first Baptist missionary to the Sioux. He graduated from Wayland University, Plainview, TX, and continued with graduate work at the University of Montana. He was ordained by the Unitarian Fellowship of South Florida and served as their minister for 30 years. Prior to that, he had served as assistant minister of the UU Church of Fort Lauderdale. Later in life he became interested in genealogy. He first published his father’s memoirs of some 400 pages, inserting not only photos into the text but also newspaper articles and other material. In recent years he had collected records on his family going back to the 1600’s. He also helped his wife, Edith Sloan, research her family and from this work they published two volumes of 750 pages. His latest hobby had been publishing books for family and friends. He used a POD publisher on the web via “Lulu.” He put in long hours and got good results. At the time of Rel’s death, he and Edith were planning to do further research on her family tree. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a brother and a sister.

The Rev. Dr. Muriel A. Davies, 103, died December 20, 2009. After leaving their native England, she and her husband, the Rev. A. Powell Davies, lived in ME, NJ, and Washington, DC. She was a founder of the River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda, where she was DRE for 11 years. She served as National Religious Education Consultant for the American Ethical Union and on the UUA Board of Trustees. In 2001 she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Meadville Lombard. In 2006 she was ordained and named a minister emerita of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation. She was a founding member of the Sugarloaf Congregation of UUs in Germantown, MD. She was predeceased by husband and her daughter, Gwen Offenbacher, and is survived by her daughter, Bronwyn Gordon, four grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.

The Reverend Julie Denny-Hughes, parish minister, steady advocate for social justice, lover of humor and music, died on 14 October 2016 at the age of 70.

Julie Ann Denny was born on 4 April 1946 to Helen Pentzer Denny and Morris Duane Denny and grew up in Bedford, Indiana. Music was central in Julie’s childhood as she joined her older siblings in backyard musical productions, showing the creativity and free-spirited independence that guided her throughout life. Later, at Bedford High School, performance with the Madrigal Singers was her favorite among numerous clubs and activities. After earning a B.A. in American literature from the University of Illinois in 1972, she worked for twenty years in the computer software industry as a technical writer, trainer, and independent consultant.

Barbara Mosher DeWolfe, 87, died Sunday May 8, 2016, after a brief illness. She was the widow of Rev. William A. “Bill” DeWolfe.

Barbara was the center her family’s life. She was known for her love of knitting, gardening, cribbage and bridge. She was born in Brewer, Maine, on March 3, 1929, and was raised in Bangor. Barb met the love of her life, Bill, at Ferry Beach in 1945, and their journey through life together included stops in Massachusetts, Texas, Missouri and Ohio. She and Bill retired to Damariscotta in 1996 and moved to Granite Hill in 2007. They built a large extended family throughout their travels in life and her loss will be felt widely and deeply.

Her dedication to the Unitarian Universalist faith was demonstrated throughout her life. She advocated for peace, human rights, civil rights, and women’s rights through her work with the church and in the community. She was among the first certified Directors of Religious Education in the UUA and was very active at the denominational level in curriculum development. Barbara and Bill’s dedication to Ferry Beach Park Association, the Unitarian Universalist conference center in Saco, included many years as conference leaders for youth and family programs and culminated with their lead donation for the construction of the DeWolfe Dining Hall in 2011.

She attended Jackson College and received her AB in 1950. Barbara always said that she never knew what she wanted to be in her professional life, but worked in public education, religious education, fair housing, community development, real estate, and hospital volunteer management while she waited to figure it out.

She is survived by her sons: Rick (Hillary) of Towson, Md., and Paul (Ellen) of Missoula, Mont.; four grandchildren: Abby DeWolfe (Seth) of Kensington, Md.; Reid DeWolfe (Courtney) of Somerville, Mass.; Jack DeWolfe of Barre, Vt., and Emily DeWolfe of Portland, Ore.; and two great-grandchildren, Sebastian and Madeline Patch of Kensington, Md.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, William A. (Bill) DeWolfe, and her oldest son Mark Mosher DeWolfe.

The family requests donations in her memory be made to the Ferry Beach Park Association,
5 Morris Avenue, Saco, ME 04072

Dorothy “Alden” Wright Davis, 89, died peacefully March 1, 2016 in Eugene, OR. Her husband and her three children were with her as she died. She was the wife of the Rev. Charles A. Reinhardt. Alden would have turned 90 on July 29.

Born in Bryn Mawr, PA, to Guier Wright and Dorothy Battles Wright on July 29, 1926, Alden was an unabashed intellectual and scholar, traits fostered by her remarkable parents. She grew up with an insatiable curiosity and the conviction that women could do whatever they chose.

In 1947, Alden graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in geology. While earning her graduate degree at the University of Michigan, she met Robert I. Davis of Meredith, NH, whom she married in 1949. Over the next 36 years, as they raised their family and relocated frequently, their romance and relationship never faltered.

In the 1950s, Alden and Bob lived for several years in Mexico before returning to the US where they lived in rural Pennsylvania, the Missouri Ozarks, suburban Connecticut, and the mountains of Colorado among other places. For Alden, every move was an adventure and an opportunity. So, too, was the rearing of their children, Andrew, Philip and Rebecca. As she watched her own children develop, Alden began working with children with developmental issues, particularly autism. In the 1970s, she earned her second graduate degree, this time in developmental disabilities.

Alden and Bob retired to New Hampshire in the 1970s. In Durham, they built a home that Alden designed and which incorporated their favorite elements from the many houses they’d lived in. After Bob’s death in 1985, Alden began working for the Rev. Bob Karnan at UU Church of Portsmouth, South Church, later becoming a member of the congregation. It was there that she met the Rev. Charles Reinhardt, who was doing an interim ministry there.

They got to know each other well as she helped him sort out a ministerial conflict which was splintering the church. Chuck knew she could be counted on to provide reliable information. Their collegial relationship became deeper and Alden and Chuck married in1997. The couple lived in Newcastle, until 2014, when they moved to Eugene, OR. Her second marriage proved to be as deep and enduring as the first. Alden found the love of her life: twice.

Over many years Alden enjoyed presidential politics, relying on the PBS News Hour. She had no use for commercial television. Instead she and Chuck enjoyed several book clubs and the New York Review of Books.

In 1997 Alden joined Chuck in his home in Sheepscot, Maine. Alden soon joined a local University of Maine Extension group serving local women, working with monthly sessions, and providing transportation for those members who no longer drove. She also joined Chuck in the local Midcoast UU Fellowship as well, notably, in the special effort to rescue the Sheepscot Community Church with new growth.

Chuck and Alden enjoyed Elderhostel programs in Scandinavia. They also visited the Grand Canyon, Greece (with Canadian clergy and UUs, including Alan Deale and Kathleen Hunter, and Chuck Eddis).

As she got older, Alden traveled less, but never lost her intellectual curiosity or her zest for life. Alden approached the many transitions in her life with enthusiasm, curiosity and a Zen-like acceptance of change. Shortly before her death, while reviewing the many moves she’d made, she noted, “there’s just one more move I have to make.”

She always said her proudest accomplishment was to raise three kids into adults whom she not only loved but liked. Her pride in her children was evident to all who knew her.

Alden is survived by her husband; her children; granddaughter, Leah; great-grandchildren, Elias and Astrid Alden; sister, Patricia Hume; and numerous nieces, nephews, stepchildren and grandchildren.

Sympathy notes may be sent to: Chuck Reinhardt, 65 W 30th Ave., #3403, Eugene, OR 97405.

The Reverend Dr. Robert M. Doss, devoted parish minister, talented singer and artist, and one of the many who marched in Selma with Dr. King in 1965, died on February 12, 2016, aged 88.

Bob was widely known for his gentle and faithful personal presence with both parishioners and ministerial colleagues. One of his successors at the Wilmington church described Bob’s 31-year ministry there as “one long sermon” whose message was that “the legacy of our finite lives is a function of the connections we have to other people.”

Robert Mabry Doss was born to James and Sarah Doss on September 12, 1927 in Jacksonville, FL. After service in the United States Army, he earned a B.A. from the University of Richmond in 1949. He later studied at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School before completing his B.D. at Starr King School for the Ministry in 1959. In 1980 he was honored with a D.D. by Meadville- Lombard Theological School.

Mr. Doss was ordained to the ministry in 1959 by the Unitarian Church of Rockville, MD, and served there four years until a call to the First Unitarian Society of Wilmington, DE, in 1963, where his pastorate lasted for nearly 31 years. In 1994 the congregation named him Minister Emeritus.

The Reverend Dr. Doss gave long and varied service to the wider UU movement, to his ministerial colleagues, and to local communities. He was chair of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and president of the UUMA, served on the boards of Beacon Press and the St. Lawrence Foundation, on the UUA Panel on Theological Education, and on the UUA RE Accreditation Committee. Beyond UU institutions, he was a member of the NAACP; board member of Planned Parenthood; and a board member of the ACLU.

Bob had many talents — singing, drawing designs and caricatures, and writing children’s stories to accompany his sermons. His love of nature as a “naturalistic humanist” led to camping summers in Maine where he hiked, canoed, and carved walking sticks.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Margaret W. Doss, a daughter; a son; and five grandchildren. Condolences may be sent to Peggy Doss at 112 Wynwood Drive, Wilmington, DE 19810-4428.