Category: Obituary: R

Beatrice Erdine Robbins, 102, widow of the Rev. Douglas Robbins, died March 28, 2012 in Augusta, ME. She was a graduate of Gorham Teacher’s College and earned a BA in education through the University of Maine at Orono. Bea was a contributing member of the Winthrop Street Universalist Church of Augusta, which she and her husband served for 30 years. She was active in the Julia Robinson Murray Alliance and Winchester Groups at the church. She was a past president of the Augusta College Club, Kennebec Valley Church Women’s Association and the Universalist Women of Maine. She taught for 29 years in New Gloucester, Wells, Saco and Augusta. She was a mother, a pianist and a published poet. This year she was honored in a ceremony marking the City of Hanowell’s 250th anniversary by receiving the gold-headed Boston Post Cane as the city’s oldest resident. Bea’s vintage recipes will be part of the UU Community Church’s next cookbook, due out in August. Bea is survived by her daughter, Carol Robbins, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

There was a memorial service on Saturday, June 1, 2013 at the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Wilton Center in Wilton, NH.

Notes of condolence may be sent to Charles O. Richardson, III at 305 Guyette Rd., East Montpelier, VT 05651.

Wallace Reid, 81, widower of the late Rev. Lee Reid, died suddenly April 17, 2008. At the time of his death he was serving as the UURMaPA Caring Network Contact for the NY Metro/NJ Caring Region. He served in the US Navy Medical Corps in World War II, and was a research chemist for Union Carbide for 30 years. He then served as a hospital addictions counselor. With his late wife, he was a co-founder of the intentionally diverse UU Congregation of the Palisades in Englewood, NJ. Eight years after they helped to found the church, Lee was killed in a tragic accident. After her death Wally remained on as an integral part of the congregation. He is survived by their three daughters Martha, Kate and Sarah Reid.

Annette Helen Youngs Redman, 96, widow of the Rev. Edward Redman, died Sept. 17, 2012. She took an active role in the churches her husband served. She was a leader at the Lake Geneva Summer Assembly in Williams Bay, WI, for 50 years. And she was also an accomplished needlewoman and knitter.

The Rev. Hartley C. Ray, 92, died August 21, 2010. A graduate of Bates College and the University of Chicago Divinity School, he also worked on a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion, at U. of Chicago. Ordained a Congregationalist, he served Congregational church in El Paso, TX, after having been fellowshipped by the AUA. In El Paso he was a member of the executive committee of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare. He served churches in Chicago; Highland Park, IL; and Orange, NJ. He served as chaplain at Philadelphia State Hospital for 19 years and the Philadelphia Protestant Home for two years. He served non-UU churches in CT and PA, as well. Active in the Chicago and NYC ministers study and fellowship groups, he was also a member of the Community Service Council of Oranges and Maplewood, NJ, a planning body for welfare agencies and hospitals. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Kay Hartley, of 49 years, Kay Hartley, three daughters and five grandchildren.

The Rev. Dr. Peter Spilman Raible, 74, died May 17, 2004 of congestive heart failure in a hospice in Seattle, WA. He served congregations in Providence, RI; Lincoln, NE; Seattle, Tacoma and Bainbridge, WA; Tulsa, OK; and Kirkwood, MO.. He was executive director for the Pacific Northwest District and served as Interim Director of Settlement at the UUA. He is survived by his brother, the Rev. Christopher Raible of Creemore, ON; his children, the Rev. Deborah Raible of Seattle; Stephen Raible of Stanwood, WA; Robin Raible of Seattle; and Robert Raible of Danville, CA; and eight grandchildren.

Jeanne Washeim Reed, age 87, died on July 9, 2016.  Jeanne was the wife of the Reverend Robert “Bob” Reed, whom she met in high school, dated through college, and married in 1950, when they both graduated. Shortly after Bob had enrolled in graduate school, the children started coming, and a change of plans was required. They moved to Arlington VA, where he found work, and Jeanne began teaching in the local schools. She continued teaching until she retired.

In Arlington, they found the Unitarian Church and became members. They served in the church school and soon Bob felt a call to ministry. He enrolled at Meadville Lombard and they moved to Park Forest, IL. After his graduation they returned to Arlington for a year, then served in Bloomington, IL for 8 years, Louisville, KY for 17 years, and Shelter Rock for 9 years. They returned to Louisville when they retired in 1994.

Jeanne was very busy most of her life, taking the bigger share of family and household duties while continuing her work in the schools. She kept the home running by being well organized and maintaining strict standards. Her career unfolded into working at a modified residency school for children with behavioral issues. She also remained engaged with the church, singing in the choir and becoming renowned for the biscotti she made and the cookies she baked each Christmas.

Aside from her work and church, Jeanne loved her summers in Wisconsin, where she would read voraciously. She enjoyed the local sports teams and the orchestra, and always had houseplants to attend to. She made friends wherever they lived, both within and outside the congregations they served.

Although she suffered from a cognitive decline in the last few years of her life, she is remembered as an amazingly capable woman who juggled career and family in a time before such a thing was common. She was survived by her husband of 66 years, Robert Reed (now deceased); four sons, Robert (Sherrille), Doug (Lynn), Jeff (Nancy) and David (Kathleen) Reed and seven grandchildren.

The Rev. Earle R. Ramsdell, American Baptist minister, pastoral counselor, and beloved colleague in the Southwest District, died at home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on April 23, 2016.

Earle Ramsdell was born May 27, 1921 in Somerville MA, to Lloyd and Anna (McDonald) Ramsdell. He graduated from Boston University with a BS in Education in 1944, then obtained a Master of Divinity at Andover Newton Theological School in 1946 and a second masters degree in counseling in 1972 from the University of North Texas.

He served two American Baptist pastorates between 1946 and 1953. He then served as the Associate Director of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches from 1953 to 1959, where, as the Director of Radio and Television, he produced and participated in religious programming. In 1959 he became the Executive Director of the Greater Flint (Michigan) Council of Churches, where he served as co-chair of the successful effort to pass an open housing ordinance, with Flint becoming the first city in the nation to enact such an ordinance by public vote. He was also instrumental in the creation of that city’s Human Relations Commission.

In 1973 he joined the staff of the Pastoral Counseling Center in Dallas TX, retiring in 1995 after twenty years as Director of Education and Training.

In retirement, he served as the volunteer Director of Pastoral Care at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, having moved to Louisiana in 1995 with his wife Penny as she joined the faculty of the LSU School of Social Work.

He is survived by his wife Penny Smith Ramsdell; two daughters, two grandsons, and two great-grandsons.

The Reverend Paul Ratzlaff, beloved parish minister and activist for justice, died on 28 February 2016, aged 70.

Paul Wilmer Ratzlaff was born to Leslie and Nina Ratzlaff in Kingston, Jamaica, on 24 July 1945. He earned a B.A. from Warner Pacific College in 1966, an M.A. from Colgate University in 1968, and a Certificate from the Stevens Gesner Project to Train Men and Women for the Unitarian Universalist Ministry in 1973.

Paul was ordained by the Unitarian Society of New Brunswick, NJ, in 1974, and served there for the next six years. In 1980 he was called to the Morristown (NJ) Unitarian Fellowship, where he served for over twenty years until 2002. After a year of interim ministry with the South Nassau UU Congregation of Freeport, NY, he was subsequently called to the UU Fellowship of Huntington, NY, where he was settled for eight years until his retirement in 2012. During these ministries, Paul was a steady presence in service to the UUA, UUMA, and many local community groups.

Of her father, Hannah Ratzlaff writes: “He dedicated his life to social justice and caring for others. He . . . truly taught me the value of hard work and commitment. He had an amazing balance of kindness, wit, and empathy that allowed him to see many sides of an issue, often acting as the voice of reason for me.”

Paul is survived by his spouse Barbara, brother Dale, children Hannah and Ian, and other beloved family and friends.