Category: Obituary: W

The Rev. Arnold Farrow Westwood, 88, of Windsor, MA, died August 16, 2009 from injuries sustained in a fall. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and Tufts, Arnold served churches in IL, CT and OH. In Cleveland he worked with colleagues to ease racial tensions of the late 1960’s. Arnold vigorously opposed the Vietnam War and served as a clergy abortion counselor. After his retirement in 1984, Arnold and his wife, Carolyn, operated a small B & B in their Berkshire (MA) farm home. They made maple syrup and blueberry pancakes for family and visitors. And he continued his long, active association with Rowe Camp & Conference Center. His daughter recalls Arnold reading Charlotte’s Web to his own children, to grandchildren and school children. A very social person, his favorite church auction donation was hosting dinner parties. He relished desserts — especially chocolate — and made peach ice cream the week before he died. And he was a fine carpenter. Survivors include his children John, Hal and Jefferson Westwood, Phoebe Bushway; seven grandchildren and his dear friend of recent years, Mary Hale.

Rollene Sumner Wells died peacefully at her home in Richmond, Virginia on November 28, 2016.

Rollene Sumner Wells was the second daughter of George and Stella Sumner. Raised during the Depression in Georgia (where her kinfolk had lived for generations), she learned progressive values from her hard-working parents who supported FDR and the New Deal. She was a popular girl in school who loved to dance and have fun. She also valued education and was the first in her family to go to a four-year college, graduating in 1949 from Georgia State College for Women.

In 1948 she met the love of her life, John M. Wells, who swept her off her feet and married her on June 19, 1949. They began a rich life that included a stint in the Air Force, when John served in the Judge Advocate Corps (JAG) in Morocco, which was a life-changing event for both of them. Upon their return to the states, they found themselves unable to live in the segregated Deep South any more and so made their home in Northern Virginia.

It was there they found the most important institution of their lives, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and they joined the Unitarian congregation in Arlington, VA in 1957. When John decided to become a minister, Rollene bravely adjusted not only to accompanying him (with four daughters) to seminary in upstate Canton, NY, but also to being a minister’s spouse. She became a leader in the church in her own right, serving on the board of the UU Women’s Federation and supporting many liberal causes throughout her long life.

Rollene was an excellent teacher and after giving birth to her daughters she returned to education as a high school teacher both near Canton and then in a long stint with foreign students in Fairfax County, VA. She loved that work and taught many non-English speakers to appreciate English poetry, drama and literature.

She was also an excellent musician who played piano and sang, but preferred to dance and listen, particularly to great jazz and classical pianists. She seldom went more than an hour without humming or singing some catchy tune and taught her children and grandchildren to love music. And she was a big lover of animals, particularly dogs and, in her later years, cats. Her longhaired tuxedo JJ will miss her terribly.

After John’s death in 1988, Rollene went through a difficult period that ultimately led her, at age 70, to find community with the Friends of Bill. Sobriety was a great blessing and she was an active inspiration to others who struggled to get sober later in life. As one family member put it, “Rollene was always kind and good but when she got sober she became wise.” Her gracious and friendly presence enriched so many others, including family, friends, the AA community and her congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond.

Rollene and John had four daughters together, Karen (husband David Weissbard and daughter Hilary); Brooksie (son John and daughter Julie Bridstrup); Mary (husband David Markham and step-daughter Nicole Poegl); and Barbara (husband Jaco ten Hove). Rollene was extraordinarily proud of all of them and especially enjoyed her last years living in Mary’s home.

Exactly one year before her death, Rollene made a commitment to share her life with beloved companion Wayne Moyer, who was also an active Unitarian Universalist. Their shared faith was a comfort to them both.

Rollene kept on dancing even into her final weeks, and died at home of heart disease surrounded by love. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

A memorial service to celebrate her life and mourn her death took place on Friday, Dec. 30, at the UU Church of Richmond, VA (1000 Blanton Ave, Richmond VA 23221). Donations may be sent to The First UU Church of Richmond.

Notes of condolence may be sent to: Wayne Moyer P.O. Box 579, Norge, VA 23127; Karen Wells, 169 Sykes, Canton, NY 13617; Brooksie Wells, 270 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, VA 20186; Mary Wells, 240 Avebury Dr., North Chesterfield, VA 23236; or Barbara W. ten Hove, 654 Madison Ave. N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

The Reverend Robert “Robbie” Walsh, parish minister, skilled banjoist, and dedicated volunteer to the UU movement, died on 19 June 2016, aged 79. 

A folk musician all his life, Robbie loved playing the banjo and the guitar at the monthly Ceilidh he led at Old Ship Church (Hingham, MA). He was the author of two well-received books of essays, poems, meditations, and prayers: Noisy Stones and Stone Blessings. 

Robbie served on the UUA Board of Trustees while still a layperson and then on many UU committees and boards throughout his professional ministry. Of this service, the Rev’d Kenneth Read-Brown wrote that he “didn’t simply warm a seat at the table. Robbie actively did his part . . . to further the institutional strength of Unitarian Universalism.”

Robert Rea Walsh was born on 2 March 1937 to Adeline Rea Walsh and Francis Thomas Walsh. He grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, and was the first in his father’s family to go to college. He received a B.S. from MIT in 1958 and worked for his father’s company until the call to ministry led him to Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Divinity degree in 1980. Ordained that year by his home church, the Holston Valley Unitarian Church of Kingsport, Robbie was soon called to the Unitarian Church of Duxbury (MA), where he spent his entire parish career, retiring after 22 years and named Minister Emeritus in 2003. 

Robbie is survived by his spouse, “Kitty,” children Elizabeth Walsh, David Walsh and Nathaniel Walsh, two stepchildren, six grandchildren, and also by his former spouse, Reed Walsh. 

Donations are encouraged to the UU Service Committee or to the UUA Living Tradition Fund. Notes of condolence may be sent to his widow Kathleen Ladd Ward, 121 Downer Avenue, Hingham, MA 02043 and/or his daughter, Beth Walsh, 14 Bertwell Road, Lexington, MA 02420.

The Reverend Kenneth Warren, parish minister and civil rights champion, died on 16 April 2016, aged 93.

Kenneth Roland Warren was born on 21 January 1923 in Oklahoma City to Chester Llewellyn and Marguerite (Packham) Warren. After service in the Merchant Marine (1942-45), he earned a B.A. from Oklahoma City University in 1949, an S.T.B. from Harvard in 1952, and a D.D. from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1979.

Kenneth was ordained in 1952 by the First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City and then called to the Unitarian Church of Barnstable (MA) in 1953, where he served for 38 years and was named Minister Emeritus on retirement in 1991. He went on to interim ministries in Canton, Sharon, Dorchester, Hanover, and Norwell (Assinippi Universalist Church), where in 2001 he was also named Minister Emeritus.

Mary-Elizabeth Brague writes that her father “was a model for us all in standing up for what he believed in, even if his beliefs were unpopular. He expressed his thoughts respectfully and worked to achieve harmony and understanding . . . . He was unfailingly modest, turning the conversation to others, instead of himself. Even at the end of his life . . . he was described by his caregivers as ‘always a gentleman.’”

Kenneth is survived by daughter Mary-Elizabeth Brague and two grandchildren. His beloved spouse of 53 years, Claire (Loring) Warren, died in 2006.

Donations are encouraged to the Social Justice Committee at the Unitarian Church of Barnstable, P.O. Box 285, 3330 Main Street, Barnstable, MA. Condolences may be sent to Mary-Elizabeth Brague, 31 Kerry Drive, Mansfield, MA 02048.

The Reverend Dr. Farley Wheelwright, legendary social activist, colorful and passionate debater at UUA General Assemblies, and dedicated parish minister, died on 27 February 2016, aged 99.

Mr. Wheelwright fought devotedly against racial injustice, repeatedly traveling to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in the 1960s, registering voters, becoming more politically radical, and being incarcerated more than once. For all his notoriety as a social activist, however, Farley treasured his career as a pastoral minister above all else. “When I think of an afternoon spent supporting a grieving mother because of the crib death of her two-month old baby, my

participation in the social activist movement seems almost inconsequential,” he said. “It is the most exalted job I can possibly conceive of for myself and my talents.”

Farley Wilder Wheelwright was born on 5 December 1916 to a four-generation Unitarian family. He earned a B.A. from St. Lawrence University in 1957, an M.Div. from Hartford Seminary Foundation in 1961, and a D.Min. from Andover-Newton in 1977.

Mr. Wheelwright was ordained to the ministry in 1961 by the North Greenwich (Conn.) Congregational Church. He was called to the UU Church of Central Nassau (NY) in 1962 and went on to serve at the Unitarian Society of Cleveland, Ohio (1968-72), the First Unitarian Church of New Bedford, Mass (1974-80), and the UU Society of Sepulveda (Los Angeles), 1981-85, being named Minister Emeritus at Sepulveda upon his retirement, after which he served interim ministries in Australia, Boston, and Attleboro.

In Cleveland, the Rev. Mr. Wheelwright founded the Clergy Counseling Center on Abortion, supported by local UU and other liberal clergy, each voluntarily putting themselves in jeopardy of arrest. Hundreds of young and middle-aged women were sent as far away as London for safe abortions. The group made national news when Farley’s photo in clerical robes made banner headlines reading, “He leads young girls to abortion.”

Farley and his wife Virginia moved to San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) in 1993. Both were active in the Mexican community and in the local UU Fellowship of expats. Farley (along with Virginia, posthumously) was given UURMaPA’s “Creative Sage-ing” award in 2014.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Escuela de Educacion Especial and/or to Jovenes Adelante. Condolences may be sent to his daughter, Delia Moon, at 303 Mesa Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93109.

Ann Warren Wheat, 80, wife of the Rev. Donald H. Wheat, died Sept. 14, 2015 in South Haven, MI. Born on Jan. 31, 1935 in Leipsic, OH, she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Theo Warren. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1957, the same year she married Don Wheat. They lived in Rensselaer, IN, and then for more than 50 years in the communities of Austin and Oak Park, IL.

Ann studied at the American Conservatory of Music and taught piano to Oak Parkers for 40 years. She was also a longtime community volunteer with the League of Women Voters, the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association, and Chicago’s Third Unitarian Church.

She formerly lived in Oak Park and Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and more recently South Haven, MI.  She retired to South Haven in 2013 and most recently volunteered with the American Association of University Women and the South Haven Performance Series. She loved swimming, birds, the outdoors, and sharing her love of nature with her many friends, her children, and her grandsons.

“Ann was a role model for love of family, friends, children, adults, and humanity in general, and also for grace in aging and dying,” said fellow piano teacher Betsy Davis. “She will be both missed and celebrated.”

Ann Wheat is survived by her husband, Don; her children, Mark (Montse), Andrew (Julia) and Sarah (Tim); her grandsons, Micah, Emerson, Nicholas, Foster and Cormac; and her siblings, Kathy and Bill.

A memorial service was held at Third Unitarian Church in Chicago on Sept. 19. Long-time family friends, the Rev. Fred Muir of Annapolis and the Rev. Kent Matthies of Philadelphia officiated.

The service included a Schubert Impromptu, a Chopin Etude, a selection from Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” and the hymns “All Creatures Great and Small,” and “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.”

Donations may be made in Ann’s memory to the Sarett Nature Center, www.sarett.com or Alliance for the Great Lakes, www.greatlakes.org, or to PING to promote Oak Park music education, www.sites.google.com/site/pingoprf.

Arrangements were handled by Filibrandt Family Funeral Home at 269-637-0333 and www.filbrandtffh.com.

Condolences may be sent to Don Wheat, 77338 Pinewood Ln., South Haven, MI 29090.

The Rev. Ted Webb, parish minister, Universalist scholar, and lifelong activist for civil rights, economic justice, and abolition of nuclear weapons, died on October 6, 2014, aged 96.

Already in his younger years, Mr. Webb actively promoted and worked for peace, justice, and public education. During a student pastorate in the little town of Sherman Mills, he organized a committee to establish a community library and “worked tirelessly on this project” throughout the remainder of his brief time there, though the vision took another fifteen years to be realized. In the 1950s he and his wife Marguerite provided sanctuary in their home to demonstrators opposing United States nuclear arms in the cold war with the Soviet Union. He spoke out against the Korean War and later counseled young men on avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. In 1965 he traveled to Selma, Alabama, for the interfaith peace and voting rights witness that followed the infamous “Bloody Sunday” massacre. With others he went back for a month that summer to sustain an ongoing UU presence in Selma, writing that he returned north from this experience a more “confirmed progressive and committed Democratic Socialist.” In later years, during his ministry in Sacramento, Mr. Webb hosted a peace fair that drew Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, served as president and board member of the local chapter of United Nations Association, and in 1988 received a distinguished life achievement award from California State University, Sacramento. He was still protesting at age 85 when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.

Theodore Albert Webb was born in Bangor, Maine, on 23 August 1918 to Harold and Annie Cushman Webb, but spent much of his teen years in Norway, Maine, where he contributed to family support by working in a shoe factory, rather quickly concluding that the industrial arts were not what he was cut out for. In the fall of 1938, at age twenty, he enrolled for concurrent college and ministerial studies in a program offered jointly by Bangor Theological Seminary and the University of Maine. While there he served successive student ministries in nearby towns: at the Union Congregational Church in Ellsworth Falls (1940-41), the Universalist Church of Old Town (1942-43), and the Washburn Memorial Church (Congregational, now UCC) in Sherman Mills (1943-44). Ted sang in the seminary chorus and discovered a soulmate in its pianist, Marguerite Elfreida [sic] Wilson, from nearby Calais, to whom he was married in 1943. He finished course work for his B.D. at Bangor in 1943, but the degree was contingent on completion of his baccalaureate studies. Mr. Webb moved to a pastorate at the First Universalist Church of Stafford, Conn (1944-47) and was ordained there on 22 January 1946. Meanwhile, with transfer of his undergraduate credits to the University of Connecticut, he earned a B.A. in history and government in 1948, at which time his B.D. was finally awarded.

The Rev. Mr. Webb continued in parish ministry at the First Universalist Church of Dexter (1947-51), the First Universalist (now UU) Church of Canton, New York (1951-56), and the Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill, Mass (1957-62). An eight-year stint as the first Executive Director of the Massachusetts Bay District of the UUA (1962-70) then intervened before he resumed parish ministry with a call to the UU Society of Sacramento, California, in 1971, where he remained until 1983 and was named Minister Emeritus in 1985. Beginning in 1984 Mr. Webb took up a series of interim ministries in Iowa City, Baltimore, Minneapolis (First Universalist), and Atlanta (Northwest) before his final retirement in 1990.

Ted Webb was committed to the wider UU movement and its public presence in a number of roles. He served many years on the UUA Program Committee and as President and Board Member of the Pacific Central District of the UUA. In conjunction with his ministry in Stafford, he founded and edited a short-lived journal, The Connecticut Universalist, an “official organ” for the Connecticut Universalist Convention. While serving the UU society in Sacramento, he spearheaded a program of lectures—The Forum—by local intellectuals, government officials, and religious leaders.

Ted Webb spent much of his free time researching the lives of the prominent and politically active (and mostly Universalist) Washburn family, especially Israel Washburn and his seven sons, who numbered among themselves, in the 19th century, two state governors, two U.S. senators, four congressmen, a Civil War general, an envoy to Paraguay, and an ambassador to France. He was invited to speak about this research at the UUA General Assembly in 1984 and published a preliminary sketch of it in Men of Mark: The Washburn Brothers of Maine (Boston: UU Historical Society, 1985). After retiring, the Rev. Mr. Webb collected this research more fully in two further books: Seven Sons: Millionaires and Vagabonds (Trafford Publishing, 1999) and Impassioned Brothers: Ministers Resident to France and Paraguay (University Press of America, 2002).

Ted was a world traveler, and shared this interest with his daughter, Christine. He was also an avid reader and a great communicator. He enjoyed conversing about politics and current events, and he hosted a series of such conversations in his living room. Because of the group’s growing size, it was moved to the UU Society of Sacramento, and much to his embarrassment was lovingly dubbed “Ted’s Web.”

Of her father, daughter Christine Webb-Curtis remembers: “He walked the talk. But he rarely expressed his own personal humanist convictions from the pulpit. He never wanted to impose himself on others in terms of their spiritual beliefs.

Marguerite, Ted’s wife of sixty-two years, died in 2005. Ted Webb is survived by daughters Bobbie Webb and Christine Webb-Curtis, sons Theodore Ford Webb and Noel Webb, grandchildren Rob Gilbert, Renee Cahill, Randy Gilbert, Seth Forester, Patrick Curtis, Sam Curtis, Justin Codinha, Tucker Ford Webb, Parker Ford Webb, Jessica Webb, and Alexandra Webb, six great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild, Penelope, born on Ted’s 96th birthday.

A memorial service was held 13 December 2014 by the UU Society of Sacramento. Memorial donations are encouraged to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd, Sacramento, California 95825. Notes of condolence may be sent to: The Family of Ted Webb, 1137 Amberwood Road, Sacramento, Calif. 95864.

The Reverend Jim Wentz died in Freeport, Long Island, on August 5, 2014, aged 79.

Jim was a philosopher, thought-leader, and writer. His strong qualities of patience, kindness, and understanding were seen when teaching the basics of power tools, beginner’s chess, and life lessons such as, “Do the best you can.

James R. Wentz was born on August 17, 1934 to Orville and Louise Wentz. He earned a B.A. from Indiana Central University in 1961 and a B.D. from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1966. Mr. Wentz was ordained to the ministry in 1966 by the All Souls Unitarian Church of Indianapolis, IN. He then served the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, NY (1966-1976), and the South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Freeport, NY (1976-1980).

Jim earned a M.S. at the University of Bridgeport in 1981 and launched a specialized career in conducting weddings. He became popularly known as “Rev. I Do,” performing weddings for over three decades. The Reverend Mr. Wentz was active within the denomination and with the UUMA in many roles. Even after his retirement from parish ministry, he was an active member of the New York Metro District of the UUMA.

He is remembered as never being without a new joke at ministers’ gatherings.

Jim Wentz is survived by his daughter Lisa Medley, son Nicholas Went, and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held on November 1, 2014 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset, NY 11030. Messages of condolence may be sent to Lisa Medley.

William “Billy” West, 89, of Atlanta, who died on December 20, 2011. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, the Rev. Frances McQuarie West. He is survived by his daughters, Jean Alhadeff of Atlanta, Nina West (Steve Addison) of Atlanta, and Aran West of Syracuse, New York; son, Todd West (Rebecca) of Florence, Alabama, and 6 grandchildren. Billy was born and raised in McCurtain, Oklahoma. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force 1943-1945, earned a BS degree from the University of Oklahoma and served in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Public Health Service. He earned his MA/Mycology from Vanderbilt University, and worked as Research Mycologist for CDC, U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta until 1956. He was a microbiologist for CDC in Atlanta from 1961 to 1972, earning his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma in 1962 retiring in 1972. He and his wife then attended Georgia State University earning masters degrees in Community Counseling. Bill and his family were long time members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1911 Cliff Valley Way NE, Atlanta, Ga. 30329. Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to the William Joseph West Endowment fund, c/o: Eastern Oklahoma State Foundation, 1301 W. Main, Wilburton, Oklahoma 74578 or to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1911 Cliff Valley Way NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.