Obituaries | 1980-1989

SARAH RACHEL NAZIMOVA-BAUM, 52, an art therapist, interfaith hospital chaplain, and spiritual director, died Mar. 2, 2016. An art history major who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, she combined her interests in psychology and art by earning a master’s degree in art therapy at New York University. She practiced at North Central Bronx Hospital and at other programs in New York, often focusing on geriatric populations. She then became interested in spirituality and studied chaplaincy. She interned as an interfaith hospital chaplain before running the New York Intern Program, an AmeriCorps service program in Harlem. There she supervised and mentored recent college graduates in a program combining social services, spiritual growth, and intentional community. Following that, at the time she was diagnosed with the cancer to which she later succumbed, she was counseling people experiencing life crises for LifeNet, at the Mental Health Association of New York City. She earned a second master’s, in spiritual direction, at the General Theological Seminary, and became a spiritual director. She co-founded the Spiritual Arts Practice, in which people were invited to make art with prayer and to pray through making art. In addition to her husband, Mark Nazimova, her son survives, as do her mother, her brother, her in-laws, and a very large extended family.

NANCY MYRON CROWN, a senior vice president at Bank of America who developed affordable housing around the U.S., died June 11, 2016. She was 54. After receiving a degree from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business, she began her career in Chicago with National Westminster Bank and later at First Chicago and the City of Chicago Department of Housing before moving to Charlotte, N.C., in 1997 to work for NationsBank/Bank of America. At the Bank of American Community Development Corporation she developed affordable housing in cities around the country, and the impact on these cities will be one of her lasting legacies. She also served on multiple committees at her church and was on the boards of several community organizations. Just prior to her sudden passing, her frustration with the divisive political climate in the U.S. drove her to found, with her sisters, a grassroots effort named Bridge the Political Divide, which was meant to encourage civil political discourse and increased bipartisanship and compromise. She is survived by her very close family: two children, three sisters, four nieces and nephews, and an aunt.

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From the family: Nancy Myron Crown, the devoted and fabulous mother of Molly and Sam, died suddenly on June 11, 2016. In addition to her children, Nancy is survived by her very close family; Jane Crown of Charlotte, NC, Susan Crown and Greg Toto and their children Katherine and George of Piedmont, CA and Mary Crown and William Ellis and their children Corson and Simon of Wellesley, MA, along with her 96-year old aunt, C. Elizabeth Crown of Media, PA. Nancy and her three sisters had a profound bond, facilitated by constant group texting and frequent calls. Their deep love and support to each other and their families has helped them deal with what ever challenges came their way. Nancy was born in Evanston, IL in 1962 to Joseph and Mary Lou Crown, and reared in Poughkeepsie, NY. She graduated from Wesleyan University and Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business. She began her career in Chicago with National Westminster Bank and later at First Chicago and the City of Chicago Department of Housing before moving to Charlotte in 1997 to work for Nation’s Bank / Bank of America. Since then Nancy had her ideal job at Bank of America Community Development Corporation where she developed affordable housing in cities around the country. The impact on these communities will be one of her lasting legacies. Nancy had a fixed moral compass and a great and genuine interest in others. She was generous with her time, serving on multiple committees at her church, Holy Comforter, and on the boards of several community organizations, including the Charlotte Housing Authority. Just recently, her frustration with the divisive political climate in the country drove her to found, with her sisters, a grassroots effort to encourage civil political discourse and increased bipartisanship and compromise named Bridge the Political Divide. A voracious reader, Nancy could always be counted on for a good book recommendation. She had a wonderful sense of humor, loved Diet Coke, her dog Marty, but most of all, Nancy loved being a mom to Molly and Sam, who were, without a doubt, the greatest joy of her life. Nancy somehow helped everyone to be a better version of his or herself. Her large group of friends from the many times and aspects of her life is testament to this. Nancy was loved by many, will be missed by those who knew her well, and her passing is a great loss to those who had not yet had the privilege of knowing her. It was always a gift to be in her presence.. In lieu of flowers, please consider signing the petition at BridgeThePoliticalDivide.com. Charitable donations can be made to Loaves and Fishes, Charlotte, NC.

 

PAULA BLANK, a longtime professor of English at William & Mary College, died Aug. 21, 2016. She was 57. A professor at William & Mary since 1992, she was internationally known for her scholarship in Early Modern English. She specialized in Shakespeare, Renaissance poetry and poetics, linguistics and literature, Renaissance gender and sexuality. She was the recipient of fellowships from the National Humanities Center (two times), from the Folger Shakespeare Library (two times), and from the American Council of Learned Societies. A highly respected educator on her campus, in 2010 she received the annual Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence, and she served as the Margaret L. Hamilton Professor of English. She had also served on the Modern Language Association’s executive committee and on the advisory board for the publications of the Modern Language Association. Her child, Jae S. Aron ’11, and her former husband, Paul D. Aron ’78, survive.

Bradley James Toomey unexpectedly passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 9, 2016 at his home in Kansas City. Brad was born in Amesbury, MA on May 4, 1957 to Alice Leary Toomey and Daniel Joseph Toomey, who both preceded him in death. He was a graduate of Amesbury High School, Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River, VT and Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and studied environmental chemistry. Brad is survived by his wife of 30 years, Joan Dungey Toomey, his children, Mary Eliza Toomey and Daniel Joseph Toomey II, and his brother, Bruce Toomey, and his family in Anchorage, AK.

Brad was a talented athlete, participating in baseball, track, football, and skiing while growing up in Amesbury, often on teams that his father helped coach. Later, Brad skied, ran sprints and hurdles, and played football for Vermont Academy and then played football and pole vaulted at Wesleyan. Brad passed along his enthusiasm for sports while coaching young football players and cheering on his children on the ski hill and at all of their meets and games. The night before he passed, he was watching his son run track and could not have been happier.

Following graduation, Brad worked in the commercial insurance industry for over 30 years where he developed many professional relationships that became long-lasting friendships. He was always proud when his efforts earned the trust and commitment of his clients. Brad relished his old and new friends, never allowing the years or miles to get in the way of maintaining their friendships. This devotion was most evident in his detailed organization of the annual Vail Boys Trip attended by friends from around the country for many years. More recently, Brad nurtured a deep appreciation for music and often attended concerts of singer-songwriters whom he enjoyed.

Brad was a genuine, spirited, and compassionate man. He left us too soon, and we are enormously saddened by his loss.

A memorial service will be held at Unity Temple on the Plaza on April 18, 2016. The family will receive friends at 3 p.m. and the service will begin at 4 p.m., with a reception to follow in the Temple Room. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made in Brad’s name to the Wesleyan Memorial Fund at Wesleyan University c/o Marcy Herlihy, University Relations, 318 High St., Middletown, CT 06459 or Rockhurst High School, 9301 State Line Rd., Kansas City, MO 64114.

WARFORD, SUSAN D.G. 58, of Wakefield, beloved wife, daughter, mother, and sister passed away peacefully at her home Friday, surrounded by her family. Sue was married to Rick Warford for 33 years. Sue was born in Ft. Meade, MD, the daughter of Frank Gruskay of Connecticut and the late Bette (Gordon) Gruskay. Along with her husband and father, Sue is survived by two sons, Matthew Warford and his wife Paula of Boston, MA, and Lucas Warford of Washington, DC, her sister Nancy Gruskay of Boulder, CO and brother Jeffrey Gruskay of Branford, CT, as well as her loving nieces and nephews. Sue grew up outside New Haven, Connecticut and attended Wesleyan University. After graduating with a degree in Child Psychology, she earned her masters degree in Early Childhood Development from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Sue was passionate about nurturing young children, supporting their families, and educating future teachers. She began her career teaching at the University of Rhode Island Child Development Center (CDC) in 1987 and soon after became its director, a tenure that lasted 27 years. Under Sue’s leadership, hundreds of students and their families attended the CDC, and the school won accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, flourishing into the well-respected program that it is today. Sue also worked to better the education of young children outside of the CDC, teaching Early Childhood Education at URI and working as an education consultant for the state’s Early Learning Standards Project. Sue earned recognition for her leadership at the CDC and her role in the community. She was the URI Foundation’s Administrative Excellence Award winner in 2005, and the College of Human Science and Services Outstanding Professional Staff Award winner in 2004. In 2015, Sue was named the URI Association for Professional and Academic Women (APAW) Woman of the Year. Sue loved walking on Green Hill beach, sitting in mountain rivers, dancing to Van Morrison, and going to concerts with her husband. She was an avid reader, educator, and Sudoku-doer. Above all, Sue cared deeply for her friends and family and found the utmost joy in nurturing the people she loved. She will be greatly missed. Visiting hours will be at the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, Monday, April 25, from 4-7 pm. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 26, at 1:30pm at 230 Metaterraine Ave, South Kingstown. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Susan D.G. Warford to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via www.dana-farber.org/gift. For guest book and condolences, averystortifuneralhome.com.

Dr. David Lee Clair, 57, of the Lehigh Valley, passed away on Feb. 19, 2016. Born on Feb. 20, 1958, he was the son of Elaine (Eskin) Clair and the late Dr. Henry Clair. David was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Class of 84. He met his wife Carla in residency and they were married 26 years. David was a Urologist for 30 years and worked as a Urologic Surgeon at Lehigh Valley Hospital for 25 years. He was loved and respected by his patients and medical personnel. He was passionate about his family and snow skiing. In the summer he loved to hike with his wife and dogs. He made a positive difference the lives of those he had met on life’s journeys. His presence will be greatly missed. Survivors: A loving part of David will continue to live on in his family. He is survived by his wife, Carla Chiapella; son, Aaron Clair; mother Elaine Clair, and sister, Beth Eisenman and her husband Jesse. Services: Memorial, 3:30PM, Sunday, Feb. 28th, at Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Home, 1629 W. Hamilton St., Allentown 18102. A visitation will be held from 2 to 3:30PM in the funeral home. Shiva will be observed Monday Feb. 29th, from 4 to 8PM at the family’s home.

SONYA C. CRAMER, a singer, graphic designer, and art director, died Oct. 9, 2015. She was 50. An acclaimed singer who uniquely carried on her family’s musical heritage, as well as a graphic designer, she brought the two together in her longtime collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways Records. Her dynamic artistic life encompassed music, singing, design, collage, bookmaking, poetry, and arts and crafts. She was the daughter of John Cohen, of the folk revival music group, The New Lost City Ramblers, and Penelope Seeger, a potter whose elder siblings were folk musicians Mike, Peggy, and Pete Seeger. She was the granddaughter of seminal musicologist Charles Seeger and the avant-garde composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. She received her Wesleyan degree with honors in Art and Architecture. At Wesleyan, she explored the connections between feminist theory and art through book arts, printmaking, and collage. She began to study and perform in a range of world music styles, along with her family tradition of folk Americana. She sang South Indian music, and in 1990 she traveled to Madras, India to continue her vocal studies of Carnatic music. She met her future husband, Reid Cramer, at Wesleyan, and together they moved to New York City where she worked in film and television with Children’s Television Workshop and the Ginger Group. She also designed exhibitions for the Municipal Art Society of New York, and first began to work professionally as a graphic designer. She continued her visual and book arts education with courses at Cooper Union, the New School, and the School for Visual Arts. While in New York, she became the vocalist for a “chamber folk” music group called Last Forever. In 1997, Last Forever released a self-titled album for Nonesuch Records, followed by Trainfare Home (2000). Later albums appeared on StorySound Records, including Acres of Diamonds (2015). She sang on two records of material from the songbooks of her grandmother, Ruth Crawford Seeger: American Folksongs for Christmas (1989), and Animal Folksongs for Children (1992), both on Rounder Records. She sang with her mother, Penny, brother Rufus, uncle Mike Seeger, aunt Peggy Seeger, and her cousins, Neill MacColl, Calum MacColl, Kitty MacColl, and Kim Seeger. She designed the CD, her first of many projects packaging music, and loved singing and sharing a musical project with her mother and her extended family. As a singer and musician, she performed and recorded a range of original, folk, and world music. While in New York, she studied and performed Eastern European and Bulgarian singing as well. On the Grammy-winning Pete Seeger at 89 (2008), she sang the translated Japanese poem that Pete Seeger set to music, “When I Was Most Beautiful.” The two performed this song together in March 2007 at the Library of Congress. Besides singing with Last Forever and her family, she sang with others. In 1993, she and her husband moved to Austin, Texas, where she was a full-time graphic designer until the birth of their daughter, Dio, in January 1998. During this period, she worked with the firm GoMedia until it was bought by Excite, the search engine. Later, she worked with a series of public interest and nonprofit organizations. She collaborated with Charles Santos and Eugene Sepulveda on the Austin Festival of Dance, art-directing what was then the largest dance-related AIDS-care benefit in the country. When her husband took a job at the White House in 1998, the family moved to Takoma Park, Maryland. Their son, Gabel, was born in July 2000. She added the name Cramer to her own for professional and personal reasons and, as Sonya Cohen Cramer, became an influential designer and art director. For Smithsonian Folkways Records—a label founded by her godfather, Moe Asch—she designed over sixty CD and record packages of folk and world music, a number of which were nominated for Grammy Awards. Through Folkways, she worked with the Aga Khan Foundation, designing the Music of Central Asia series of recordings and companion book. Her design work on a series of Folkways Records was especially gratifying. As art director for The Sounding Joy: Christmas Songs In and Out of the Ruth Crawford Seeger Songbook (2013), she helped more people connect to her grandmother’s legacy. Throughout her life, she delighted in making things. Along with various arts and crafts, she designed and constructed limited edition art books that often took the form of wedding invitations and family announcements. One of her last projects was a collection of handmade scarves made by felting recycled cashmere sweaters found in thrift stores and sewn together in a style inspired by the quilts of Gee’s Bend. Sold at the 2014 Takoma Craft Show, she called the project, “What I Felt.” She loved living in Takoma Park and was an active member of the community. When her children attended the Acorn Hill Waldorf Kindergarten and Nursery—not far from the house where her mother was born—she designed the school’s community cookbook, Welcome to Our Table, and included her favorite family recipes. She was a founding member of the Takoma Mother-Daughter Book Group, a successful decade-long endeavor, and a contributor to the costume crew for the Montgomery Blair High School Players. She is survived by her partner and husband of 27 years, Reid Cramer; their two children; her father, John Cohen; her brother; and a cousin, Katherine Seeger ’77.

GEORGE H. DIXON, 55, a healthcare and financial executive, died Sept. 14, 2015. At the time of his death he was senior vice president in the commercial lending division of Boston Private, a unit of Boston Private Financial Holdings. Earlier, he worked with a venture capital firm as strategic and financial adviser, as well as with Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, Inc., CSI Solutions, Inc., and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. Among those who survive are his wife, Jane Oleski Dixon, and several nieces and nephews.

JOHN S. KOCH JR., a singer and an actor, died Jan. 30, 2015. He was 54. He volunteered at a library and on a farm. A former long-distance runner, he was also an avid sports fan. Survivors include his mother, Constance Chadwell Koch, two sisters, his brother, and four nieces.

PAUL LENKEIT, a managing director with Babson Capital, died Mar. 25, 2015. He was 55. An economics and mathematics major, he joined the Travelers Insurance Company in their accounting and actuarial department before joining the marketing department at MassMutual. In 1992 he was invited to join Babson Capital, where he was the lead portfolio manager for mortgage-backed hedge funds and oversaw trading in mortgage securities, before his most recent role as a managing director in charge of derivatives trading and insurance asset management. He also had a passion for jazz music. Survivors include his wife, Lori Cullis Lenkeit, three children, his brother, and two sisters.