As we start a new year, we look back with fond remembrance of those Harvard residents, friends, and relatives to whom we said goodbye in 2023. Each in their own way helped weave the tapestry of life here by being a good neighbor, by volunteerism, or by holding a special place in someone’s heart.
Jean Chilton McCrosky
Activist and teacher, loved writing, art, and the outdoors; died Jan. 11, 2022
Steven B. Franzeim
Cribbage player, sports fan, youth soccer coach, engineer; died Jan. 14, 2023
Margaret Helen (McQuary) MacLaughlin
Mother of resident, devoted to family, loved traveling; died Jan. 27, 2023
Laurence R. Gates
Former resident, insurance underwriting expert, beekeeper; died Feb. 8, 2023
Edward Bertram Brown
Father of resident, physician, world traveler; died Feb. 15, 2023
William Niceley McCurdy
High-performance engine specialist, active in motor sport community; died Feb. 18, 2023
Lois Gilmore
Centenarian, Fruitlands interpreter, active in community; died Feb. 27, 2023
Nancy Ruth Gasser
Dedicated nurse, longtime resident, active in church and community; died March 2, 2023
Elizabeth M. Stone
Former town accountant, longtime ambulance squad member; died March 15, 2023
Franklyn Walfrid Carlson
Visionary orchardist, advocate for local farmers, lifelong resident; died March 31, 2023
Christine “Cissy” White
Passionate advocate for trauma survivors, author, devoted mother; died April 2, 2023
Otto T. Solbrig
Renowned biologist, prolific author and editor, researcher; died April 7, 2023
Patricia A. Sciple
Dedicated teacher, gracious hostess, active in church and community; died April 18, 2023
Lorraine Emma Packard
Raytheon data librarian, prolific gardener; died May 19, 2023
Richard D. Thornton
Father of resident, entrepreneurial engineer, lover of the outdoors; died May 16, 2023
Norman Atwood Jr.
Avid reader, jazz lover, golfer, advocate for social justice; died May 26, 2023
Kenneth Robert Jennings
Former resident, Harvard business owner, active in veterans groups; died May 25, 2023
Judith Mann Lorimer
HES teacher, co-founder of Build a School in Africa, equestrian, dancer; died June 16, 2023
Edward Conrad Reifenstein III
Software engineer, avid canoeist and backpacker, jazz musician; died June 22, 2023
George T. Mustakas II
Prominent attorney, military veteran, avid fisherman and sailor; died June 23, 2023
Gerald Lee Foster
Architect, artist, father of Harvard resident; died June 25, 2023
Ronald Marvin Ansin
Distinguished businessman, philanthropist, passionate activist; died June 28, 2023
Marie A. Davis
Teacher; devoted caretaker to family, friends, and neighbors; died June 29, 2023
Frederick B. Hatch
Harvard business owner, avid fisherman, boating enthusiast; died June 29, 2023
James Bruce Adelson
Resident, avid hiker, cyclist devoted to Pan-Mass Challenge; died June 30, 2023
Bruce E. Nickerson
Former resident, community volunteer, world traveler; died July 4, 2023
Hugh A. Stoddart
Physicist, adventurer, grounded in the beauty of nature; died July 6, 2023
Karin Leigh Orr
Lifelong athlete, manager at Department of Mental Health, animal advocate; died July 29, 2023
Elizabeth Lee Warren
Former resident, dedicated to social service, family matriarch; died Aug. 7, 2023
George McQuilken
Technology innovator and entrepreneur, father of Harvard resident; died Aug. 9, 2023
William E. Feltus
Longtime resident, automotive mechanic, snowmobiler; died Aug. 13, 2023
Janet Cartier Gilfix
Relocation specialist, volunteer fundraiser, grief counselor; died Aug. 17, 2023
David Ratay
Community volunteer, wide-ranging traveler, former resident; died Sept. 1, 2023
Benjamin Robert Foster
Longtime resident of Shaker Village, business and finance consultant; died Sept. 4, 2023
David H. Smith
Resident, career military officer, father of Press co-owner; died Sept. 5, 2023
Lois Dehls Alenson
Music lover, gardener, mother of Harvard resident; Sept. 6, 2023
Charles Lewis Sawyer
Longtime resident, community volunteer, youth athletic coach; Sept. 24, 2023
Mona Marie MacDonald
Dedicated nurse, creative homemaker, nurtured generations of children; died Oct. 12, 2023
Louis S. Skinner
Former resident, Harvard Ambulance Service volunteer; died Oct. 16, 2023
Deborah H. Thomson
Elder law attorney, advocate for elderly and disabled, COA board member; died Oct. 19, 2023
David Gilbert West
Former longtime resident, electrical engineer; died Oct. 27, 2023
Amy Lynn Morrison
Creative production designer in film industry, lover of nature; died Oct. 31, 2023
Gael Grant
Mother of Harvard resident, master gardener; died Nov. 4, 2023
Arthur M. Clark
Father of resident, exhibit and museum designer; died Nov. 9, 2023
John K. Snyder
Award-winning chemistry professor, marathoner, biked cross-country; died Nov. 13, 2023
Gordon Seale Gibson
Sportsman, Bromfield track coach, designed and built passive solar home; died Nov. 16, 2023
Regina Michelle Baker
Taught Spanish in Global Child program, devoted to family and friends; died Nov. 22, 2023
Stephen Matson
Inventor, avid traveler, co-founder of Sepracor; died Nov. 26, 2023
Dawn French
Longtime resident, Hildreth Elementary School nurse; died Dec. 13, 2023
Sally Thompson Steele
Former resident, founder of textbook production firm, accomplished artist; died Dec. 22, 2023
Margaret Forster Snyder
Fiber artist, cookbook collector, gardener; died Dec. 25, 2023
Eleanor Jones Lawes
Mother of Harvard resident, golf enthusiast, skilled arts-and-crafter; died Dec. 28, 2023
William F. Strzemplo
Small business owner, vegetable gardener, doting grandfather; died Dec. 30, 2023