SUSAN M. PALMATIER
Susan M. Palmatier, 70, passed away Tuesday April 21, 2015 at Country Village Genesis Health Center in Lancaster, NH after several years of declining health.
Born August 28, 1944 in Nyack, NY to John L. and Ester (White) Palmatier, Sue had a long connection to NH through her maternal family’s cottage at the Rumney Bible Conference.
A 1966 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Sue completed graduate school with a Master’s degree in Library Science from Case Western Reserve University.
Sue was a librarian for the US Federal Reserve Library in New York City. In 1975, she began 33 years of work for the NH State Library as a public library consultant working in Library Development first in the Keene & Concord offices, and from 1983-2008 in the North Country Office. From 2001 until her 2008 retirement Sue served as Supervisor of Library Development. She was also a partner in Upcountry Consultants, a library planning business.
An expert in library space planning & strategic planning for libraries, Sue taught classes in all aspects of librarianship, training many North Country librarians. The SUE PALMATIER AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SUPPORT BY A “FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY” GROUP is presented annually by the NH Library Trustees Association in honor of Sue’s many years of work helping local libraries to organize “Friends.” She was also noted for her collection of Library tote bags!
Sue was a musician who served as organist for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Twin Mountain & the Community Baptist Church of Whitefield until physical disabilities limited her playing.
An early adopter of online communications, Sue became active in fan fiction boards and for several years traveled with friends to attend Science Fiction and Media Conventions in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. A devoted friend of animals, she leaves three feline companions: Pericles, Lancelot, and Guinevere.
Sue was predeceased by her parents and by longtime friend and housemate John Wright. She is survived by friends and cousins Charlene Niland of Cresskill, NJ; Doris Dayton of Jefferson, GA; Wendy Watanabe of Honolulu, Hawaii; Gary Palmatier of Bend, OR; Candace Glickel of Congers, NY; Jay Palmatier of Missoula, MT; Todd Palmatier of Sandwich, MA; and Jane, Ryan, Kyle, & Lianne Palmatier of Manassas, VA.
DR. LOUISE B.MILLER
Dr. Louise B. Miller of Tewksbury Township, N.J., died peacefully at home on February 20, 2015 after a long and courageous struggle with frontotemporal dementia and cancer.
A memorial service celebrating her life of love and achievement will be held on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. at the Cokesbury United Methodist Church in the Cokesbury section of Tewksbury Township. A remembrance reception will follow.
Born in Kansas City, MO, to Isa D. and Edgar E. Barton, Louise grew up in Maplewood, N.J. After graduating from Mt. Holyoke College with a B.A., she married Melville D. Miller, Jr. and made her home in Cambridge, MA and Branchburg and Tewksbury, N.J. She is survived by her husband; her three children Tristan, Koren and Kendra; eight of her nine grandchildren, Tiernan and Taran Miller; Prem, Maya and Jayan Bhatt; and Ariela, Miles and Isaiah Gibson; her siblings John Barton, Anne Wittke, James Barton, Elizabeth Barton and Mary Barton Biegelsen; and by many cousins, nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, her first grandchild, Torin Miller, her brother Worth Barton, and her sister Carolyn Barton.
Louise earned a Master of Arts and PhD. from Rutgers University’s School of Communication, Information and Library Science. Her professional endeavors included serving as a librarian in Phillipsburg, N.J.; a librarian and media specialist at Clinton Township Public Schools; teaching at Rutgers and Kean Universities; consulting in test design and professional accreditation for the Educational Testing Services; and reviewing children’s literature for numerous national journals. She was an active member of the American Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, and media literacy organizations, as well as the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.
Louise’s life was one of joy and love, drawn above all for and from her children, grandchildren, spouse and family; from her idyllic rural home; and from her many avocational pursuits – travel, gardening, golf and other athletic activity, photography, and, perhaps above all others, reading books, books and more books.
Arrangements are by Scarponi – Bright Funeral Home, Lebanon, N.J. There will be a private cremation. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, theaftd.org, AFTD, Radnor Station, Bldg. 2, Suite 320, 290 King of Prussia, Radnor, PA, 19087; or Hunterdon Hospice, 2100 Wescott Drive, Flemington, NJ, 08822.
GRETCHEN HUNICKE LENGYEL April 28, 1944 – September 17, 2014
Gretchen Hunicke, was born on April 28th, 1944 and passed away on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014 at the age of 70. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Peter, daughters Monica Karlson and Cricket Lengyel, son Roger Lengyel, grandchildren Sebastian, Jasper, Hugo, Malcolm, Griffin and Ryan, brother James Hunicke and sister Deborah Manion. She co-founded The Madison Playgroup in 1981, and with great pleasure, educated more than twelve hundred two- and three-year-olds during her career. After a New England childhood she became a Manhattan dweller and an expert and lecturer on various aspects of raising and educating children in New York City. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1966 with a major in Medieval English History and Literature, and could rarely be found without at least two books-in-progress, a warm, welcoming smile, her many adored friends and/or a grandchild in tow. She exuded goodness and kindness, and as one friend amusingly wrote, was quite a “gifted people person.” She will be missed so deeply by so many. A memorial service will be held at The Church of the Heavenly Rest on Tuesday, September 30th at noon. In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for donations made in Gretchen’s memory to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
The above obituary appeared in The New York Times on 9/22/2014.