|
Ellen Aikenhead Stevens
BELMONT - Ellen (Aidenhead) Stevens, a lifelong Belmont resident, died Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005, at her home surrounded by her children. She was the wife of the late Samuel A.C. Stevens, who died in 2000.
She was born on June 28, 1939, in Providence, R.I., and grew up in Belmont. She attended the Mary Lee Burbank School. After graduating from Belmont High School in 1957, Mrs. Stevens attended Mt. Holyoke College where she received a degree in sociology and anthropology. She went on to earn a master's degree in secondary education from Tufts University, and a master's degree in African studies and anthropology from Boston University. She completed the coursework for a doctorate in anthropology from Boston University. Mrs. Stevens taught anthropology at Boston University and Milton Academy before moving on to a career in fund-raising.
As a professional fund-raiser, Mrs. Stevens supported the important educational and cultural goals of many Boston-area higher education institutions, as well as the Massachusetts Historical Society. She was associate director of Leadership Gifts and senior director of Major Gifts at Boston College; a director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Parents Fund at Harvard University; director of Development and Alumnae Affairs at Radcliffe College; and director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Brandeis University. Most recently, she served as director of the first capital campaign at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Mrs. Stevens served as a Town Meeting member for over 20 years, during which time she also was on the Warrant Committee. Recognizing the need to adequately fund the Belmont schools, Mrs. Stevens co-founded the Belmont Education Foundation, and also served as vice president and president.
Working to maintain and enhance open space in Belmont, Mrs. Stevens was a member of the McLean Land Use Task Force and a founder and board member of the Belmont Land Trust. She was also active in the League of Women Voters, the Belmont Civic Association, and the Belmont Democratic Town Committee. She also served as a board member for Travelers Aid/Boston and was a member of the Patron's Gift Committee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Mrs. Stevens spent her summers in New London, N.H., along the shores of Lake Sunapee, with her family and relatives, reading, relaxing and playing tennis. She shared her fund raising experience with nearby environmental organizations, serving several terms on the board of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association and the board of the Friends of the John Hay Estate.
She was an avid and enthusiastic traveler throughout her life. She spent her junior year at college in Edinburgh, Scotland, and later lived in Kenya and Crossroads Africa, a non-profit humanitarian organization. Many family vacations took her to different parts of the United States and the Caribbean for skiing, sailing, or other activities/
Later, she and her husband traveled to Italy, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Southern Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. Following her husband's death, she continued to travel, visiting such places as London, Paris, Alaska, as well as her friends and family around the United States.
She is survived by two sons, Nathaniel Stevens of Arlington, and Tyler S.C. Stevens and his wife, Molly A.E., of Green Mountain Falls, Colo.; a daughter, Mary-Priscilla Stevens and her husband, Erik Schneiderhan, of Madison, Wis.; four grandchildren; and a sister, Jean A. Smith of Lyme, N.H.
A memorial service was held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont.
For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Stevens memory may be made to the Mass. Audubon Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773, or the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, 72 Main St., P.O. Box 683, Sunapee, NH 03782.
from obituary published in the Belmont Citizen-Herald 10/20/2005.
|
