Lawrence Mayher, 91, Was Pianist, Active Volunteer

Lawrence (Linnie) Mayher died peacefully at Martha's Vineyard Hospital on Sunday, May 15, with her family by her side. She had been lovingly cared for at the Henrietta Brewer House since the fall of 2001.

Lawrence Dunham Mayher was born Matilda Lawrence Dunham on July 27, 1913, in Elk Ridge, Md., daughter of Katharine Davis Dunham and Francis Herbert Dunham. Her family called her Lawncie, and she was Linnie to many of her friends. Her name provided further entertainment when she married Laurence Mayher.

The Dunham family moved to Sewickley, Pa., where Linnie attended the Sewickley Academy. She spent her senior year at the Low Heywood School back in Baltimore, Md., where she became lifelong friends with Harriet Franklin Boyd, who later also developed a Vineyard connection. Linnie went on to nursing school at Johns Hopkins University, at the same time studying piano at the Peabody School of Music. After graduation she worked as a visiting nurse in New York's inner city.

It was love at first sight for Linnie and Laurie Mayher. They married in 1947 and Linnie moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to join Laurie and his four children: Phil, 6; Margie, 8; Ellie, 10, and Molly, 12. Within four years the family grew even more active with the births of Katie and Gretchen. Linnie was on her way to becoming the most popular mom in the neighborhood.

Over the years Linnie took on many challenges, including as an officer of the Consumers League of Ohio, working to improve the living conditions of migrant workers. She was active in St. Paul's Church, and when Martin Luther King Jr. came to speak she proudly was the first to greet him there. She also took her skills and compassion into Cleveland's inner city classrooms, reading, playing and singing with the students.

One of Linnie's lifelong passions was playing the piano. She took lessons from the acclaimed Russian duo pianist Vitya Vronsky Babin and also supported young students at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where husband Laurie served as a trustee.

After Laurie's death in 1986, Linnie moved to Martha's Vineyard where she quickly became active as a volunteer at the Community Solar Greenhouse, on the board of Family Planning, at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital (making patients' beds with her friend and sidekick Ruth Schaffner), and at the Vineyard Haven Public Library (shelving books with her friend Yvonne LaBrecque). As an avid reader, she sometimes was tempted to check out an armful of the books she was supposed to be shelving. Linnie enjoyed playing four-hand piano with her friend Florence Flanders and having entertaining dates with friends Selma and Rea Frank and Louise Gurren. Linnie was a member of Grace Church when she first came to the Vineyard, and later joined the Unitarian Universalist Society.

Linnie took delight in attending her grandchildren's academic, theatrical and athletic events. She also loved to travel, including on journeys with family to Boston, Vermont, Hilton Head, S.C., Sarasota, Fla., and Italy.

Linnie is survived by her sister, Mary Graham of Hilton Head, S.C.; her daughters, Molly Mayher of Waialua, Hawaii, Eleanor Hackett of Cambridge, Margaret Ramsdell of Craftsbury Common, Vt., Katharine Kane of Vineyard Haven, and Gretchen Mayher of Oak Bluffs; her son, Philip Mayher, and his wife, Carolyn, of Norwich, N.Y.; 13 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; two nieces; three nephews, and many grandnieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, June 8, at 1:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society on Main street in Vineyard Haven.

Donations in Linnie's memory may be made to the Visiting Nurse Service of Martha's Vineyard Community Services, P.O. Box 369, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, the Martha's Vineyard Boys' and Girls' Club, P.O. Box 654, Edgartown, MA 02539 or Family Planning of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 909, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home.