Grace Willoughby, 95, Was a Retired Teacher
Grace Willoughby, 95, of Fairhaven, formerly of Edgartown, died on
April 2 at the Alden Court Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in
Fairhaven.
Born in Everett, a daughter of the late Walter I. Willoughby and the
late Grace Newhall Willoughby, she had been a resident of Fairhaven for
many years. Miss Willoughby taught at the Edgartown Elementary School
for 20 years. She also taught in the Fairhaven Elementary School for 20
years after moving to that city in the late 1940s.
From her birth until 1924, she spent her summers at the family home
at Green Hollow in Edgartown. In 1924, the family moved permanently to
Edgartown and Miss Willoughby was graduated from Edgartown High School
in 1925. She received her teaching degree from Hyannis Normal School in
1927 and began her teaching career.
For many summers, she was a ticket collector at the Edgartown
Bathing Beach, the predecessor of the Chappaquiddick Beach Club. She was
active in the Edgartown United Methodist Church for many years and a
devoted member of the Centre United Methodist Church in Fairhaven after
settling there.
Miss Willoughby served on the board of directors of the Visiting
Nurse Association in Fairhaven, was a member of the Massachusetts
Teachers Association and an honorary member of the Fairhaven Colonial
Club.
She is survived by two nephews, David E. Willoughby of Westford and
John A. Willoughby Jr. of Suffield, Conn.; two nieces, Elizabeth
Fitzsimmons of Shoreham, Vt., and Bebe Willoughby Slappey of Alexandria,
Va.; and several grandnieces and grandnephews. She was the sister of the
late Edward Newhall Willoughby, Everett Sawyer Willoughby and John Alva
Willoughby and the aunt of the late Ursula Willoughby DiRuggiero.
A funeral service were held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, in the
Fairlawn Home of Sullivan-Waring, 180 Washington street, Fairhaven. A
graveside service was held on Sunday, April 7, at the West Side Cemetery
in Edgartown.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the Centre United Methodist
Church, 46 Centre street, Fairhaven, MA 02719 or to the Edgartown United
Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1754, Edgartown, MA 002539.