Laura Dorothea Petersen Southworth

Laura Dorothea Petersen Southworth died peacefully in her sleep at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Tuesday, Dec. 12, after a joyous and eventful ninety-five year journey through life.

Born in Scarborough, N.Y., on Oct. 12, 1911, Mrs. Southworth was the third and youngest daughter of Irene Taylor Petersen and Nicholas Anthony Petersen. She grew up in Scarborough where her father was the first pastor at the Presbyterian Church. She attended Connecticut College in New London, Conn., and was graduated in 1931.

Following college, Mrs. Southworth began work at the Bank of New York, where she soon met her future husband, Kenneth Alden Southworth Jr. The two were married in May of 1939 and were joined a few years later by two sons, Kenneth Alden Southworth 3rd and Edward Brown Southworth 3rd. The family made its home of many years on Myrtle Avenue in Millburn, N.J., where Mrs. Southworth was an active member of the Wyoming Presbyterian Church congregation. After retiring to Edgartown in the winter of 1969, she put her sensitivity, compassion, and drive to good use, becoming a zealous and committed volunteer to a number of local organizations. She was most proud of her work as a founding member of the Edgartown Council on Aging, a member of the Women’s Guild at the Federated Church in Edgartown and a longtime volunteer at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Recently named an honorary deacon of the Federated Church, Mrs. Southworth remained involved with the church up until the end of her life.

She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth Alden Southworth Jr., her son Kenneth Alden Southworth 3rd, and her sisters Irene Petersen Caterson and Mary Kathrina Petersen Stoddard. She is survived by her son Edward Brown Southworth 3rd of Edgartown; grandchildren Kenneth Alden Southworth 4th and his wife Ellie, of Darien, Conn., Laura Southworth Sorota and her husband Bruce, of Andover, and Edward Brown Southworth 4th and his wife Roseann Squire, of Centreville, Md.; great-grandchildren Katherine Batterman Southworth, Kenneth Alden Southworth 5th, Theodore Petersen Sorota, Timothy Conkling Sorota, Edward Brown Southworth 5th, Anna Nicholas Dorothea Squire Southworth and Isabella Kathrina Day Squire Southworth.

She will be remembered by her friends and family alike for her quiet dignity, her selflessness and her deep commitment to all those whom she loved.

Her funeral service will be held in the Federated Church in Edgartown on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m., officiated by the Rev. Dr. Jerry Fritz. Visiting hours will be in the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home Dec. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, P.O. Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or the Federated Church, PO Box 249, Edgartown, MA 02539.