Rebecca (Becky) Chandler Luce died in Grantham, N.H. on Dec. 27. She was 70.

During her courageous battle with cancer, she never lost her compassion for and generosity to others. Her joyful sense of adventure and zest for living continued up to the end.

Becky was born in Columbia, S.C. and moved to Martha’s Vineyard with her family when she was eight years old. In her teens, she learned to love horses and excelled in horsemanship. She received a scholarship in equine studies but chose a path in music education instead.

She graduated from Keene State College in 1976 and began to work in various school districts in the upper valley area of New Hampshire, including Lebanon, Plainfield and Windsor. Her desire to reach children of different cultures led her to teach a year in Honduras.

Her last teaching position was at the Ray School in Hanover where she remained until her retirement in 2023. During this time she also obtained her masters in music education from Boston University.

Her passion for teaching reached beyond the classroom. For many years, she conducted the Upper Valley Community Band and the Children’s Chorus of the Upper Valley Music Center. Through it, she touched many children’s lives by showing them the joy of sharing music with each other. She never tired of exposing them to special events, such as the celebration of the Olympic Torch, two concerts with Judy Collins, honors choruses of the American Choral Directors Association, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Dartmouth’s Handel Society, and many others. She opened a door to a life with music for countless children.

Her interests outside of music were also numerous. She rekindled her love of horses by volunteering for High Horses Center in Sharon, Vt. She developed a keen interest in birds and became a skilled photographer, leaving behind an amazing number of bird pictures of professional quality.

In her retirement she began to work with mosaics and created an array of beautiful artworks most of which she gave away to her friends.

Most of all, she adored her Brittany, Obi, with whom she spent many happy hours.

In the last years of her life she joined CReW, Cancer Recovery on Water, a program of the Upper Valley Rowing Foundation. This became an important part of her life where she found a group of supportive friends.

Becky was recently predeceased by her mother, Geraldine (Gerry) Averill, and is survived by her son Aaron Luce and her brothers Ehud Neor and Mark Luce with their families.

She is also survived by her southern family of uncles and too many cousins to mention that loved, adored and admired her.

There will be a private burial and a memorial service will be held later in 2025.

Donations in Becky’s memory may be sent to High Horses Center for Equine-Assisted Services, 138 Horse Farm Rd, Box 278, Sharon, VT 05065.