[Atmob-announce] FW: Long Time Member Albert Doolittle RIP

[Dr. Arthur G. Swedlow]

Peter Bealo wrote:
>
>  
>
> From Tuesday's Lawrence Eagle Trib:
>
>  
>
> "DERRY - The town this weekend lost one of its "living treasures."
>
> Albert Doolittle, 93, a respected protector of Derry's rural 
> character, longtime Conservation Commission member and 
> great-grandfather, died Sunday morning at his East Derry home after a 
> long illness. He was surrounded by his family and his wife of 67 
> years, Edith. The couple originally met through their fathers, who 
> were roommates at the University of Maine.
>
> "He waited for me to take his last breath," Edith said last night. "He 
> was the finest person I've ever met.
>
> He was kind, gentle and always willing to help someone. And he never 
> said a bad word about anybody."
>
> A 1932 graduate of Haverhill High School, Doolittle attended the 
> Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. The father of three 
> boys, Doolittle worked as a civil engineer, and his career took him 
> all over the country. He worked for NASA, designed research facilities 
> at MIT and helped build power plants. He was also an avid astronomy buff.
>
> While he traveled afar, he never forgot about Derry. His father bought 
> a poultry farm here in 1934.
>
> In a 2005 interview with the Derry News, Doolittle spoke about 
> preserving the town's "rural character."
>
> "People say they like the rural character of Derry," he said. "How do 
> you get rural character? You have to have open space."
>
> A Conservation Commission member for almost 30 years, Doolittle was 
> committed to protecting the environment, open space, wetlands and 
> preserving farmland in town, said fellow member Margie Ives. The two 
> often car pooled to meetings together.
>
> "He was very interested in protecting farmland. He knew it was 
> disappearing in the state," Ives said.
>
> In 2005, Doolittle was named one of Derry's 38 "Living Treasures" for 
> helping make the town a better place to live. Some 95 acres of open 
> space was also named recently after him. He viewed maps of the 
> preserved property, and although he was weak, he was "modest and very 
> pleased," Ives recalled. "It was a precious moment."
>
> Commission members and friends had planned a party with the Doolittles 
> yesterday to celebrate the couple's commitment to the town and their 
> lengthy marriage. Ives said she will remember Doolittle as "a man of 
> integrity, gentleness and fairness."
>
> "We will miss him very much," she said.
>
> His funeral will be held at Unitarian Universal Church in Manchester. 
> His body will be cremated and scattered over various spots, including 
> Star Island, off the coast of Portsmouth and various other spots 
> Doolittle requested, his wife said last night.
>
> "There's a whole list of places," she said. "I'll put a few here and a 
> few there."
>
>  
>
>  
>
> I'll never forget driving Al to Stellafane maybe a decade or so ago. 
> He couldn't find another ride and he could no longer drive. All he 
> packed was about 4 pounds of sleeping bag, 1 man hiking tent and a 
> change of clothes. I'd guess he was over 80 at that point. Great guy 
> all around, always cheerful and every word well thought out. They just 
> don't make em like him anymore.
>
>  
>
> Peter
>
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>   
Thanks for that, Peter.  Someone who exudes a quiet, competent, cheerful 
dignity is a welcome refreshing counterpoint to the loud freneticism 
that seems to characterize our present times.  Your description of Mr. 
Doolittle also describes many of the patients I had had, whose lives 
started late in the 19th or early in the 20the centuries.  Not that we 
should be all cookie-cutter clones, but these qualities are worth 
aspiring to.

Art 8-)
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