MRS. W. OTIS STURGEON (Hornell Evening Tribune, March 31, 1982)
[Obituary kindly supplied by Patricia Preu, Mary Abbie's niece and godchild]
TOWSON, Md. - Mary Abbie Hollands Sturgeon, 67, of Towson, Md. died Tuesday (March 30, 1982) at the Stella Maris Hospice in Towson, Md.
Born in Paonia, Colo., she resided in Washington, D.C. most of her life., before moving to Towson, Md., 12 years ago.
She was a graduate of Hornell High School and attended Abbott Academy and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. She was a graduate of Katherine Gibbs School in New York City.
She was the widow of W. Otis Sturgeon and was a writer for the Works Project Administration in Washington, D.C., writing state histories. She was secretary to several Congressmen, including James Roosevelt.
During World War II, she was the office manager for the American Steel Foundries.
She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Louise Zwingle of Morristown, N.J.; one brother, Rockwell Hollands of Paonia, Colo.; several nieces and nephews.
There will be no calling hours and the funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Robertson Funeral Home in Hornell with the Rev. Bruce Griffith officiating. Burial will be in Hope Cemetery in Hornell.
The family requests those wishing make memorial contributions to the Christ Episcopal Church in Hornell.
***************************************
Elmira Advertiser
HORNELL
In Tree Day Program
(This article kindly provided by Wellesley College)
Hornell, May 13--Miss Mary Abbie Hollands, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Hollands, 262 Main Street, will take part in the traditional Tree Day festivities to be held Saturday afternoon, May 19, at Wellesley College, where she is a sophomore.
Since 1878, when two Japanes pines were presented to the college, each succeeding Freshman Class has planted a tree with the same spade that was used for the planting of the Japanese pines. For the last 20 years an elaborate pageant, culminating in the crowning of the Tree Day Mistress, has been presented.
This year Oscar Wilde's "The Young King" will be performed and Miss Hollands will take the part of a boatman in one of the dances.
***************************************
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
(By Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Mary Abbie was my father's cousin and my first cousin, once removed. My grandmother, Olive Kullgren Bird (Find a Grave Memorial 97605327), left many photos of her family including several of Mary Abbie, which I have posted here.
For the first five years of her life, Mary Abbie lived in Paonia, Colorado in a house that much later became home to the local American Legion. In 1919 her family moved to Delta (same county) and lived there until Walter's father Stephen Hollands, ex-mayor of Hornell, New York, died in 1929. Stephen left a sizable estate and the family moved to Hornell, where Walter's three other brothers and mother lived. Walter assumed management of the Tuttle and Rockwell department store, and soon became President and general manager, a position he held until he died.
Mary Abbie attended Hornell High School and graduated in 1931. The caption next to her graduation photo reads, "Energetic, efficient, and a good sport." She served as Vice-President of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. Her other activities included the senior play, Student Council, National Thespians, Senior Annual Staff, Book Club, Sportsmanship Brotherhood, Varsity "H" Club, and the Atheneum Club.
Mary Abbie then attended the Abbot Academy for girls in Andover, Massachusetts in 1931 and 1932. In 1932 she was a member of the Q.E.D. Society, which was founded in 1920 to promote interest in current events and debating. That year she also played on the girls' basketball team and had a part in the senior play, "The Cradle Song." She was on the 1932 Honor Roll (The Andover Townsman, April 29, 1932) and served on the flowers committee marking the 103rd anniversary of the school in 1932 (Andover Townsman, May 6, 1932).
After graduating from the Abbott Academy, Mary Abbie attended Wellesley College. She wrote outside papers for the Wellesley Press Board and served as secretary of the Service Fund Committee of the Students' Aid Society (1934 Legenda, pp. 141 and 188). In 1936 she performed in "The Lord's Prayer," a play by François Coppée. She withdrew from Wellesley in 1936 (1936 Legenda, pp. 116 and 160).
Mary Abbie married Winfield Otis Sturgeon on August 18, 1937, in Manhattan, New York City. Otis was an architect and engineer trained at the University of Mississippi. By 1940 they had moved to Alexandria, Virginia and were living at 510 Queen Street (1940 U.S. census). Mary Abbie was employed, but her occupation on the census is illegible.
In addition to the writings mentioned in her obituary, Mary Abbie wrote two travel articles for Family Circle: "Colonial Williamsburg" (September 1952) and "Let's Go to the Finger Lakes" (August 1952). The latter article was reported in the September 1952 issue of the Cornell Alumni News (page 47), as the illustrator of her article attended Cornell.
In the 1960s, Mary Abbie's husband Otis worked for the Kennedy administration. In commemoration, President Kennedy gave Mary and Otis a signed photograph ("To Mary Abbe & Otis Sturgeon, with best wishes, John F. Kennedy"). The photograph sold at auction in 2003 (Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, "The Manuscript Sale," Lot 192, September 20, 2003).
Mary Abbie also helped prepare for publication the 1968 manuscript "Freedom and Community," a philosophical work by Yves René Marie Simon published after his death in 1961 (Acknowledgements, page xviii).
Wellesley College kindly forwarded to me Mary Abbie's application photo, which is posted here, along with biographical details including this comment by her sister Louise: "Mary Abbie was very interested in the use of poetry in the therapeutic treatment of the mentally ill. She designed and conducted a poetry class at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Towson, Md. This class continues to be a regular part of their program. I think this is what she would feel was her most important contribution."
[Obituary kindly supplied by Patricia Preu, Mary Abbie's niece and godchild]
TOWSON, Md. - Mary Abbie Hollands Sturgeon, 67, of Towson, Md. died Tuesday (March 30, 1982) at the Stella Maris Hospice in Towson, Md.
Born in Paonia, Colo., she resided in Washington, D.C. most of her life., before moving to Towson, Md., 12 years ago.
She was a graduate of Hornell High School and attended Abbott Academy and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. She was a graduate of Katherine Gibbs School in New York City.
She was the widow of W. Otis Sturgeon and was a writer for the Works Project Administration in Washington, D.C., writing state histories. She was secretary to several Congressmen, including James Roosevelt.
During World War II, she was the office manager for the American Steel Foundries.
She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Louise Zwingle of Morristown, N.J.; one brother, Rockwell Hollands of Paonia, Colo.; several nieces and nephews.
There will be no calling hours and the funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Robertson Funeral Home in Hornell with the Rev. Bruce Griffith officiating. Burial will be in Hope Cemetery in Hornell.
The family requests those wishing make memorial contributions to the Christ Episcopal Church in Hornell.
***************************************
Elmira Advertiser
HORNELL
In Tree Day Program
(This article kindly provided by Wellesley College)
Hornell, May 13--Miss Mary Abbie Hollands, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Hollands, 262 Main Street, will take part in the traditional Tree Day festivities to be held Saturday afternoon, May 19, at Wellesley College, where she is a sophomore.
Since 1878, when two Japanes pines were presented to the college, each succeeding Freshman Class has planted a tree with the same spade that was used for the planting of the Japanese pines. For the last 20 years an elaborate pageant, culminating in the crowning of the Tree Day Mistress, has been presented.
This year Oscar Wilde's "The Young King" will be performed and Miss Hollands will take the part of a boatman in one of the dances.
***************************************
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
(By Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Mary Abbie was my father's cousin and my first cousin, once removed. My grandmother, Olive Kullgren Bird (Find a Grave Memorial 97605327), left many photos of her family including several of Mary Abbie, which I have posted here.
For the first five years of her life, Mary Abbie lived in Paonia, Colorado in a house that much later became home to the local American Legion. In 1919 her family moved to Delta (same county) and lived there until Walter's father Stephen Hollands, ex-mayor of Hornell, New York, died in 1929. Stephen left a sizable estate and the family moved to Hornell, where Walter's three other brothers and mother lived. Walter assumed management of the Tuttle and Rockwell department store, and soon became President and general manager, a position he held until he died.
Mary Abbie attended Hornell High School and graduated in 1931. The caption next to her graduation photo reads, "Energetic, efficient, and a good sport." She served as Vice-President of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. Her other activities included the senior play, Student Council, National Thespians, Senior Annual Staff, Book Club, Sportsmanship Brotherhood, Varsity "H" Club, and the Atheneum Club.
Mary Abbie then attended the Abbot Academy for girls in Andover, Massachusetts in 1931 and 1932. In 1932 she was a member of the Q.E.D. Society, which was founded in 1920 to promote interest in current events and debating. That year she also played on the girls' basketball team and had a part in the senior play, "The Cradle Song." She was on the 1932 Honor Roll (The Andover Townsman, April 29, 1932) and served on the flowers committee marking the 103rd anniversary of the school in 1932 (Andover Townsman, May 6, 1932).
After graduating from the Abbott Academy, Mary Abbie attended Wellesley College. She wrote outside papers for the Wellesley Press Board and served as secretary of the Service Fund Committee of the Students' Aid Society (1934 Legenda, pp. 141 and 188). In 1936 she performed in "The Lord's Prayer," a play by François Coppée. She withdrew from Wellesley in 1936 (1936 Legenda, pp. 116 and 160).
Mary Abbie married Winfield Otis Sturgeon on August 18, 1937, in Manhattan, New York City. Otis was an architect and engineer trained at the University of Mississippi. By 1940 they had moved to Alexandria, Virginia and were living at 510 Queen Street (1940 U.S. census). Mary Abbie was employed, but her occupation on the census is illegible.
In addition to the writings mentioned in her obituary, Mary Abbie wrote two travel articles for Family Circle: "Colonial Williamsburg" (September 1952) and "Let's Go to the Finger Lakes" (August 1952). The latter article was reported in the September 1952 issue of the Cornell Alumni News (page 47), as the illustrator of her article attended Cornell.
In the 1960s, Mary Abbie's husband Otis worked for the Kennedy administration. In commemoration, President Kennedy gave Mary and Otis a signed photograph ("To Mary Abbe & Otis Sturgeon, with best wishes, John F. Kennedy"). The photograph sold at auction in 2003 (Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, "The Manuscript Sale," Lot 192, September 20, 2003).
Mary Abbie also helped prepare for publication the 1968 manuscript "Freedom and Community," a philosophical work by Yves René Marie Simon published after his death in 1961 (Acknowledgements, page xviii).
Wellesley College kindly forwarded to me Mary Abbie's application photo, which is posted here, along with biographical details including this comment by her sister Louise: "Mary Abbie was very interested in the use of poetry in the therapeutic treatment of the mentally ill. She designed and conducted a poetry class at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Towson, Md. This class continues to be a regular part of their program. I think this is what she would feel was her most important contribution."
MRS. W. OTIS STURGEON (Hornell Evening Tribune, March 31, 1982)
[Obituary kindly supplied by Patricia Preu, Mary Abbie's niece and godchild]
TOWSON, Md. - Mary Abbie Hollands Sturgeon, 67, of Towson, Md. died Tuesday (March 30, 1982) at the Stella Maris Hospice in Towson, Md.
Born in Paonia, Colo., she resided in Washington, D.C. most of her life., before moving to Towson, Md., 12 years ago.
She was a graduate of Hornell High School and attended Abbott Academy and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. She was a graduate of Katherine Gibbs School in New York City.
She was the widow of W. Otis Sturgeon and was a writer for the Works Project Administration in Washington, D.C., writing state histories. She was secretary to several Congressmen, including James Roosevelt.
During World War II, she was the office manager for the American Steel Foundries.
She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Louise Zwingle of Morristown, N.J.; one brother, Rockwell Hollands of Paonia, Colo.; several nieces and nephews.
There will be no calling hours and the funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Robertson Funeral Home in Hornell with the Rev. Bruce Griffith officiating. Burial will be in Hope Cemetery in Hornell.
The family requests those wishing make memorial contributions to the Christ Episcopal Church in Hornell.
***************************************
Elmira Advertiser
HORNELL
In Tree Day Program
(This article kindly provided by Wellesley College)
Hornell, May 13--Miss Mary Abbie Hollands, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Hollands, 262 Main Street, will take part in the traditional Tree Day festivities to be held Saturday afternoon, May 19, at Wellesley College, where she is a sophomore.
Since 1878, when two Japanes pines were presented to the college, each succeeding Freshman Class has planted a tree with the same spade that was used for the planting of the Japanese pines. For the last 20 years an elaborate pageant, culminating in the crowning of the Tree Day Mistress, has been presented.
This year Oscar Wilde's "The Young King" will be performed and Miss Hollands will take the part of a boatman in one of the dances.
***************************************
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
(By Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Mary Abbie was my father's cousin and my first cousin, once removed. My grandmother, Olive Kullgren Bird (Find a Grave Memorial 97605327), left many photos of her family including several of Mary Abbie, which I have posted here.
For the first five years of her life, Mary Abbie lived in Paonia, Colorado in a house that much later became home to the local American Legion. In 1919 her family moved to Delta (same county) and lived there until Walter's father Stephen Hollands, ex-mayor of Hornell, New York, died in 1929. Stephen left a sizable estate and the family moved to Hornell, where Walter's three other brothers and mother lived. Walter assumed management of the Tuttle and Rockwell department store, and soon became President and general manager, a position he held until he died.
Mary Abbie attended Hornell High School and graduated in 1931. The caption next to her graduation photo reads, "Energetic, efficient, and a good sport." She served as Vice-President of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. Her other activities included the senior play, Student Council, National Thespians, Senior Annual Staff, Book Club, Sportsmanship Brotherhood, Varsity "H" Club, and the Atheneum Club.
Mary Abbie then attended the Abbot Academy for girls in Andover, Massachusetts in 1931 and 1932. In 1932 she was a member of the Q.E.D. Society, which was founded in 1920 to promote interest in current events and debating. That year she also played on the girls' basketball team and had a part in the senior play, "The Cradle Song." She was on the 1932 Honor Roll (The Andover Townsman, April 29, 1932) and served on the flowers committee marking the 103rd anniversary of the school in 1932 (Andover Townsman, May 6, 1932).
After graduating from the Abbott Academy, Mary Abbie attended Wellesley College. She wrote outside papers for the Wellesley Press Board and served as secretary of the Service Fund Committee of the Students' Aid Society (1934 Legenda, pp. 141 and 188). In 1936 she performed in "The Lord's Prayer," a play by François Coppée. She withdrew from Wellesley in 1936 (1936 Legenda, pp. 116 and 160).
Mary Abbie married Winfield Otis Sturgeon on August 18, 1937, in Manhattan, New York City. Otis was an architect and engineer trained at the University of Mississippi. By 1940 they had moved to Alexandria, Virginia and were living at 510 Queen Street (1940 U.S. census). Mary Abbie was employed, but her occupation on the census is illegible.
In addition to the writings mentioned in her obituary, Mary Abbie wrote two travel articles for Family Circle: "Colonial Williamsburg" (September 1952) and "Let's Go to the Finger Lakes" (August 1952). The latter article was reported in the September 1952 issue of the Cornell Alumni News (page 47), as the illustrator of her article attended Cornell.
In the 1960s, Mary Abbie's husband Otis worked for the Kennedy administration. In commemoration, President Kennedy gave Mary and Otis a signed photograph ("To Mary Abbe & Otis Sturgeon, with best wishes, John F. Kennedy"). The photograph sold at auction in 2003 (Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, "The Manuscript Sale," Lot 192, September 20, 2003).
Mary Abbie also helped prepare for publication the 1968 manuscript "Freedom and Community," a philosophical work by Yves René Marie Simon published after his death in 1961 (Acknowledgements, page xviii).
Wellesley College kindly forwarded to me Mary Abbie's application photo, which is posted here, along with biographical details including this comment by her sister Louise: "Mary Abbie was very interested in the use of poetry in the therapeutic treatment of the mentally ill. She designed and conducted a poetry class at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Towson, Md. This class continues to be a regular part of their program. I think this is what she would feel was her most important contribution."
[Obituary kindly supplied by Patricia Preu, Mary Abbie's niece and godchild]
TOWSON, Md. - Mary Abbie Hollands Sturgeon, 67, of Towson, Md. died Tuesday (March 30, 1982) at the Stella Maris Hospice in Towson, Md.
Born in Paonia, Colo., she resided in Washington, D.C. most of her life., before moving to Towson, Md., 12 years ago.
She was a graduate of Hornell High School and attended Abbott Academy and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. She was a graduate of Katherine Gibbs School in New York City.
She was the widow of W. Otis Sturgeon and was a writer for the Works Project Administration in Washington, D.C., writing state histories. She was secretary to several Congressmen, including James Roosevelt.
During World War II, she was the office manager for the American Steel Foundries.
She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Louise Zwingle of Morristown, N.J.; one brother, Rockwell Hollands of Paonia, Colo.; several nieces and nephews.
There will be no calling hours and the funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Robertson Funeral Home in Hornell with the Rev. Bruce Griffith officiating. Burial will be in Hope Cemetery in Hornell.
The family requests those wishing make memorial contributions to the Christ Episcopal Church in Hornell.
***************************************
Elmira Advertiser
HORNELL
In Tree Day Program
(This article kindly provided by Wellesley College)
Hornell, May 13--Miss Mary Abbie Hollands, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Hollands, 262 Main Street, will take part in the traditional Tree Day festivities to be held Saturday afternoon, May 19, at Wellesley College, where she is a sophomore.
Since 1878, when two Japanes pines were presented to the college, each succeeding Freshman Class has planted a tree with the same spade that was used for the planting of the Japanese pines. For the last 20 years an elaborate pageant, culminating in the crowning of the Tree Day Mistress, has been presented.
This year Oscar Wilde's "The Young King" will be performed and Miss Hollands will take the part of a boatman in one of the dances.
***************************************
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
(By Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Mary Abbie was my father's cousin and my first cousin, once removed. My grandmother, Olive Kullgren Bird (Find a Grave Memorial 97605327), left many photos of her family including several of Mary Abbie, which I have posted here.
For the first five years of her life, Mary Abbie lived in Paonia, Colorado in a house that much later became home to the local American Legion. In 1919 her family moved to Delta (same county) and lived there until Walter's father Stephen Hollands, ex-mayor of Hornell, New York, died in 1929. Stephen left a sizable estate and the family moved to Hornell, where Walter's three other brothers and mother lived. Walter assumed management of the Tuttle and Rockwell department store, and soon became President and general manager, a position he held until he died.
Mary Abbie attended Hornell High School and graduated in 1931. The caption next to her graduation photo reads, "Energetic, efficient, and a good sport." She served as Vice-President of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. Her other activities included the senior play, Student Council, National Thespians, Senior Annual Staff, Book Club, Sportsmanship Brotherhood, Varsity "H" Club, and the Atheneum Club.
Mary Abbie then attended the Abbot Academy for girls in Andover, Massachusetts in 1931 and 1932. In 1932 she was a member of the Q.E.D. Society, which was founded in 1920 to promote interest in current events and debating. That year she also played on the girls' basketball team and had a part in the senior play, "The Cradle Song." She was on the 1932 Honor Roll (The Andover Townsman, April 29, 1932) and served on the flowers committee marking the 103rd anniversary of the school in 1932 (Andover Townsman, May 6, 1932).
After graduating from the Abbott Academy, Mary Abbie attended Wellesley College. She wrote outside papers for the Wellesley Press Board and served as secretary of the Service Fund Committee of the Students' Aid Society (1934 Legenda, pp. 141 and 188). In 1936 she performed in "The Lord's Prayer," a play by François Coppée. She withdrew from Wellesley in 1936 (1936 Legenda, pp. 116 and 160).
Mary Abbie married Winfield Otis Sturgeon on August 18, 1937, in Manhattan, New York City. Otis was an architect and engineer trained at the University of Mississippi. By 1940 they had moved to Alexandria, Virginia and were living at 510 Queen Street (1940 U.S. census). Mary Abbie was employed, but her occupation on the census is illegible.
In addition to the writings mentioned in her obituary, Mary Abbie wrote two travel articles for Family Circle: "Colonial Williamsburg" (September 1952) and "Let's Go to the Finger Lakes" (August 1952). The latter article was reported in the September 1952 issue of the Cornell Alumni News (page 47), as the illustrator of her article attended Cornell.
In the 1960s, Mary Abbie's husband Otis worked for the Kennedy administration. In commemoration, President Kennedy gave Mary and Otis a signed photograph ("To Mary Abbe & Otis Sturgeon, with best wishes, John F. Kennedy"). The photograph sold at auction in 2003 (Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, "The Manuscript Sale," Lot 192, September 20, 2003).
Mary Abbie also helped prepare for publication the 1968 manuscript "Freedom and Community," a philosophical work by Yves René Marie Simon published after his death in 1961 (Acknowledgements, page xviii).
Wellesley College kindly forwarded to me Mary Abbie's application photo, which is posted here, along with biographical details including this comment by her sister Louise: "Mary Abbie was very interested in the use of poetry in the therapeutic treatment of the mentally ill. She designed and conducted a poetry class at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Towson, Md. This class continues to be a regular part of their program. I think this is what she would feel was her most important contribution."
