Sandra B. Roberts, of Wellesley, died peacefully on the morning of June 16th. She was 86 years old. Born Sandra Louise Brown on May 26th, 1939 in Boston, “Sandy” was the only child of Frederick Brown, a professional musician and band leader, and his wife Christine (Peyton), a realtor. Sandy grew up on Harnden Avenue in Watertown, Massachusetts and graduated from Watertown High School in 1957, where she was a Cheerleader and an active member of the WHS Theater, Glee Clubs and Chorus.

A talented pianist, Sandy spent a year studying at the Boston University School of Music before transferring to Boston College where she majored in Education. While studying at BC she met Joe Roberts, a Korean War veteran and fellow Education major from Natick who served as class president, and played on the BC JV Basketball team. Sandy shined on the BC campus with a sharp sense of fashion. “I think Sandy was the only one on campus wearing high heels,” Joe recalls. The two were both the first in their immediate families to attend college and began dating soon after they met: taking trips to Florida for spring break and New York City to attend jazz and R&B concerts. They were married in August, 1962.

With encouragement from Sandy, Joe pursued a career in finance and soon founded Roberts Financial, a wealth management practice. Sandy followed her mother, Christine, a pioneer women’s business leader , into real estate. That began a long and successful partnership, with Sandy and Joe buying a two family home on Francis Street in Wellesley followed by additional properties in Wellesley and Cape Cod.

The couple eventually moved from Francis Street to a home on Kenilworth Road in Wellesley where Sandy raised her family and lived for the next 56 years.

The couple raised three children. Christine (1963), is a Partner and Estate Planning Attorney at Mullen & Henzell in Santa Barbara, California. Joe Jr. (1965), is Managing Partner of Roberts Financial and CEO of Terriers Sports & Community Investors, Wellesley based youth wellness organizations. Paul (1970), is a Belmont based cybersecurity journalist, writer and activist in the movement for a right to repair.

Raised as an only child with two working parents, Sandy took great pleasure in the crowded and raucous home she helped build. Her permissive parenting style gave her children free rein to play, explore and discover themselves. And she rejoiced in the “free range” atmosphere of their Kenilworth neighborhood with near constant kid-run games and activities in her yard building lifetime memories and friendships.

Following divorce in the early 1980s, Sandra returned to school, receiving her B.A. in Education from Boston College. In addition to managing her commercial and residential properties, Sandy expanded her work into commercial real estate, working for Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. In 1988, following the closure of Berkshire’s textile mills, Sandy successfully brokered a lease for the Stride Rite Corporation to move its national distribution center to New Bedford, MA. She also leased Berkshire’s vacant mill in Manchester, NH to inventor Dean Kamen, who subsequently created the Segway scooter and launched the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) and BioFabUSA, transforming Manchester into a biotech hub.

Outside of work, Sandra enjoyed membership in the Boston Tea Party Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for over fifty years, serving as Regent for many years. Sandra led a successful, multi-year DAR campaign in the mid 1980s to support restoration of the oldest surviving fortification from the American Revolutionary War, Fort Washington in Cambridge, MA.

Throughout her life, Sandy loved to travel and visited many places including Asia, Europe and South America. At home, she loved her family routines, dining and socials. She was a beloved “regular” at The Maugus Cafe, Captain Marden’s, The Linden Store, The Cottage and Wellesley Country Club. Sandy also enjoyed three plus decades as a Palm Beach snow bird enjoying many great friends, events, restaurants and clubs.

Sandra is survived by her ex-husband and lifelong friend Joe Sr; her three children; their spouses: Tom Nichols, Zina Karayiannis, Dr. Lisa Starobin; and her six grandchildren: Joey, Alexis and Michael Roberts of Wellesley and Eliana, Shira and Ruby Roberts of Belmont. Sandy’s family will miss her love and companionship dearly and will embrace, honor & share her spirit forever. Her family’s dogs, who she also loved very dearly, will also miss their Nana.

A Celebration of Life Ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 2nd, 1pm at St. Paul’s Church, 502 Washington Street, Wellesley. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Interment private.

A memorial site, SandrabRoberts.org, has been set up to share memories, photos and personal tributes with family and friends. Donations in Sandy’s memory can be made to:

● Community Investors CommunityInvestors.net
● The Wellesley Food Pantry Wellesleyfoodpantry.org
● Daughters of the American Revolution DAR.org

John W. Brazil Jr., 71, of Holliston, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, June 5, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was the devoted husband of Myra (Stone) Brazil, with whom he shared 46 beautiful years of marriage and partnership. Their bond was one of deep love, unwavering support, and a true friendship that served as an inspiration to all who knew them. Together, they built a life rooted in family, community, and shared joy.

Born in Wellesley, John was the son of the late Mary (Cannava) and John W. Brazil. He grew up there and graduated from Wellesley High School. A lifelong boating enthusiast, John found peace and happiness on the water, especially during the summers in Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard. He was a loyal Boston sports fan and a passionate supporter of youth athletics.

In Holliston, John was a fixture in the community, not just as a neighbor or friend, but as a leader. He dedicated many years to coaching youth soccer, where he became a respected and beloved mentor to countless young athletes. Known for his calm leadership, wisdom, and big-hearted encouragement, John was all about shaping character. He was a true role model, always leading with kindness, humility, and integrity.

John was also a devoted family man. His children and grandchildren were the center of his world, and he treasured every moment with them from vacations on the Vineyard to dinners and sidelines on game days. He had a special way of bringing people together. His warmth and presence lit up every room.

Professionally, John devoted over four decades to the Dell/EMC family of companies, where he was known for his strong work ethic, loyalty, and leadership.

In addition to his wife, Myra, John is survived by his three children: Timothy Brazil of Franklin; Nicholas Brazil and his wife, Jenna, of Hollis, New Hampshire; and Meaghan Conley and her husband, Stephen, of Mendon. He also leaves behind six cherished grandchildren: Evan, Emily, Michael, Madelyn, Trevor, and John. John is also survived by his sisters, Sara Leicht and her husband, Gregory, of Sarasota, FL, and Deborah Brazil-Goldstein of Englewood, FL, along with many beloved nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters, Mary Jane Brazil and Jean Tulin.

Visitation will be held on Monday, Monday, June 9, 4:30pm-7pm, at Chesmore Funeral Home, 854 Washington Street, Holliston. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 10, 11am, at Saint Mary’s Church of Holliston. Burial will follow at Lake Grove Cemetery in Holliston.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s memory to the National Brain Tumor Society at braintumor.org or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at dana-farber.org.

Ruth Patricia Bastille

January 31, 1918 — May 18, 2025

Ruth Patricia (Miller) Bastille, 107, died on May 18, 2025, in ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Newton, Massachusetts, after a brief illness.

Ruth was born on January 31, 1918, to Eleanor (Malley) and Harry Miller in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The years following the crash of 1929 were difficult, with extended family all living under one roof, out-of-work people begging at the door, and seldom enough of anything to go around.

Ruth began her education at Saint Joseph’s parochial school. After graduating from Sharpsburg High, Ruth found clerical work with a photo studio, at the local V. A. Hospital, and at Haughton Elevator in Pittsburgh; well into her nineties, she would routinely write notes to herself in shorthand. In 1943, she met a young GI from New Hampshire, Bob Bastille, entirely by chance on a crowded Pittsburgh sidewalk. They married in 1945, when Bob returned after V-E Day, and moved to Beacon Hill in Boston, then to Waltham. She gave birth to three sons, Robert, Jr. (Bobby) (1947), David (1950), and Edward (Ned) (1953).

In 1950, the family moved to Wellesley, Mass., and the house on Mayo Road, which would be Ruth and Bob’s home for the next 61 years. Bob started his own architectural practice, and as soon as all the boys were in school, Ruth sought employment again outside the home. She was proudest of her years of work at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, first in the school of nursing, then as an assistant to one or more of the doctors, even accompanying them on rounds and into the OR to take notes.

Throughout the decades in Wellesley, she kept house, doing most of the shopping, cooking, and cleaning, and staying on top of the busy family schedule. Sociable and unpretentious, she made friends easily. In everything, her attention to detail was remarkable. An “exceptional” seamstress according to her niece Marilyn, she often made her own clothing from patterns, using a vintage sewing machine and doing fine needlework by hand.

Ruth was particularly devoted to her local parish church, Saint James the Great, from 1950 to its closing in 2004. It was, in some respects, the center of her life in Wellesley. As a member of the Altar Society, she helped to keep the altar cloths and priests’ vestments clean and pressed. Later, for many years, she helped to arrange the floral displays for Sunday masses. She also served as a eucharistic minister and sang in the choir. In 2005, she joined Saint Paul Parish, also in Wellesley.

Ruth enjoyed vacations with family on Nantucket and in coastal Maine. She and Bob liked to take rambling trips on scenic highways and back roads throughout New England; they also vacationed together at Sanibel Island in Florida, traveled to New York and Pennsylvania, to Canada and France, to England and Venezuela, to visit Bobby, and to Los Angeles to visit Ned.

Ruth and Bob moved to assisted living in Weston in 2011. Bob died in 2013, and Ruth continued on, known and liked by the staff and her fellow residents, attending Sunday mass at Saint Paul’s every week, enjoying car trips to scenic spots, and visits with friends and with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. As late as 2024, she enjoyed reading the daily Boston Globe, the weekly New Yorker, and The Pilot. She donated funds to her local church, the Boston Archdiocese, and a variety of environmental organizations.

In 2004, at age 86, she was moved to write, “It has been a happy, fulfilling life with my loving husband and children, who kept life interesting, and later with their spouses, who felt like family to me. Our grandchildren couldn’t have been more loving and caring. I love them all.”

She is survived by her sons Robert Bastille, Jr. and his partner Jane Runge, and David Bastille and his wife Annie Hale; by her grandchildren Sarah Bastille and husband Matt Haberman, Katherine DeFrank, James Bastille, Anne Bastille and husband Jack Williams, and Peter Bastille; and by her great-grandchildren Chloe DeFrank, Benjamin DeFrank, Albert (Bertie) Williams, and George Williams. Ruth was predeceased by her siblings Thomas, Mary, George, Grace, Mercedes, Jeanne, Charles, Harry, and Robert; by Bob, her husband of 68 years; and by her son Ned. The family thanks everyone who enriched her life, especially in her later years.

Donations in her name may be made to Catholic Charities Boston, 275 West Broadway, Boston, MA 02127, and to Saint Paul Parish, 502 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482. A Mass of Remembrance will be celebrated for Ruth at Saint Paul’s on Monday July 7th, 2025, at 11:00am.

To share a memory, or to leave the family a message of condolence, please visit Ruth’s tribute page at www.jellisonfuneralhome.com

If you’d like us to run a complete obituary of your loved one on Swellesley, please send to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

William (Bill) Allison of Naples FL and Boothbay Harbor ME, passed away peacefully in Naples on May 20, 2025. He was 96 years old, and lived a wonderful and full life. He was a generous man with an infectious laugh, a quick wit and a deep love for family and friends.

Bill was born in Bryn Mawr PA, and raised in the Boston area. Bill graduated from the College of William and Mary, where he ran track and was President of his fraternity. His college tenure was interrupted by serving in the military for three years during the Korean conflict.

Upon returning to college, Bill renewed a friendship with Barbara Bowman, a former classmate who was working in Williamsburg. Bill and Barbara married in May 1956 and raised a family in Wellesley, MA. They had fifty-six wonderful years together, until Barbara’s passing in 2012.

Bill’s entire professional career was spent with Aubrey G. Lanston and Co., a firm specializing in U.S. government securities. He retired in 1990 as Senior Vice-President in charge of the Boston office.

Bill was active with numerous professional and community organizations. He was past President of the William and Mary Boston alumni chapter, and served on the College’s endowment board for six years. Bill was past President of the Wellesley Country Club, the Bond Club of Boston and the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. He was instrumental in the U.S. Postal Service issuing a Ouiment commemorative postage stamp.

Bill particularly loved boating and spending time at his summer home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Bill first traveled to the Maine coast in 1934, and he spent time there every year since. He served on the Board of Overseers of the Bayville Village Corporation in his beloved summer community. He enjoyed many years of cruising along the Maine Coast, and was a member of the Down East and Boothbay Harbor Yacht Clubs. Through the years he either sailed or motored by boat to locations ranging from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Havana, Cuba.

Bill and Barbara bought their first residence in Naples in 1984, and Bill maintained a residence there ever since. He was a former member of the Wydemere and Royal Poinciana Golf Clubs.

In Naples Bill met Cec Borgeson, who has been his cherished partner since 2013. They enjoyed many years together in Naples and on numerous trips, including to Maine and Michigan.

Bill is preceded by his wife and a son (Bo). He is survived by four children (Jeff, Laura, Will (Jillian) and Karen (Padraic) and five grandsons (Aidan, William, Liam, Brian and JJ) who will miss him dearly and are thankful for the fun times they shared together. We imagine him sipping his martini and delivering one-liners with family and friends who passed before.

We would like to thank the staff at the Cove and the Marbella, and other caregivers who brought Bill tremendous friendship and comfort. In accordance with Bill’s wishes there will not be a memorial service, but there will be a celebration of his life in Maine this summer.

If you’d like us to run a complete obituary of your loved one on Swellesley, please send to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Douglas Dinsmore Furbush Jr., of Millis, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 16, 2025, beside beautiful West Branch Pond in Maine. He spent his final days lodging, fly fishing, and celebrating his 100th birthday with cherished friends and family. Doug departed this world having lived fully, embracing the passions and people who meant the most to him.

Doug was born in West Newton to the late Douglas D. and Alice (Carlson) Furbush. A longtime resident of Millis for over 30 years, he previously made his home in Wellesley.

On his 18th birthday in May 1943, Doug enlisted in the U.S. Navy to serve his country in World War II. A dedicated serviceman, he fought with distinction as a gunner aboard Liberty Ships in the European theater. Just five months after enlistment, Doug encountered his first combat in the Mediterranean Sea, witnessing the tragic loss of four Navy vessels. He demonstrated remarkable resilience, protecting his ship from air attacks and fire that endangered comrades.

Following the war, Doug built a life filled with family and purpose. He married Priscilla J. Clark, with whom he raised five children. His successful 40-year career in the automobile industry stemmed from his warm, honest nature, earning him the loyalty of generations of customers.

Doug is survived by his beloved wife of 42 years, Marilyn (Kass) Furbush. Together, they shared a love for golf, actively participating in the Millis men’s and women’s golf leagues and enjoying many golf vacations. In their younger years, Doug and Marilyn spent many a weekend sailing around Narragansett Bay enjoying the beauty of the ocean.

Doug was a man of many passions, always seeking hobbies that kept him active and engaged. An inventor at heart, Doug was endlessly creative and imaginative, always inspiring those around him. He found joy in owning a flock of racing pigeons, tending to beehives to harvest honey, and maintaining hummingbird feeders that delighted both his family and friends. However, his lifelong love of nature was most evident in his dedication to fly fishing—a pursuit he embraced in the 1960s and passed down to his children and grandchildren. As he grew older and could no longer travel long distances to fish, he found a home at the Norfolk Trout Club, where he enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow anglers. Fittingly, his final week was spent at his favorite fishing camp, where he had the opportunity to cast one last fly.

Doug’s greatest legacy was the joy he found in raising his five children. From family vacations to West Branch Pond and Martha’s Vineyard to teaching them how to drive and bowl, he was a devoted father. He instilled in them strong character, kindness, patience, and a contagious sense of humor.

Doug was a cherished father to Paula Guttilla and her husband Tom, Douglas D. Furbush III and his wife Roseann, Charles (Chuck) Furbush, Patti King and her husband Walter, and Richard Furbush. He was a proud grandfather to Jeremey Guttilla and his wife Jayna, Samantha Taraskiewcz and her husband Jason, Jennifer Brassanini and her partner James, Catherine Furbush, Angela Montalbano and her husband Dominic, and Carly Gasco and her husband Brian. He was adored by his great-grandchildren—Charlotte, Sawyer, Annabelle, Emily, Lucy, Evelyn, Fritz, Maria, Luca, and Carmela.

Doug was predeceased by his siblings: Wesley J. Furbush, USA; Alice Marie Furbush; Thelma Edwards, USMC; Barbara Ann Dusek, USN; Norman “Fuzzy” Furbush, USAF; and Carl Furbush, USN. He treasured the love of his many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the compassionate staff at The Meadow at Charles River Assisted Living, who have cared for Doug over the past two years.

Family and friends will gather to honor Doug’s life at a funeral service on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 11 AM at the Newton Cemetery Chapel, 791 Walnut St., Newton Center. He will be laid to rest alongside his parents and siblings immediately following the service.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Roberts, Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home, 15 Miller St., Millis, MA.

If you’d like us to run a complete obituary of your loved one on Swellesley, please send to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Dr. Robert Lindsay Pyles—our heroic and beloved father, renowned psychoanalyst, and indefatigable marathoner—crossed his final finish line on April 17, 2025. He was 89 years old.

Born in North Carolina in 1936—just after the Great Depression and just before World War II—he was shaped by the resilience and sense of duty that defined his generation. His grit and deep patriotism were forged early, as he played barefoot baseball on long summer days and biked alongside his beloved dog, Pooch. As a teenager, he moved with his parents and younger brother Jim to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he attended Lane High School. There, he embraced life with characteristic boldness—playing football (despite two ever-dislocating
shoulders), performing in theater (once famously surprising the lead actress with a real kiss in the final scene), and zipping around in his beloved MG, known as Geronimo—due to the unreliable brakes that could require passengers to bail out at any moment. After the tragic loss of his mother, his bond with his father and brother deepened. He and his father worked tirelessly side by side to build and expand their family home, affectionately dubbed “The Hill”. He would discover decades later that it lay in the shadow of the childhood home of Thomas Jefferson, for whom he felt a lifelong kinship and connection.

After high school, he attended the University of Virginia and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His life changed dramatically when he was accepted into Harvard Medical School and moved to the seemingly foreign land of Boston, Massachusetts. Fascinated by the human mind and driven to help others, he chose a career in psychiatry. While at Harvard Medical School, he met Barbara Cannon, a nursing student at Boston Children’s Hospital. They married in 1962 and had five children.

He completed his internship at Cooperstown Hospital in New York and his psychiatric residency at Massachusetts Mental Health Center. During the Vietnam War, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as a psychiatrist at Chelsea Naval Hospital from 1967 to 1969, where he counseled soldiers returning from combat. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander and remained a passionate advocate for veterans throughout his life.

He then began his private psychoanalytic practice that would span a remarkable 50 years. He cared for thousands of patients with unyielding dedication, seeing each individual as a singular work of art. His mission was always clear: to help people confront the hidden corners of their suffering, gain clarity, and move toward emotional health.

After being diagnosed with a rare and incurable lung disease, he didn’t surrender. Instead, he started running… and never stopped. To the amazement of doctors, he not only survived but thrived, becoming an avid long-distance runner. In his lifetime, he completed a whopping 47 marathons, including 23 Boston Marathons, and marathons in Ireland and Greece (the original marathon!). The metaphor was unmissable; life itself was a marathon: long, often full of suffering, but one could press through to victory.

In 1976, he purchased a massive, dilapidated Greek Revival mansion in Wellesley. He spent the next decade restoring it—room by room, board by board—into a warm, storied home that became the beating heart of family life.

Professionally, he held many esteemed roles, including President of the Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, President of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and twice President of the International Psychoanalytic Association. Alongside his brother Jim, he championed patient privacy rights in medicine, working tirelessly to influence national policy. In later years, he delighted in mentoring Major League Baseball rookies at annual training sessions.

But the measure of his life and legacy extends far beyond titles and accomplishments. He was, at his core, a warrior—charismatic, bold, courageous, and deeply principled. He never backed down from a challenge; he lived for them. Fighting for what was right energized him and
gave him purpose. His insight into the human mind was unparalleled, and he had an insatiable curiosity, spanning everything from Classical history and poetry to Magnum P.I. and Walker, Texas Ranger. He believed, fiercely and unshakably, in honor, perseverance, and family.

Above all, his greatest joy and lasting legacy was his family. He raised five children—Beth, Chris, Kim, Bob, and Mike—with that same devotion, guiding them with love, conviction, and strength.

No season captured his heart more than Christmas. Every year, he launched a month-long marathon of “Christmas spirit”: ramming massive trees through the front door, curating the perfect playlist of Christmas films (with Albert Finney as the definitive Scrooge), and wrapping presents until the wee hours of Christmas morning. He fostered a sense of love and closeness that binds his family even after his passing—and will echo through the generations.

Perhaps the most extraordinary part of his “race” was the final mile. In his late seventies and early eighties, as health challenges mounted, he did what few men could: somehow, despite all odds, he rallied. At 85 years old, he moved into a new home and seemed to reverse the aging process. He recovered his vibrant physical health, exercising 90 minutes a day. But something new took root—a deepening love, wonder, and faith. He became fascinated by the Bible. He wrote reflections on the Founding Fathers and their vision of government. He paused each day at noon to listen to the tolling bells of Saint John’s Church, in awe of the sacredness of life, family, and God. In his final years, he became an endless wellspring of encouragement (and chocolate ice cream) for his children and grandchildren.

Like Scrooge on Christmas morning, he glowed with a new appreciation for life—and it was contagious, touching all who were blessed enough to be around him. That joy and love poured out through each phone conversation, email, and in-person visit.

He will always be remembered for his honor, his iron will, his sharp sense of humor, and his deep love for family. In addition to his five children, his legacy is carried on by his seven grandchildren, for whom he could scarcely contain his pride: Emma, Kaleigh, Audrey, Declan, Brennan, Alessandra, and Aria. Each one carries forward his legacy of love, honor, perseverance, and family.

Dr. Robert Lindsay Pyles fought the good fight. He kept the faith. And he has finished the race.

We are forever amazed by the man he was. Our deep sadness, however, is far surpassed by gratitude to have known him. He was—and will forever be—our father, our hero, our friend.

A private memorial service was held on April 23. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Home Base, a national nonprofit that provides life-changing support to veterans facing the invisible wounds of war.

If you’d like us to run a complete obituary of your loved one on Swellesley, please send to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com