Wellesley is mourning the death and remembering the lifetime of service of Walter Woods, who passed away at the age of 106, on Jan. 2, 2025, after a brief stay at Elizabeth Seton Residence, where he was receiving care for recent health issues. Walter was preceded in death by his wife Mary. He is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Here’s the formal obituary for Walter Woods.

Town officials were fortunate to visit with Woods a few days before he passed, presenting him with the ceremonial Boston Cane on Dec. 30, 2024, at Elizabeth Seton. The cane is conferred each year to the town’s eldest resident.

Walter, an MIT graduate (1942) and talented engineer who once worked for NASA, is well-known for his many contributions to Wellesley and his dedication and influence as a Town government volunteer.

According to his obituary, Woods was on the “Wellesley Board of Public Works for 16 years; Town Meeting Member from Precinct A for 53 years and a Town Representative to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), which he helped establish in 1985, and on which he served for 32 years until his 99th birthday. As a chair of the Regional Committee, in 1996 Walter worked to help lease 36 acres of Elm Bank land to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.”

Services for Walter Woods

Visitation at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington Street, Wellesley, on Wednesday, January 8, from 4-7pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday, January 9, in St. Paul Church, Wellesley, at 10am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in memory of Walter Woods to be made to the Wellesley Council on Aging, 500 Washington St., Wellesley, MA 02482.

Editor’s note: It has been two months since the tragic passing of Natalie Gubbay, age 26. Natalie, a Wellesley High School graduate, died on October 23, in  Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a senseless car accident caused by a reckless drunk driver. She was waiting at a stop light, coming home from a trivia night with friends.

Her family has sent words of remembrance on the two-month anniversary without their daughter and sister.

Remembering Natalie

It has been two months. Two months of gut wrenching, soul stripping, physical and emotional, agonizing pain. In my journal I describe it as “feeling a hole inside us so large and empty and hollow that it is like having a severe stomach bug and a feeling of starvation at the same time. A huge anxious pit that can never go away.” Our dear, beautiful Natalie, aged 26, killed by a drunk driver while waiting at a stop light in downtown Minneapolis. The day after the crash, she was supposed to be on a plane to Charlottesville, visiting her 21-year-old sister Olivia and her Mom and Dad for parents’ weekend at UVA. She was so looking forward to it.

There is a before, and there is an after. We will never be the same.

It’s the holidays. We should be anticipating Natalie coming home to where she grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Where she has never missed a Christmas or a Thanksgiving. She would be telling us her latest news from Minneapolis. How she was happy that she had completed her National Science Foundation Scholarship proposal and her PhD applications. She would be sitting in a coffee shop with friends, discussing books and gift swap ideas, going for a last run in the cold before getting on a plane home. Once here our usual activities would resume. Cooking for sure. The girls would take over the kitchen for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, much to our delight, and many adventurous vegetarian dishes would be conjured up. We would be going on walks and hikes, visiting friends and neighbors, sitting around the fire pit, playing games, Catan, hearts, spades or anything involving a ball from ping pong to pickle ball or paddle tennis, to throwing a football back and forth while walking the dog through the neighborhood, and of course, watching Harry Potter movies.

Natalie had virtually no social media, never had a TV. She lived in the real world around her, always active, always curious, talking with people, never sitting around. Every Thursday she volunteered teaching English to Spanish-speaking adults. She regularly gave her time at a homeless center. Her roommate told us that on hot days she would buy bottled water and hand it out to the homeless, and on frigid Minnesota winter days she would spend her money to buy hand warmers to hand out. Nat dedicated her personal time to helping others less fortunate, being present, connecting with others.

Natalie was a young adult about to embark on her next chapter. Soaring forth, with her characteristic drive of always caring for others, living simply and without excess, and bringing community with her. She was unique. A 26-year-old with a brilliant mind and a caring heart, an old soul daring to dream of a better world. Senselessly taken from us and the world just as she was coming into her own.

It’s hard to accept that we will never get our beautiful Natalie back.

Dear, beautiful Nat,
We love you so, so much,
But you were taken away
There’s nothing more to say
The poem ends
Soft, as it began
We miss you so, so much
Our dear, beautiful Nat.

Natalie has a memorial at Woodlawn Cemetery, which we refer to as Natalie’s Rock. As the engraving says, she will be in our hearts and minds forever.

We love you so much Nat,

Rachel (mom), Keith (dad) and Olivia (sister)

Peter Offenhartz was born on June 6, 1939, in Brooklyn, NY, to Harry and Eileen Offenhartz, the eldest of three boys. When Peter was five, the family moved to Croton-on-Hudson, NY, settling on West Mt. Airy Road—often called “Red Hill” due to the number of communists living nearby. Peter and his younger brother Colin enjoyed a free-spirited childhood in the countryside, spending their days fishing, skiing, and walking miles to visit friends or the village.

During high school, Peter showcased his adventurous spirit. After skipping 11th grade, he spent his summers bicycling through Ireland (where he visited his mother’s relatives), Wales, England, and France. He also toured Italy with the American Youth Abroad program. Graduating from Croton Harmon High School in just three years, Peter went on to attend Swarthmore College, where he met the love of his life, Barbara Hopf.

Peter and Barbara, both Chemistry majors, quickly formed a bond. Barbara, a year ahead of Peter, graduated in 1960 with honors. They married on May 29, 1960, just a week shy of Peter’s 21st birthday, with his parents’ permission. Their honeymoon was a hitchhiking adventure through Europe, visiting Ireland, Norway, Denmark, and Germany—a prelude to their lifetime of travel. Their first child, Kathleen, was conceived during this trip and born on May 6, 1961.

Peter joined Barbara at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960, where they both earned doctorates in Physical Chemistry by 1963. They then received fellowships to study in Cambridge, England, under Christopher Longuet-Higgins. Following this, the family embarked on a remarkable journey via the Trans-Siberian Railroad, stopping in Warsaw, Moscow, and Nahodka before sailing to Japan. In Tokyo, Peter and Barbara began NIH fellowships at the Institute of Solid State Physics under Satoru Sugano. Their son, John Ken, was born during a typhoon on September 25, 1964.

From Tokyo, the family traveled through Hawaii and San Francisco before settling in Boulder, Colorado,where Peter taught at the University of Colorado and authored a Quantum Chemistry textbook. After two years, the family moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, where Peter continued teaching and wrote another textbook. His career later took the family to Strasbourg, France, for a year, during which they also explored Africa. Upon returning to Amherst College, Peter pursued his passion for aviation, flying his family across the country several times in a Mooney airplane he purchased.

The family eventually moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Peter worked for the Physical Sciences Group and later founded his own software companies, including Starbuck Data, Software Taylors, Inc., and Matt Timekeeping Systems, Inc. He semi-retired at 65 but continued to explore the world with Barbara.

In retirement, Peter was an active writer with the Wellesley Weston Lifetime Learners Memoir course. He and Barbara were founding members of Wellesley Neighbors in 2011, participating in the Short Story Group, The Playreading Group, and the New Yorker Discussion group. He also served as webmaster and was integral to the tech team until shortly before his death.

Summers were spent at their beloved home on Eagle Island, where they hosted family and friends at “Offenhouse” and sailed the Penobscot Bay. As their children grew, Peter and Barbara traveled extensively, exploring the Silk Road, Sicily, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and countless ski destinations in Europe and the United States.

Peter will be remembered as an adventurous traveler, devoted husband, and gracious host. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; children, Kathleen and John Ken; daughters-in-law, Kiva and Victoria; grandchildren, Corrin, Claire, and Sean; brothers, Colin and Douglas; and nieces and nephews, Jesse, Ryan, and Caitlin.

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

John L. Saunders of Wellesley passed away on November 29, 2024. Beloved husband of the late Mary Ellen (Shields) Saunders. Devoted father of JoEllen Saunders Yannis of Brighton, Joseph John Saunders of Holliston and John Lee Saunders and his wife, Kristen Bushway of Woodstock, NH. Grandfather of Jonah, Jonathan and Jane Yannis. John was a proud U.S. Army Veteran. He was a member of the Wellesley Celebrations Committee/Veterans Parade.

John attended West Newton High School and graduated in 1950. While in high school he played on the varsity football team and was an active member of the Meteorology Club making weekly observations atop Blue Hills at the National Weather Services Observatory. After graduating John attended Fisher Junior College while working as the Caddie Master at Brae Burn Country Club, where he caddied for most of his teenage years. He even taught a caddie class in Charlestown. With the outbreak of the Korean War, John was drafted into the US Army, and was assigned to a Field Artillery Unit. During his service he was stationed at Fort Sill, OK, and attained the rank of Sergeant First Class before being honorably discharged in 1953.

Upon returning to Massachusetts, John was called by Bud Wellman, a business owner and member at Brae Burn CC. He offered him a job – Traffic Manager of products created by his company, Wellman, Inc. John took the job at the company’s headquarters in downtown Boston, and worked there for 27 years. While starting his new career John attended Northeastern University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business in 1966.

In 1964 he married the love of his life, Mary Ellen Shields of Needham. Soon after they wed, they welcomed their first child, Jo-Ellen, followed by Joseph, and then John. They purchased land and had a house built in Wellesley to raise their family.

John and his family were parishioners at Saint James the Great Catholic Church in Wellesley, MA. Not wanting to just attend Mass, he became a Eucharistc Minister to assist the priest in distributing communion during Mass, and brought communion to those who were unable to attend Mass dutifully for decades. After the closure of Saint James, John and Mary Ellen chose to worship at Saint Julia’s in Weston, MA, where he continued his Eucharistic Minister duties.

While in the Army, John joined the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic Family Fraternal Organization that provides aid to its members and families, as well as aid and assistance to the disabled and those in need. Proud of his military service, John was an active member with the American Legion Wellesley Post 72. For over 45 years he attended and participated in Veterans Day and Memorial Day services. In the mid 1990’s he joined the Wellesley Celebrations Committee to help organize and run the Veterans Memorial Service and the Veteran’s Day Parade.

The biggest heartache and challenge to John and Mary Ellen was when their son, Joseph, was stricken with Reyes Syndrome at the age of 5. The disease swells and damages the brain, leaving the victim physically and mentally handicapped. They dedicated their lives to meeting and overcoming the challenges they faced to provide Joseph with the best life he could have.

Visiting hours will be held at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St., Wellesley on Wednesday, December 4th from 4-7pm. Funeral from the funeral home on Thursday, December 5th at 9am, followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Julia’s Church, Weston at 10am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment St. Mary Cemetery, Needham.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in John’s memory to St. Bonaventure Indian Mission & School, 25 Navarre Blvd. West, Thoreau, NM., 87323. John will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him.

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

Jane Leman Port, née Beer, passed away at the age of 78 on Monday, November 18, 2024 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Her last moments were spent in her home with family and friends.

Jane’s parents were Velma Irene Beer, née Leman, (of Bremen, Indiana) and Walter Omar Beer (of Milford, Indiana). Walter was captured in North Africa and held as a Prisoner of War until the end of World War II. Born on September 12, 1946. Jane was raised on her parents’ dairy farm near Bremen Indiana. She often said she never knew why her parents didn’t teach her about farming, livestock, or kitchen work. She read every book in the Bremen library. She loved music, and learned to play piano and organ, and played woodwinds in the marching band. Sometimes she gave piano lessons to younger students.

In 1970, Jane Beer worked as assistant director of an art gallery located in the defunct Kamm & Schellinger Brewery in Mishawaka, Indiana. The historic brewery had been converted to a commercial space. After bicycling on a hot day, Allan, found the gallery and came in looking for a cold beer, not knowing that Jane was the only Beer there.  She offered him a glass of cold water. He thought she was smart and beautiful. She said he was different from anyone she had ever met. Jane Beer and Allan Port married in the Brewers’ Mansion on that same property about six months later on January 17, 1971. At the wedding reception, the only drinks served were beer and port.

Jane earned a Bachelor of Arts degree Magna cum laude in German from Temple University, a Master of Arts in Art History from Boston University, and a certificate in Museum Studies from Boston University. She worked at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Boston Transportation Museum and later became the curator at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. At the MFA, she compiled an extensive database of Boston area metal workers and artist-blacksmiths and contributed to the updated catalog of their silver. A researcher at heart, Jane enjoyed unearthing the details of long forgotten artists and craftspeople, publishing articles and papers on a wide range of decorative artists. As an independent curator she also cataloged and curated several private collections of jewelry and other decorative works, including one collection of jewelry now partially on display at the MFA. Jane also curated several exhibits of decorative arts at Plymouth State University (NH), at Saint Anselm College (NH), and a special exhibit on enamel arts at the Long Beach Museum of Art (CA).

Both Allan and Jane were raised in liberal families that valued democracy and community and were wary of organized religions. While the families had vastly different backgrounds, they shared a deep respect for independent thought, education and integrity. When asked how they would raise their future children (Jewish or Christian), Allan and Jane would say, “To be good people.” They raised two children together, Sarah Jane Port Laberge (born 1982) and Andrew Allan Port (born 1985), alongside many dogs and cats.] They lived in South Bend (IN), Philadelphia (PA), and Tewksbury (MA) before happily settling in Wellesley in 1985.

Jane leaves behind her husband, Allan Port, her son Andrew Port, her daughter and son-in-law Sarah and Francois Laberge, her grandchildren Guy and Sophie Laberge, and her beloved siblings (“the Boys”) and their families: John Beer and Cindy Green, Joe and Jamie Beer, Ardale and Mary Jo Beer, her brother-and sister-in-law Eli and Rebecca Port along with her eight nieces and nephews, and many of her 42 first cousins.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Good Shepherd Community Care and Hospice in Newton, MA. All are welcome at a gathering to remember Jane at her home in early December, please contact the family for details.

Obituaries of current or past Wellesley residents and community members can be sent to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Those in Wellesley and beyond this week are mourning the death and celebrating the life of Herlda Senhouse, who passed away at the age of 113 on Saturday morning, Nov. 16, peacefully in her sleep. She was the oldest resident in Wellesley as well as the state, and the second oldest in the country, having turned 113 on Feb. 28.

Herlda is survived by four generations of nieces and nephews, and countless friends who loved and cherished her.

Here’s the formal obituary for Herlda Senhouse.

We were fortunate to celebrate several of this extraordinary women’s recent birthdays, which were marked by good cheer as well as the presentation of the Boston Post Cane, allowed out of the Wellesley Historical Society’s collections but once a year for its annual photo-op with the town’s eldest resident.

At Herlda’s last birthday party, one attendee said: “She’s just a fun person, a great role model to look up to.”

The longtime Wellesley resident attributed her longevity to her many friends, her church family, and her zest for life. Just last year, she and friends took a train to New Jersey for an anniversary party.

“Aunt Herlda,” as she was known to many, lived at Glen Grove in town, though her most recent birthday was celebrated in the hospital. She lived in Wellesley for more than 45 years.

Herlda was born in Piedmont, W.V., in 1911 as one of 10 children, and moved to Woburn, Mass., in 1927. She married William Senhouse in 1933 and they were married for 62 years until his passing. She worked as a nanny for years.

According to her obituary: “While civil rights leaders marched in the 1960s for equality and against racism, Senhouse showed her activism through jazz dance shows. She founded Boston’s Clique Club, a social club of dancers and musicians to help educate Black students. Senhouse helped countless Black students pay for everything from books to college tuition through the Clique Club.”

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Dec. 21 at Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton (21 Curve St.). According to her friend, Margaret Robinson, Herlda in true fashion made arrangements to donate her brain to the lab at MassGeneral Hospital for research on longevity. And one of her last activities was to vote by mail in the 2024 election, according to the town.

The Select Board plans to recognize Herlda Senhouse’s passing during Tuesday’s regular meeting.