Mildred Welti Hoadley
Mildred Welti Hoadley, 86, of Kimball Farms Retirement Community, 235 Walker St., died Saturday at Berkshire Medical Center.Born in Bern, Switzerland, Dec. 10, 1921, daughter of Edgar and Erna Wassali Welti, her family emigrated to the United States in 1936 to follow the religious teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and join the Christian Science Movement in Boston.
She was a 1940 graduate of The Principia, a Christian Science school in St. Louis, Mo., received her associates degree from Principia College in 1942, and studied design at Yale Drama School.
During World War II, Mrs. Hoadley was employed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a draftsman in the lab where radar was being developed. In the 1960's, after she had moved to Milford N.H. with her husband and children, she designed and raised funds to create a town park on a riverside site in Milford and named it Emerson Park. After her children were grown, she and her husband moved to Malibu, Calif., prior to retiring to White Pines in Stockbridge in 1987.
Mrs. Hoadley anjoyed the visual arts, includng painting, working in collage and fiber, and quilting. Some of her quilts were featured in the Berkshire Quilt Festival. She also enjoyed volunteering for Jacob's Pillow and the Berkshire Art Association.
She married David Arthur Hoadley in June, 1943, while he was on a brief leave from the Marine Corps during World War II.
Besides her husband of Lenox, she leaves three sons; Kenneth L. Hoadley of Zamoroano, Honduras, Thomas A. Hoadley of Lanesborough, and Frederic S. Hoadley of Seattle, Wash.; a daughter, Andrea T. H. Nix Hoadley of Becket; a brother, George R. Welti of Reston, Va.; a sister, Grace W. Hedrick of Miami; and eight grandchildren.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Mildred Hoadley, who died Dec. 15, 2007, will be held at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridg, Jan. 21, 2008 at 2 p.m. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in Sheffield Center Cemetery.
There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Annual Fund at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in care of the ROCHE FUNERAL HOME, 120 Main St., Lenox, MA, 01240.
Mrs. Hoadley also leaves her loving grandchildren, Sarah K. Hoadley of Middlebury, Vt., Benjamin D. Hoadley of Boston, Leana W. Hoadley of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Elizabeth W. Hoadley of Mexico City, Kenneth D. Hoadley of Zamorano, Honduras, Olivia T. Karis-Nix of Stephentown, N.Y., Edward J. Nix of Amherst, and Arthur A. Nix of Becket; two daughters-in-law, Leana S. Hoadley and Stephanie D. Hoadley; and a son-in-law, Jonathan Nix.