Robert William Schubert, a longtime resident of Rye, passed away January 5, at his home. He was 88.
Mr. Schubert was an engineer, an executive, and an entrepreneur. He was a World War II veteran, a naval commander, and an avid amateur sailor.
During World War II, Mr. Schubert was assigned to the LSM-441 of the Pacific Theater. He captained the first non-Red Cross ship into Nagasaki, Japan, after the detonation of the second atomic bomb. He remained in the US Navy for 20 years, retiring as a Commander. Later, he continued his dedicated service as the Commander of the American Legion Post 128.
After active duty, Mr. Schubert worked at Columbia University’s Nevis Laboratories as a Chief Engineer on the Synchrocyclotron project for the Navy. He joined Watson Laboratories and worked as Chief Mechanical Engineer on the Naval Ordinance Research Computer, the fastest computer in existence in 1954.
Mr. Schubert subsequently joined IBM, where he spent a 30-year career. Among other assignments, he was the Chief Mechanical Test Engineer for the System 360 mainframe computer, considered to be one of the three all-time top business accomplishments. Mr. Schubert had several overseas assignments for IBM including Director of Defense and Complex Contracts in Paris, France, and Director of the Maritime Systems Center in Brussels, Belgium, and in Milan, Italy.
After his retirement from IBM, he started several entrepreneurial companies, including Relectronic Services Company, which he founded and directed for ten years until its purchase by Siemens AG of Germany.
In 1948 he married Joan Ireland. They raised three children, primarily in Greenwich. In 1985 he married Rita Krauss, and they raised one child in Rye.
For more than 50 years, Mr. Schubert was an active member of American Yacht Club. During that time, he participated in countless yachting events with his sailboat, Symphony.
In his eulogy, Mr. Schubert’s eldest son, Robert, recalled the joy his father took in putting the lights on the family Christmas tree every Christmas Eve, as well as building things in his basement shop — and attic shop — for others. “My father was a perfectionist at everything he did and he did so many things well.” He added, “We’re hoping his interview with St. Peter goes well.”
In addition to his wife, Rita, Mr. Schubert is survived by his children: Nancy Dunlap of Houston, Robert Schubert Jr. and his wife, Kate, of Devon, Pa.; Cynthia Westerman and her husband, William, of Wellesley, Mass., and Lt. Christopher Schubert of Whidbey Island, Wash.; and his grandchildren: Charles Dunlap and his wife, Jodie; 2nd Lt. Trevor Dunlap; and Reed, Todd, and Scott Westerman. He is also survived by his former wife, Joan Schubert.
He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held January 9 at the Church of the Resurrection. A private interment followed.
Donations in Mr. Schubert’s memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org or 877-958-2233).
Mildred Verille, 83, a longtime Rye resident, died quietly December 23, in Riverdale, N.Y. after a long illness.
Born August 1, 1928, in Port Chester, to Charles and Victoria Carpentieri, she spent her early childhood living on Fox Island Road with her sister, Nancy, and her three brothers, Sal, Rocky, and Joe.
After graduating from Port Chester High School, she worked as a beautician for many years.
“My wife was an early soccer mom,” recalled her husband fondly. “She was at every one of our boys’ sports events. She was also a good cook and a wonderful easy-going person.”
Mrs. Verille enjoyed traveling with her husband (Australia, Europe, and Hawaii among their destinations), the New York Yankees, knitting, arts and crafts, and baking. She devoted much of her time and energy to being a caregiver to family members.
In addition to her husband of 58 years, Paul Verille, she is survived by her three sons: Steve, Richard, and Mark, her daughters-in-law, Kerry and Marcia Verille; and her eight grandchildren, Michele, Kristen, Jennifer, Rye, Jake, Anna, Clare, and Michael.
A funeral service was held at Resurrection Church December 31. She was laid to rest at Greenwood Union Cemetery.
Donations in Mrs. Verille’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Beverly Huntington Seaman Chase, 92, died peacefully at her longtime home at Westchester Country Club December 31. She’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s ten years earlier.
She was born April 7, 1919, at her grandfather Henry’s apartment in the Alameda, 255 West 84th Street, Manhattan, to Julian and Gladys Lorraine Dodge Seaman.
It was while stopping to see her mother, who was an avid bridge player and in the middle of a game, that she was introduced to another player who upon seeing her declared, “I have a nephew whom I’d like you to meet.”
She met Hollis H. Chase and a romance that was to last for nearly 70 years began.
“I won Beverly over when she saw that I could play tennis,” recalled Mr. Chase, “unlike another of her suitors at the time. She was a champion tennis player; my serves came back harder than I hit them to her.”
They were already engaged when Mr. Chase was called into military service. “I’d finished my pre-flight training and we were at a dance for the cadets. While we were on the dance floor, she turned to me and said, “We should get married.” They were married the next day, September 9, 1942, at the Army Air Force Post in Montgomery, Alabama. The newlyweds moved from base to base until Mr. Chase went overseas in November 1943.
After he returned from the war, the Chases lived in Larchmont from 1944 to 1957 before moving to Rye Brook. In 1982, they moved to Westchester Country Club to be closer to Mrs. Chase’s mother, who lived in the apartment directly above. Mrs. Chase spent part of nearly every day with her mother until her death two years later.
Kenneth Huntington Chase remembers his mother as a bright and determined woman. “Her real vocation was her family, whom she was devoted to, but she was good at everything she did — bridge, bowling, photography, tennis, and landscape gardening. She even studied Russian.”
Her husband described his late wife as a wonderful and very self-effacing woman. “One year we won the bridge tournament at the Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, but she was reluctant to accept the prize because we weren’t members!”
Mrs. Chase was a member of the 14th Twig and a volunteer at Greenwich Hospital.
In addition to her husband of 69 years and her son, an attorney who lives in Manhattan and is retired from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Mrs. Chase is survived by her brother-in-law, Wilbur Porteus Chase of Kensington, Maryland.
A service was held January 6 at Rye Presbyterian Church. A private interment followed at Ferncliff Cemetery.
Donations may be made in Mrs. Chase’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association or Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester.
Edward J. Collins, a former Rye City Councilman, died December 21. He was 83.
Mr. Collins went on to become Managing Partner of Arthur Andersen & Co., heading the accounting firm’s Frankfurt, Germany and Stamford offices. He retired in 1987.
A dedicated member of the community, Mr. Collins served as City Councilman for six years and as Deputy Mayor. In retirement, he devoted his time to volunteer work.
His intelligence, wisdom, compassion, generosity, and humor will be missed by all.
Mr. Collins is survived by his wife of 55 years, Dorothy (Dottie); his children Edward, Ellen, and Peter; and four grandchildren.
A mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Church of the Resurrection December 28.
Click to read Councilman Joe Sacks interview with Mr. Collins for ” The Council Project.”
Anne B. “Lammie” Williams, a longtime Rye resident, passed away December 2. She was 71.
Born December 20, 1939 at Toledo Hospital, her childhood home and Midwest roots were in Perrysburg, Ohio. She was a 1957 graduate and committed alumna of Emma Willard School, and a 1959 graduate of Briarcliff College.In 1962, she and her husband, Thomas Williams, moved to Rye, where they enjoyed many happy and memorable years.
“I was fortunate enough to meet Lammie when she co-chaired the library’s first annual campaign,” recalled Board President Debra Julian. “She was an incredibly generous and kind person and I admired her commitment to this community. Her support over the years has truly made a difference in Rye. She helped sustain the library’s collections, maintain services and, in the last two years, if you have taken a free computer class at the library (and often there is a waiting list), you have benefitted from the Thomas A. Williams Fund, which she established.”
On the bookmark the Rye library sells, as part of its annual fundraising campaign, is a quote from Mrs. Williams, “Our library belongs to the community and is part of our family tradition.”
Throughout her life, she enjoyed canoeing and fishing with her family and friends in Grayling, Michigan, on the Au Sable River, a second home where she became an avid supporter of Mercy Hospital. For more than 30 years, she spent time skiing with family and friends in Stratton, Vermont, where she was a longtime supporter of the Carlos Otis Clinic.
Mrs. Williams cherished the close friendships she built, many through volunteer activities and membership at American Yacht Club. She fostered these with her own special touch — from her annual Christmas cards to the “Special Drawing” in support of United Hospital. She was also a member of Apawamis Club and New York Yacht Club. A master of the New York Times Crossword puzzle, among many things, her wit and tenacity were infectious and will be missed by all.
She was the loving wife of the late Thomas A Williams. She is survived by her four children: Thomas A. Williams Jr. of Perrysburg, Laura W. Jodice of Central, S.C., J. Carter Williams of St. Louis, and David D. Williams of Racine, Wisconsin; and six grandchildren: J. Hunter Williams, Charles N. Williams, Noah P. Jodice, Anne F. Williams, Jennifer H. Williams, and Patrick H. Williams. She was a beloved sister and sister-in-law to Frank S. “Fritz” Bell, Katherine B. Ryan, Mari Mennel-Bell, Howard H. “Terry” Williams, and the late Marie B. Cunningham; and devoted aunt to 17 nieces and nephews. In recent years, she shared much of her time with Timothy James of New York City.
Services will be held at Rye Presbyterian Church on what would have been Mrs. Williams’ 72nd birthday, December 20 at 10:30 a.m.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Rye Free Reading Room or the Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
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