Henry Calvin Place, age 83, of Wellesley, MA, passed away unexpectedly at home on August 12, 2018.
The son of the late Henry Coe and Rachel Whittmer Place of Wayne, PA, Henry Calvin – better known as Calvin, was raised in Philadelphia, PA. He attended Episcopal Academy and graduated from the Hill School in 1953. He spent his childhood summers at camps Tecumseh and Pasquaney both in New Hampshire. Later in his teens and early 20’s, during the summer, he was tearing up the tennis courts at the Wianno Club in Osterville and working as a tennis instructor at the Duxbury Yacht Club. He went on to Harvard College (Class of 1957), where he studied economics and played for the tennis and squash varsity teams, ranking in the top five nationally in both sports. At Harvard, he was also a member of the Fly Club, the Hasty Pudding Theatrics, and US Army ROTC. He proudly continued his work with the US Army for four years after Harvard. Also after graduation, he worked as an equity analyst for Philadelphia National Bank. From there, Calvin earned an MBA from Harvard Business School (Class of 1961), then joined E.I. Dupont De Nemours to work in the textile fibers division. During this 7-year chapter in Wilmington, Calvin won several Delaware state tennis and squash tournaments. So smitten was the Dupont family by Calvin’s athleticism that the family asked him to leave his job and accept an offer to be their live-in tennis coach. The offer prompted Calvin’s father to pluck him from Wilmington and bring him to Boston “where people did serious work.” In 1968, Calvin joined the Old Colony Trust Company (Bank of Boston) as an institutional investment advisor. Yearning to work more directly with families, Calvin left Old Colony in 1972 to join Hale & Dorr’s Trust Department, where he enjoyed a successful forty-year investment career providing thoughtful counsel while developing life long friendships with his valued clients. In 2012, Calvin transitioned to Hemenway & Barnes, where he continued to enjoy his work with clients until the day he passed away.
Calvin’s principal passion was his family. He loved spending time with young people and learning about what book they were reading and what sports they were playing. Over the years, he coached and attended hundreds of his children’s and grandchildren’s sports games in Wellesley and Needham. Calvin often relished a research trip to the town library to bolster a son’s or daughter’s term paper. As an avid life-long reader, Calvin enjoyed world history and classic American literature. On a daily basis, he enjoyed print editions of both the New York Times and Boston Globe. Calvin kept himself in terrific shape; enjoying tennis, squash, and golf with family and friends. He was often seen during his constitutional daily walk around Wellesley – rain or shine. He loved his time on Cape Cod, Naples beach, Planters Punches, Harvard Yale football, and spending time with his Harvard classmates. In his later life, Calvin dedicated energy and time volunteering at the Boston Conservatory, and Adolescent Wellness. At St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley, he enjoyed ushering and serving on the Finance Committee. Calvin was also an active member of The Country Club, Longwood Cricket Club, Wianno Club in Osterville, the Harvard Club of Boston, and a former member of the Union Boat Club of Boston; where he cherished time spent with family and friends.
Calvin Place is survived by his beloved wife of 31 years, Nancy Hacker Place, his daughter, Rachel Dickerman Place, and his two sons and their families, Henry Calvin Jr. and his wife, Tara, and their three sons, Henry Calvin III, Braden, and Nolan, and Jonathan Currier Place and his wife, Ryan, and their two children, William and Edie, and by his former wife, Julie Lewis Place and many beloved nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his brother David Elliott Place and sister Rachel Coe Place.
A celebration of Henry Calvin Place’s life will be held on Sunday, September 16th at 2 pm, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley, 79 Denton Road, Wellesley, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Calvin’s favorite non-profit, Adolescent Wellness Inc, http://www.adolescentwellness.org/. in Wellesley, MA.