Stephen Ryder Parkhurst
1930 - 2024
Steve passed away on January 16, 2024 at age 93. He is survived by his second wife, Cecily, to whom he was married for 30 years, and was married to his first wife Lorraine for 35 years until her death in 1992. Cecily and Steve were married in 1994. Lorraine and Cecily were the best of friends.
He is survived by five children, John Parkhurst of Plymouth, MA, Laura Eitel and her husband Douglas of Seattle, WA, Sarah Hutchins her and husband Dana of Hollis, ME, David Parkhurst of Plymouth, MA, and Susan Parkhurst of Old Orchard Beach, ME; two stepchildren, Trevor Bradshaw of Hampton, NH and Hilary Bradshaw of Concord, MA; also by four grandsons, Andrew Eitel, Wilder Parkhurst, Ryder Parkhurst, and Alan Hutchins, and by two step-grandchildren, Casey and Riley Bradshaw.
Born in Winchester, MA, he was the son of the late Richard and Katharine Parkhurst. Steve lived most of his life in Winchester, attending Winchester schools and graduating from Winchester High School in 1948. He went on to Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1952 with a degree in English Literature.
He then commenced a 49 year career in banking, working first for the First National Bank of Boston for three years. It was here where he met and fell in love with Lorraine. They were married in 1956.
He took time off to further his education, obtaining his MBA from Babson College in 1957. After graduation he joined the then Merchants National Bank of Boston, where he had a number of assignments in Operations and Finance, including a stint as Vice President and Comptroller.
In 1979 he was asked to take a senior position at the Barnstable County National Bank of Hyannis, which he joined as Senior Vice President in charge of operations for seven years.
After working for two co-operative banks, in one of which he was the bank’s President, in order to return to the Boston area he accepted the job of Executive Vice President and COO of the Gloucester Bank & Trust Company, where he worked for another 7 years, retiring in 2001 at age 71, shortly after 9/11.
Steve was very active in the community, serving in the Town government of Winchester for 50 years. Starting on the Finance Committee in 1968, he became Chairman of the Subcommittee on Education which led to being on or being the Chairman of the School Committee, the Planning Board, and the Conservation Commission. He served on three School Superintendent Search Committees, chairing two. The Winchester Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year in 2005, and the Rotary Club named him as a Harris Fellow.
He was active in banking organizations as well, being on the Boston Clearing House Operations Committee, Chair of the Mass. Banker Operations Committee, on the Board of Governors of the American Institute of Banking, and President of the Boston Chapter, Bank Administration Institute.
But Steve was not all work and no play. He enjoyed spending time with his family at their Manomet, MA vacation home. He was a true train afficionado and avid railfan, and was never happier as when he was train watching in California and the Southwest. He enjoyed the Rangeley lakes region in Maine. He loved classical music and was a Boston Symphony subscriber. He was devoted to the Hudson River School of Painting. He enjoyed reading World War II and American history. He was active in his Class of 1952 at Dartmouth, serving as Treasurer for many years. He was a true gentleman and Renaissance man.
Steve and Cecily moved from Winchester in 2017 to Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA, where they have been active in the community, making new friends as a result.
Graveside services will be held in private at a later date.