GRAPE, Matthew Hamilton – Passed away in a tragic car accident in Durham, North Carolina on September 15, 2011; Matt was 21 years old. He was a senior at Duke University where he was a Political Science major. Matthew was born in Boston and lived in Wellesley his entire life. He attended Wellesley Public Schools and was a 2008 graduate of Noble and Greenough School in Dedham. Matt started Duke in August 2008 and immediately fell in love with all that the school offered – athletics, academics, and most importantly, his friends. During the summer of 2010, he studied at the London School of Economics and enjoyed all that London had to offer. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Duke and was Vice President of the Duke Pre-Law Society. At Nobles, he was the Co-President of the Spirit Club, a member of the football and basketball teams and Vice President of the Film Appreciation Club. He volunteered during Hurricane Katrina clean-up in New Orleans. Matt was a sports fanatic and was a true lover of all New England sports. During his middle school and high school years, he was an umpire for the Wellesley Little League for seven years and participated in Wellesley Youth Hockey, Town Basketball, CYO Basketball, Wellesley Youth Lacrosse and Wellesley Little League. He worked during the summer of 2011 as an intern for Bloomberg in Washington, DC. Matt also worked as a member of the Nobles Buildings and Grounds department for two summers.
Matt will be forever missed by his parents, Peter A. and Linda Oliver Grape, his sister, Katherine (Katie) H. Grape and his brother, Peter A. Grape, Jr. He is survived by his beloved dog, Brandy. He was the grandson of S. Roger and Carol Oliver of Cabot, Pennsylvania and the late Mary Oliver and Dudley and Emily Grape. Matt was the nephew of Judy and Charlie Barnett of Darien, CT, Dee and Eric Karlen, MD of Marietta, GA, Tom and Anne Grape of Weston, Peg and Dan Kinkade of Carrollton, Texas and Mary Sue and Ted Wolf of Lititz, Pennsylvania as well as many cousins.
Visiting hours at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St. (Rt.16) WELLESLEY, Sunday, September 18th from 4-8 PM. A funeral service will be held Monday, September 19th at 11 am at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Denton Rd, Wellesley. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his memory to the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation, PO Box 81207, Wellesley, MA 02481.