Tiverton, RI - Amanda P. (Macy) Gelpke died on February 1, 2007 at home in Tiverton, RI, at the age of 93. She was the widow of Karl Adelbert Gelpke, who predeceased her in 1993. She is survived by children Paul Winthrop Gelpke, Robert Macy Gelpke, Ann Gelpke Appleton and Catherine Chase Gelpke; her sister Lois Gorham Wood; and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was predeceased by parents Dr. William Chase Macy and Augusta Pittman Macy, as well as siblings Ella Macy Sherberg and Robert Hoxie Macy. She graduated from New Bedford High School, Mount Holyoke College and Middlebury College. She loved the nuances of language and humor and taught Latin, English and French. She and her husband lived in the Carolinas and Sharon, MA, before retiring to Tiverton, RI. Since childhood, she spent her summers in Westport, MA, residing in one of the oldest houses in the area and enjoying membership at the Westport Yacht Club. She believed in civil disobedience, women’s issues (i.e., The League of Women Voters) and “professional complaining.” A descendant of whaling Capt. William Jenkins Macy, she had a passion for genealogy, family and the ocean.
Memorial gifts can be sent to : New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740 or Lighthouse Foundation / Beacon Hospice, 529 Main Street, Suite 101, Boston, MA 02129.
Arrangements will be private.