Around Town – October 6, 2022

Condolences

Judith Haslam Cross
Judith Haslam Cross, 91, of Hanover, N.H., died peacefully at Kendal at Hanover, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Judy was born on Dec. 23, 1930, in Orange, N.J., to Marcella Dunn Haslam and John Edwin Cummings Haslam.

She attended schools in Westfield, N.J., where she grew up and graduated from William Smith College in 1952 with a B.A. in English. Judy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2000. She was a widow of William John Cross who died in 2003. They were married for 49 years.

Judy was predeceased by her beloved companion John H. Hatheway and her son John C. Cross. She is survived by two other children, Alexandra C. Mitchell of Charlotte, Vt., Tiffany C. Daly, four grandchildren; Evelyn Mitchell, Elliott Mitchell, William Daly, and Katherine Daly and one great grandson; Cristian Paradis. She is also survived by John Hatheway, Jr. (Bethany), Geoffrey Hatheway (Mary Beth), Sara Merrill (Peter) and seven Hatheway/Merrill grandsons.

Judy served as trustee of Hobart and William Smith Colleges from 1984-1992, including terms as vice chairman of the board and as honorary trustee. Judy was active in the Episcopal Church in Westchester County, N.Y., serving as senior warden of St. Matthew’s Church in Bedford, N.Y. She also served as chairman of the Somers Library and was on the board of the Katonah Library as well as various other boards in Westchester County, N.Y. After moving to Orford, N.H. in 1993, Judy served on the boards of The Friends of the Hopkins Center, the Hood Museum of Art, ILEAD and the Orford Social Library.
A celebration of life service will be h

eld on Nov. 12, 2022, at 3 p.m. in the Gathering Room at Kendal at Hanover in Hanover, N.H. A reception will be held at the Hanover Inn from 5-7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brent Scholarship Fund Judy endowed at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Office of Advancement, 20 Seneca Street, Geneva, N.Y., 14456.

Melvin Ira Kaplan
Melvin Ira Kaplan, 93, of Randolph Center, Vermont, died peacefully at home on Sept. 25, 2022.

He was born on August 29, 1929 to Barnet and Edna (Levine) Kaplan in New York City, N.Y.

He grew up in the Bronx and went to the New York High School of Music and Art followed by the Juilliard School of Music in New York City which he entered at the age of 16. He attended Juilliard from 1946 to 1951, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music, playing the oboe. While at Juilliard, he became principal oboe and librarian of Dean Dixon’s American Youth Symphony.

Upon graduating from Juilliard, he became a member of the faculty where he taught oboe and chamber music from 1952-1982. His intense passion for contemporary music led to the formation of the New Art Wind Quintet followed by the formation of the New York Chamber Soloists in 1957. The New York Chamber Soloists remain as a professional classical music group and Melvin played with them until 2015.

In addition, he organized, contracted and performed with the Musica Aeterna Orchestra in a regular yearly series of concerts sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1965 and 1982. Later efforts included the formation of the Mozart Orchestra of New York and dreaming up interesting and diverse programs for them to play.

Melvin was a consummate creator, with an unmatched mind for musical programming. His extensive musical contacts led him to form Melvin Kaplan Inc., a music management company, in 1961. He managed this business while continuing as a performing musician. He continued to develop ambitious ideas long after selling his management business in 2014. The business maintains an office in Burlington under a new name.

Melvin is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ynez Lynch Kaplan. They met while playing together in an orchestra in Connecticut and continued to play music together for the remainder of both of their careers.

In 1976, he moved his family from New York City to Charlotte, Vermont, where his musical ambitions continued. In 1974, he and a friend from Burlington came up with the idea for the Vermont Mozart Festival, which provided classical music to thousands over its 37-year run in and around Burlington. Melvin was the artistic director of the festival throughout its history. In all these endeavors Melvin’s encyclopedic knowledge of classical music and music history aided him in creating imaginative programs for the multitude of concerts he produced.

After spending most of his life in and around New York City, Melvin transitioned easily to country life in Vermont. He would readily go from wearing a black tuxedo to grungy jeans, work shirt and worn LL Bean boots to go spend time pulling weeds in one of his vegetable gardens. He didn’t hesitate to drive tractors during haying or sugaring season and stacked hay in the barns along with the rest of his family. He had a passion for plants and had a year-round greenhouse where he took great pride in the tomatoes he could eat in the middle of the winter and the fresh cut flowers that adorned the table year-round.

He and Ynez traveled extensively and two of their favorite trips each year were to France and Hawaii. They both loved good food and good wine and maintained a well-stocked wine cellar at home. Melvin and Ynez hosted many dinner parties at their home in Charlotte with Melvin serving as the sommelier and Ynez as the chef.

He was an avid reader, with a focus on mysteries such as those authored by Dick Francis and Daniel Silva. One of his favorite books was Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, from which he could quote long passages by memory. He could recite the entire poem “Jabberwocky” from Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.

One of the hallmarks of his character was his passion for jokes which he could pull one after the other from memory. As in music, his timing was impeccable. He had an infectious laugh and a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he was reminded of a joke.

Melvin is predeceased by his brother Harvey.

He is survived by his wife, Ynez Lynch Kaplan of Randolph Center, Vt.; his brother Burton Kaplan and his wife Sally, of Morris, N.Y.; his son Jonathan Kaplan and his wife Anne, of Randolph, Vt.; his daughter Christina Kaplan Rohan of Montpelier, Vt.; his son Eric Kaplan and his wife Jerri, of Portland, Ore.; his daughter Karen Kaplan Chambers and her husband Ben, of Franklin Lakes, N.J.; and 11 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Congratulations

St. Lawrence University welcomed Madeline M. Haydock of Charlotte as a member of the class of 2026.

New hire

Charlotte public relations firm Junapr has hired its 13th full-time employee. Whitney Coombs Bowden of South Burlington is coming on board as associate director.

Bowden was the director of business development at Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. and marketing director for Kelly Brush Foundation.
She graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s in environmental studies.