Evelyn Wellington Danforth

WESTON, Mass. — Evelyn “Lyn” Wellington Danforth died with her siblings and children around her on Aug. 15, 2014. 

Lyn’s love of life carried her through all the stages of her 75 years. Beginning in her 1940s childhood in Weston, she was a creative and cheerful mother’s helper to three younger siblings as well as companion to her grandmother and namesake, Evelyn Wellington, at the family’s farm, Gateways. Her skill with children and confidence with language led her to her first job as an au pair in France at age 16.

After receiving a degree in early childhood education from Bennett College, Lyn did student teaching on a Navajo Reservation in Gallup, N.M., before accepting a teaching position at the Peck School in Morristown, N.J. While at Bennett, she met William Haskell, a senior at Yale University, and they married in the spring of 1958. She was 19. 

Shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Anne, in Washington, D.C., the family left the comforts of home and embarked on a tramp steamer for New Zealand, where William thought he had a job waiting for him. That job did not materialize, but thus began a one-and-a-half-year adventure for the small family during which, besides a stint in New Zealand, they lived for periods of time in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and finally Australia.

After arriving back in the States, they tried their hand at farming in Chambersburg, Pa., and she gave birth to son Benjamin in 1962. Three years later they moved to a small family farm that William inherited in Colebrook, Conn.

Finally settled, Lyn could pursue her passion of caring for and teaching young children by starting a nursery school in her home. Called The Living Room, the enterprise became the seed for the Winsted Area Nursery School, which she started with two other teachers in 1976. The themes of her preschools were clear: structuring the day in a thoughtful way, showing respect for each child, valuing their individual needs and interests, staying connected to nature in all seasons and exploring joyful expression through songs, rhythms, art and words.

A very active new phase of Lyn’s life began when, after her marriage ended, she moved to Nantucket to run the family home on Main Street as a B&B. 

Lyn became devoted to the Quaker community, served as Clerk of the Meeting and worked to restore the original 17th-century meetinghouse. Lyn later became a full-time caregiver to elderly residents on the island who wanted to stay at home despite challenges such as dementia. Her loving kindness was the foremost quality in her work as caregiver, and she worked to brighten the lives of her charges, making each day enjoyable for them.

After leaving Nantucket, in 2007 she bought her first home in a diverse neighborhood in Roslindale, Mass., where she and her daughter hosted students from around the world who were studying to learn English. Lyn very much valued diversity and thrived in her close-knit neighborhood.

Even after suffering an aneurysm and several strokes over the past four years, Lyn maintained courage and a cheerful outlook for her new companions and caregivers at her assisted living home, where she died. 

Lyn is the mother of Anne W. Haskell of Roslindale, and Benjamin D. Cowie-Haskell and his wife, the Rev. Jill Cowie, both of Marshfield. She dearly loved her four grandchildren Kate (21), Morgan (21), Adam (19) and Laura Cowie-Haskell (19), all now in college. She is the elder sister of Nicholas W. Danforth, Julie Hyde and Nina Danforth, all of Weston. 

A memorial service will be held on Nov. 29 at 2 p.m., King’s Chapel, Boston, Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Lyn’s memory to the Franklin Park Coalition, P.O. Box 302333, Boston, MA 02130.