FALMOUTH — Beryl Louise Haskell, 77, died on Dec. 26, 2010, at Sedgewood Commons, Falmouth, surrounded by her family.
She was born on Jan. 6, 1933, in Orange, N.J., the daughter of William and Marguerite (Harris) Oliver. She grew up in Livingston, N.J., graduating from Orange High School in 1951. Beryl went on to graduate from the University of Vermont with a degree in Zoology in 1955 and was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.
In 1955, she married Dan Wells Manson of Grosse Point, Mich., moving to Appleton, Wis., then to Saffle, Sweden in 1958. While living in Sweden, she visited England, Norway and Denmark. She returned to the United States to live in Maine in 1960, where she has been a resident for the majority of her life. On Jan. 8, 1993, she married Owen Haskell in the living room of Strawberry Meadows Farm in New Gloucester.
She enjoyed traveling, making trips to Germany and France. Following her marriage to Owen Haskell she traveled to Switzerland and Italy to support Owen as he competed in the World Cup Seniors Cross-Country races. The trip to Switzerland required the racers and support teams to helicopter into the race area because the roads were impassable. Beryl also made two special trips with her sister Judy, one to visit her niece Jill Boynton in Prague, Czech Republic the other a trip sponsored by Vermont Public Radio to Brussels, Amsterdam and London focusing on live performances of classical music and opera.
Beryl loved the outdoors, especially hiking, completing all the Presidential peaks in the White Mountains, most of the major peaks in the Adirondacks, as well as the Carter and Mahoosuc Ranges of Maine. She canoed the complete Allagash Wilderness Waterway. She was an avid cross-country skier too. In 1991, she and Owen took the train to Sept ëles, Labrador, Canada, where the train only comes once a week, to go bushwhacking and canoeing with only compass and map.
Beginning as a small child she spent summers in Lake Placid, N.Y. at Camp Undercliff, a summer music camp run by her parents. Later, when Camp Undercliff was converted to a family camp, it still remained her favorite place on earth. She worked as an educator and librarian, developing an educational business called Ergoª to support teacher’s ability to provide enrichment education in regular classroom settings. She co-owned a catering business called Butter and Eggs in the 1980s. She was a member of Karen Miller's Aerobic Dance Team for 10 years, performing at assisted and senior housing in the Greater Portland area until her health declined.
She is survived by her husband of 17 years, Owen Haskell of New Gloucester; daughters, Jean Manson Waite of Bethel, Elizabeth Anne Manson of Brunswick and Katherine Manson Webster, M.D. of Cumberland; stepchildren, Willow Schwarz of Woolwich, Margaret Haskell of Brunswick, Amy Schwarz of Canada and William Haskell of Raymond; grandchildren and great-grandchild; sister, Judith Oliver Boynton of Keene, N.H.; her stepmother, Frances Lynch Oliver; stepsister, Sandra Oliver and stepbrother, Jeffery Oliver all of Bloomington, N.Y., and William Oliver Jr. of New Jersey; and a cousin.
She was predeceased by her parents, William and Marguerite Oliver.
A ceremony of celebration and remembrance was held on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010, at the New Gloucester Congregational Church, New Gloucester, and a reception followed in the vestry.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: Women, Work and Community of Maine, 46 University Drive, Augusta, ME 04330.