Phoebe Hamilton Soule, age 97, died on June 12. Born on August 26, 1918 in Chambersburg, PA, she was the youngest child of Taber Hamilton and Abigail Gillan and was adored by her brothers, Taber and William Rush.
Phoebe attended the Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia and then enrolled at Vassar College, graduating with a major in French in 1940. She taught in the elementary division of the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA. She married Richard H. (Dick) Soule of Roxbury, MA in 1944 (at the time, Sergeant in the US Army); they were married for nearly 71 years.
Phoebe and Dick moved to Roxbury after Dick left the Army; they lived in Vienna, Austria during the Korean War (Dick having returned to active duty); they moved to Lexington in 1953. In 1971 Phoebe and Dick joined the Peace Corps, working in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and later, Fiji. The Soules also became world travelers, visiting far-flung locations including Machu Pichu, Tibet, Zanzibar and Easter Island, among many others. They moved to Orleans in 1977, residing on Rock Harbor Road.
Later in life, Phoebe and Dick Soule became leaders in working for Habitat for Humanity, travelling to Americus, GA each winter to work with volunteers including President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn. The Soules were lead founders of Habitat for Humanity Cape Cod and supported The Carter Center and The Fuller Center (organized by Habitat founder Millard Fuller) to advance domestic justice and promote dignified living conditions for all people. She took an active interest in Shaker history and culture, attending seminars and supporting Dick’s business, Orleans Carpenters, which produced Shaker oval boxes and furniture. She was a lover of classical music, reading (particularly history and biographies), and was engaged with the programs and activities of the Unitarian Meeting House in Chatham.
Phoebe was predeceased by her husband on March 24, 2015; she leaves her sons Marcus J. (and wife, Jane) of Roswell, GA and children Nathan (and Nathan’s wife, Cayce and son, Gabriel) and Bethany (and Bethany’s husband, Mitch and daughter, Phoebe); Benjamin G. (and wife, Deborah) of Lexington, MA and children Emily and Abigail; and Gerry (and wife, Nan) of Portland, ME and children Eban and Sam.
A memorial service will be held on Cape Cod at a date to be announced. Memorial donations may be made to the Star Island Corporation, c/o Morton Benedict House, 30 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; or to Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, 411 Main Street – Suite 6, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675; or to the Unitarian Meeting House of Chatham, MA, 819 Main Street, Chatham, MA 02633.
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