Adelaide “Mouse” Storer Rowley passed away peacefully on March 31, 2016, at her home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. She was 96. She always put her family above all and was devoted to her friends, charitable work and animal welfare. She and her husband, Edward D. Rowley, loved Vermont and fell in love with the Mad River Valley. They purchased a small home there in 1973 in Warren, where they traveled and stayed frequently. Their family enjoyed skiing and golfing at Sugarbush, shopping in Waitsfield and attending the Fourth of July parade in Warren. Mrs. Rowley and her family visited The Valley continuously for more than 40 years. They were introduced to The Valley by her brother, Francis E. Storer Jr., and his wife, Nancy Bruce, who had a home there. They enjoyed many happy holidays there, took long walks on country roads and adored The Valley's great restaurants and The Warren Store.
Born in New York City in 1920, Mrs. Rowley was the daughter of Francis E. Storer Sr. and Eleanor Hastings. Educated at Miss Hewitt's Classes in New York City, where she was senior class president, she did volunteer work for the Junior League, Red Cross and other charities during WWII and later was a secretary in the health field. "Never one to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs, volunteering has always offered me a way to build connections through my love for people," she once said. Mrs. Rowley lived in Chicago from 1950 to 1958 and then in the Boston area, where she did volunteer work for numerous charities, including Goddard House Assisted Living, the Women's Exchange, the Washington National Cathedral and Church of the Redeemer, where she served for years on the altar guild. She was also a member of The Country Club in Brookline and the Chilton Club and the Emery Bag in Boston. She and her husband also had a condo in Florida.
Mrs. Rowley had a peerless sense of humor; the last thing she did before passing was to laugh. Beloved wife of Edward D. Rowley, who worked at Harvard Business School and preceded her in death, and devoted mother of Maeve Magee; Edward D. Rowley Jr. (Tina Pope), and Storer H. Rowley (Carolyn Lesh); grandmother Renana and Dylan Magee, Mary and Elizabeth Rowley and Catharine Rowley, and great-grandmother of three. Visitation will be 4 to 6 p.m. this Thursday, April 7, at J.S. Waterman & Sons, 580 Commercial Street, Boston, MA 02109. A memorial service will be held Friday, April 8, at 1 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 379 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, followed by a reception at The Country Club in Brookline. A private family burial service will be held Friday at Mt. Auburn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Buddy Dog Humane Society, Inc., 151 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.
Mouse’s Beloved “Papa”
Edward Davis “Ted” Rowley - Obituary –
News Obituary for Edward D. Rowley – Shorter version in Boston Globe 2008
Edward Davis Rowley, 89, of Chestnut Hill, MA, formerly of Chicago, a World
War II veteran of the U.S. Navy and longtime administrator at the Harvard
Business School, died Thursday (Feb. 7) after a long illness.
Known by family members and friends as "The Big T," he died peacefully at
home surrounded by his family, including his beloved wife of 57 years, Adelaide
S. "Mouse" Rowley.
He loved fine wines, golf, photography, organ music, bird watching, stamp
collecting, and keeping a journal. He enjoyed visiting the family cabin in
Warren, VT and a home in Naples, FL, and was fond of traveling with his wife and spending time with his children and grandchildren. He served on the boards of various Boston area financial and charitable organizations and was a member of The Country Club in Chestnut Hill, where he enjoyed golfing and dining with
friends.
Born in North Adams, MA, on Aug. 16, 1918, near his family's summer home in
Stamford, VT, Mr. Rowley grew up in Chestnut Hill, where he attended the Rivers
School, graduating in 1936.
He earned a BA from Harvard College in 1940 and an MBA from the Harvard
Business School in 1942, and then went to supply school for the United States Navy.
He served as a Lieutenant JG in the Pacific during World War II. His naval
duty included serving ashore at Pearl Harbor and at sea as paymaster on the
destroyer USS Kalk, where his mates called him "Pay."
The Kalk supported task forces as they battled closer to Japan. It was on
antisubmarine warfare patrols protecting logistics forces on offensive operations
from Luzon to Okinawa in late 1944 and 1945. It later served in refueling and
replenishment operations during the campaign for Iwo Jima and passed through
a typhoon. The Kalk was on station in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender
Sept. 2, 1945. "While history was being made," he used to say with a smile, "I
was below decks counting out the pay."
After the war, Mr. Rowley moved to Chicago and spent 10 years working for
Marshall Field and Co. (now Macy's), starting in the candy department in the
downtown store at the dawn of the Frango Mint era, and later as assistant manager of the nearby Evanston, IL, store.
He met his bride-to-be at the party of a mutual friend on the South Side in
the summer of 1949, and they married in 1950 in New York City, where she grew
up. For 58 years Ted and Mouse were inseparable.
"He was the love of my life and a wonderful companion, guide and organizer,"
said his widow. "He was so good to all of us, he always thought about everyone
else. He was modest and sensitive. He was so charitable and forgiving."
He was known among friends for his generosity, integrity, humor and love of
people. Countless acquaintances benefited from his counsel. For a time, he and
his family enjoyed a vacation house they bought with friends in Castle Park,
Mich.
Mr. Rowley returned to a home in Chestnut Hill to raise three children and
spent 23 years on the staff of the Harvard Business School, including a long
stint running the Alumni Placement office, where his abilities at counseling and
career advice proved invaluable to many returning graduates in transition and
looking for new jobs.
From 1966 to 2002, Mr. Rowley served as a trustee director of the Brookline
Savings Bank, Brookline Bancorp Inc. and Brookline Bancorp MHC, and for a time as Assistant Clerk of the bank.
In addition, he served as a longtime director of Charlesbank Homes in
Needham, MA, a non-profit foundation assisting with low- and moderate-income housing and housing for the aged. He also served for many years as a director for the Carlton Willard Village & Nursing Center in Bedford, MA.
He retired in 1984 to travel, spend time with his family, serve on various
boards and work in his beloved den at home, where he wrote in his diary,
entertained friends and enjoyed his music.
Mr. Rowley is survived by his widow, Mouse; a daughter, Maeve Magee of
Middletown, CT; two sons, Edward Davis Jr. and his wife, Tina Pope, of Chestnut
Hill, and Storer H. (Bob) and his wife, Carolyn Lesh, of Evanston, IL; two
brothers, Charles F. Jr. of Pinehurst, N.C., and F. Hunter, of Marietta, GA; five
grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Burial was private at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA. A memorial
service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Church of the Redeemer, 379 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, followed by a reception at The Country Club, 191 Clyde St., Chestnut Hill.
Arrangements by J.S.Waterman & Sons, Boston. Donations may be made in Mr.
Rowley's memory to the New England Baptist Hospital.
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