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Nancy Whittier Atkinson, 97, of Falmouth Foreside, Maine passed away on June 29, 2021 at the Falmouth By The Sea nursing home with her daughter and son at her side.
After a long drive from Philadelphia, Nancy was born on Aug. 16, 1923 at the Sewall family homestead in Old Town, Maine, the daughter of Charles LeRoy Ince Whittier and Harriet Sydney Sewall. She then returned to Philadelphia with her mother.
During her teenage years, Nancy spent much of her time developing her equestrian skills. Nancy attended Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts graduating in 1941.
Nancy went on to Cornell University and graduated in 1945 with a B.A. in English Literature. While at Cornell, Nancy became a life-long member of the Alpha Omicron Pi fraternity and Daughters of the American Revolution.
It was at Cornell that Nancy first met her future husband Ralph Massie Atkinson, a civil engineering student. Following graduation, they were married at Trinity Church in Princeton, New Jersey on Sept. 9, 1945. Their honeymoon was spent driving across country to the West Coast where Ralph, assigned to the Naval Construction Battalion Seabees Unit, was deployed for active duty in the Philippines.
Following Ralph’s discharge, Nancy and Ralph traveled to Fort Kent, Maine to teach high school from August 1946 to June 1947. In the March 29, 1947 issue of “Liberty” magazine, Nancy and Ralph were portrayed in an article entitled “Frontier Teachers” documenting the young teachers’ life in rural, northern Maine.
In 1952, Nancy and Ralph moved to Winchester, Massachusetts where they would raise a family until retiring to Falmouth Foreside in 1990. While in Winchester, Nancy was a founding member of the Winchester Duplicate Bridge Club, a communicant of and Sunday school teacher at the Parish of the Epiphany Episcopal Church, active in Cub Scouts, and a volunteer at the Museum of Science in Boston. A life-long bridge player, Nancy held an ACBL club directorship.
Nancy was a crossword puzzle constructor for 50 years appearing in The New York Times Magazine, Washington Post and other national newspapers and books. In 1976 Nancy constructed the Bi-Centennial Liberty Bell crossword puzzle, a puzzle shaped in the profile of the Liberty Bell, containing the names of all 50 states, U.S. presidents and 200 years of U.S. history facts.
In 1940 Nancy’s first visit to Juniper Point in West Boothbay Harbor would be the beginning of a relationship with the region that would endure for years to come. Each summer Nancy looked forward to time spent with family and friends at the Whittier family cottage, whether it was lobster dinners around the table, hand jigging for cod on her father’s Farnham & Brewer 32’ Sport Lobsterman Downeaster or going to picnics on Outer Heron Island. As a member of the Juniper Point Village Improvement Society, she volunteered her time at clambakes, bridge parties, square dances and other social functions.
Surviving Nancy are her daughter, Sydney Ellen Atkinson of New Canaan, Connecticut; her son, Scott Edward Atkinson and daughter-in-law, Meredith Mitchell Atkinson of West Boothbay Harbor; her sister, Sydney Whittier Klenk of Brunswick, Maine; and her cousin, Elizabeth Sewall Gary of North Falmouth, Massachusetts.
She was predeceased by her husband, son, Christopher Whittier Atkinson, and sister Katharine Sewall Whittier.²

Biography:
Obituary- Sydney Whittier Klenk

Scarborough-Sydney Whittier Klenk passed away on August 20, 2021 due to complications from a glioblastoma brain tumor at Gosnell Hospice House, with her family by her side. She was born on January 25, 1931 to Charles Leroy Whittier and Sydney Sewall Whittier in White Plains, NY. As a girl, she spent her summers in Maine, first in Belfast and then at Juniper Point in Boothbay Harbor.
Sydney went on to graduate from Greenwich Academy in Connecticut in 1948, before attending the University of Maine where she met the love her life, Joseph Matthew Klenk. They married on August 19, 1950 at the All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church in Boothbay, before moving to Cape Elizabeth where they raised their seven children. Sydney was an active member of St. Alban's Church and the Cape Elizabeth Garden Club, as well as being a leader of both the Cub Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls. She enjoyed regular gatherings with her dear friends in the "Bridge Club." Sydney and Joseph hosted exchange students from around the world, fostering a love of different cultures amongst their children.
In the spring of 1979, Joe and Sydney bought the Pines Motel, moving to Boothbay fulltime. Sydney ran the office, developing registration systems and financial reports, in a time before regular computer use. She was a passionate hostess to their guests who returned year after year. Seeking to express her faith year-round, Sydney started an Episcopalian church in her living room, which later became St. Columba's, as the only Episcopalian chapel in the region offered only summer services. After selling the Pines, they purchased the Hodgdon Island Inn, an older Victorian style home whose design and renovations Sydney oversaw, adding private bathrooms to each room and a beautiful front porch. She loved traveling the world with Joe, realizing her dream of stepping foot on all seven continents. Her greatest joy was being surrounded by her family during holidays and celebrations.
After retirement, Sydney and Joe moved to Blueberry Cove in Yarmouth, and later to Thornton Oaks in Brunswick. In October of 2020, Sydney was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and spent the following year battling through surgery and treatment. Sydney spent her final days at Scarborough Terrace Assisted Living and then Gosnell Hospice House.
Sydney was predeceased by her parents and her sisters, Katharine Whittier and Nancy Atkinson, and her son James Klenk.
She is survived by her beloved husband Joseph and her children: Sarah Davis and husband Paul, Stephen Klenk and wife Ria, Jeffrey Klenk and wife Nancy Sheehan, Jonathan Klenk and wife Vicky, Sydney Dolat and husband Peter, Jennifer Novelli and husband Michael, and daughter-in-law, Gina Klenk. Sydney also leaves behind fifteen grandchildren and sixteen great-children.²