EASTHAMPTON — The life of Sarah Wallis Stevens, the wife of former longtime Williston Academy headmaster, will be honored at a service Saturday.
Stevens died in February at age 99 of natural causes. She was a beloved fixture of life at Williston and in Easthampton from 1949 to 1972, during the tenure of her husband Phillips Stevens as Williston headmaster.
Williston Academy merged with the Northampton School for Girls in 1971 to become today’s coeducational Williston Northampton School.
Some 200 alumni, students, faculty and former faculty are expected at the service, which will be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Phillips Stevens Chapel. All are invited to the service, according to Williston spokeswoman Kate Snyder.
During her 23 years in Easthampton, Stevens served as president of the Easthampton Mothers Club and taught Sunday school at the Easthampton Congregational Church.
At Williston, she provided guidance to thousands of students and was a source of warmth and empathy, according to her daughter Ruth P. Stevens.
“She not only raised six children, but she acted as surrogate mother to 400 Williston boys. Many boys, now men, have told me what an important role she played in their schoolboy lives,” Stevens said in an email. “She served as a role model of adult womanhood, and a warm source of comfort when they were homesick or scared.”
She also filled the traditional role of headmaster’s wife, organizing faculty wives to arrange flowers for the chapel, hosting teas for visiting athletic teams and serving Sunday night dinners for senior classes at her home.
Williston Archivist Richard Teller, who knew Stevens his entire life because his father was a faculty member, recalled former students lining up to speak with her at reunions.
“She remembered everyone’s name,” Teller said in a release. “She was a great storyteller with a wonderful sense of humor.”
Gift cards that can be redeemed at some 25 retailers, restaurants and service-providers are now available from the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce.
The gift cards may be redeemed at participating chamber members, including The Mick, Fort Hill Brewery, Peaceful Pools and Spa and Galaxy restaurant, according to chamber Director Maureen Belliveau.
For businesses, the wide-acceptance of the cards means a greater opportunity for marketing and exposure while hopefully generating more foot traffic in the downtown area, Belliveau said.
And for consumers, it makes a great gift, she added.
“It’s an opportunity for citizens who are well aware of what’s going on in Easthampton and how wonderful it is to invite their friends and family” to come to the city, she said.
The cards can be purchased in any denomination at the chamber office at 33 Union St., by calling 527-9414, and online in set denominations at www.easthamptonchamber.org.
Businesses interested in accepting the cards must be chamber members and can find out more by contacting Belliveau.
During their four years of high school, the Easthampton High School class of 1966 dealt with the assignation of President John F. Kennedy, the escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War and full-fledged Beatlemania.
And now, they’re set to celebrate their 50th reunion.
The class will hold the reunion Sept. 17 at the Southampton Country Club. A social hour begins at 6 p.m. Dinner and dancing will follow. There will be a remembrance of those who have died and recognition of the accomplishments of the graduates, according to reunion committee member Bob Misner.
“I’m looking forward to seeing old school chums, reliving old times — good memories,” Misner said.
For more information contact Misner at 527-4075 or ehsclass@gmail.com
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com