Jerome Preston Jr., 91, died peacefully in Damariscotta on Sept. 24 in the arms of his loving wife Doffy.
Born on Nov. 15, 1922 on Staten Island, N.Y., to Jerome Sr. and Iva Stone Preston, Jerry grew up in Hingham, Mass. and was educated at Derby Academy and Phillips Academy Andover. He attended Harvard College and served overseas as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during WWII, and graduated with Harvard’s Class of 1944.
After the war, he attended Yale Law School, and after graduating, joined the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston, where he worked for 50 years, eventually specializing in estate planning and trust services. As a senior partner, he was instrumental in establishing pro bono services for the poor and helping to steer the firm in a progressive direction. At work, as in the rest of his life, he was loved for his kindness and encouragement of everyone he met, his warmth and ever-present smile, and his trademark bow-ties.
Jerry’s community service and philanthropy were an extension of his personal belief in the goodness of people and the obligation he felt to others. He worked tirelessly for politically progressive (sometimes lost) causes, including Lawyers Against the Vietnam War, and he felt a special victory when “his” candidate, Barack Obama, won the Oval Office.
He served on numerous boards and committees, including University Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), where the Preston Building was named in his and his father’s honor. He served as attorney and Board Chair of the Handel & Haydn Society, the oldest musical association in the country, and was awarded its first Handel & Haydn Society Medal. He was Board Chair of the Cambridge School of Weston, a proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum, and he was an active member of the Tavern Club of Boston, often writing hilarious poetry and plays for the members.
In 1953, Jerry married Dorothy Greeno McCann, who was the love of his life for 61 years. They moved from Cambridge to Wellesley, Mass., in 1960, so that their three rambunctious sons could race around outdoors. Jerry loved his youthful summers at Squam Lake, N.H., and led his family on beautiful hiking and back-packing trips in the White Mountains and out West in the Rockies and Sierra, Nev. He and Doffy traveled the world, including three trips to Africa, and at age 51 Jerry summited Switzerland’s Matterhorn Peak via the Hörnli ridge (Doffy called it his “male menopause”).
Jerry and Doffy retired to Green Pastures Farm in Round Pond, where they had spent happy summers for over half a century. They lived in the family farmhouse before moving to Schooner Cove in Damariscotta. Jerry derived great pleasure from his children and grandchildren, of whom he was very proud.
Jerry was predeceased by his parents; sister, Priscilla Cutler Whipple; and brother, Nathaniel S. Preston.
He is survived by his wife, Doffy; sons, Richard and wife Michelle of Hopewell, N.J., Douglas and wife Christine of Round Pond, and Santa Fe, N.M., and David and wife Janet of China; grandchildren, Selene Richholt and husband Josh, Marguerite, Laura, Oliver, Aletheia, Isaac, Beth, and Richard Preston; sister-in-law, Anna Marguerite McCann Taggart and husband Bob of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.; and special grandson, Churchill Elangwe.
A memorial celebration of Jerry’s life will be held at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle at 1 p.m., Sat., Oct. 25.
In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a memorial gift to Miles Healthcare (www.mileshealthcare.org / 207-563-4570) or The Handel & Haydn Society (www.handelandhaydn.org/support/ or 617-262-1815).
Condolences, and messages for the family, may be expressed by visiting StrongHancock.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
