BRIDPORT — Edward Hartwell Mitcham, Jr. passed peacefully at home in Bridport, Vt., on March 23, 2021, surrounded by his loving wife and Hospice Staff. He was born April 10, 1931, in New York City, the son of Edward H. Mitcham and Helen Coppel Mitcham.
Ed grew up in Roslyn Estates, Long Island, and attended their public school system before attending Tilton School in New Hampshire and then Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. His years at Lafayette were interrupted from 1951 to 1954 by active duty in the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in England. Ed graduated from Lafayette College in 1958 with a B. S. in Business Administration. Ed was a stockbroker in New York City until 1970 when he moved to Brookfield, Conn., and joined the firm Fahnestock Co. Inc., which later became Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., located in Southbury, Conn. He was the manager there until retiring in 1997.
With ease, family and friends will fondly remember Ed as a devoted husband and family man, a faithful friend, a lover of model trains and dogs, and a great whistler and delightful singer. He was punctual, organized, and ready to pitch in and help. He kept family photos organized in multiple albums. He appreciated the arts and local artists, often participating in art classes and special projects and attending Town Hall Theater events. His family enjoyed his “silly” sense of humor, as he featured a cement cow under an apple tree and a wooden, life-size “birdwatcher” on the knoll of the property. Ed spent wonderful family times on Lake Dunmore, where he enjoyed swimming and boating. Having been a sailor in his earlier years, he gradually realized it was easier to just “turn the Key.”
Volunteer work was important to Ed. He served in Rotary Clubs, the Tribury Club in Connecticut and in Middlebury, Vt., and the Kiwanis-Pomperaug Valley Club. He was president of the Southbury Business Association and the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. Ed was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Newtown, Conn., and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Middlebury, Vt., where he served in the vestry, altar guild, as lay reader and Eucharistic Minister, and was on their finance committees. He volunteered on the Events Committee for the Town Hall Theater and for many years helped set up the model train display at the Henry Sheldon Museum for their annual Christmas event. Ed was a Mason in NYC and Bridport, Vt. He was secretary of the Addison/Bridport Horse Thief Detective Society for 12 years. He took great pride in announcing each year at the annual meeting that there had been no reports of stolen horses.
Ed was predeceased by his parents and half-sister, Mary Wilkinson (Philip Wilkinson). He is survived by two half-sisters, Dorothy Bogardus (Earl) and Alice Demerest (John), his wife of 33 years, Elaine Mitcham and her two sons, Jim Schaaf (Kelly) and Jon Schaaf (Megan), and four grandchildren, Blake, Connor, Keegan and Taylor.
The family wishes to thank all those at Home Health and Hospice for their kind, competent care, and support. We are extremely grateful to them for helping us fulfill Ed’s wish to remain at home.
A private graveside service and burial will take place at a later date in the family lot at First Weybridge Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed’s memory can be made to Home Health & Hospice, PO Box 754, Route 7 North, Middlebury, Vt. 05753, or Town Hall Theater, 68 South Pleasant St., Middlebury, Vt. 05753.◊