Peter Van Wyck

Peter Van Wyck, 76 ESSEX, Mass. -- Peter Van Wyck, a resident of Essex, Mass., for 46 years, passed away Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. He was 76 years old. The cause of his death was complications from cancer and was confirmed by his sons Stephen and Nicholas. Mr. Van Wyck was a real estate developer with long-term development projects in Boston and Essex, Mass., Manchester, N.H. and Portland. Mr. Van Wyck lived in Essex, Mass., where he was working on a life-long residential development project, but for the past 24 years had been involved in a 30-acre development at Thompson's Point in Portland. Peter V.C. Van Wyck was born in New York City, into a family with ties reaching back to the 17th century Dutch colonial period. Born in 1932, he was the third of four children to Philip Van Wyck II and Kathleen Hall Grant. He graduated Salisbury prep school and Colgate College with a degree in Chemistry. After two years of National Service in the air force, he embarked upon a conventional career with Corning Glass. In 1961 he married Elizabeth Grant and in 1963 made the move to Massachusetts, starting a career in Real Estate with the Hunneman Company. The marriage ended in 1968 and the career with Hunneman, and later Dolben were unexceptional, but Mr. Van Wyck began developing residential real estate in Massachusetts and started his own commercial real estate purchases first in Manchester, N.H. and in 1985 in Portland. Although Mr. Van Wyck acquired significant real estate holdings in his lifetime, his frugality was legendary. However he maintained through out his lifetime regular subscriptions to local art museums and mostly high cultural institutions. He possessed a strong interest in early American history. He was a member of the Cumberland Club and a supporter of the Portland Museum of Arts. His custom was to travel to Portland once a week to manage his affairs and to participate in the cultural events of the city. Over the years these trips were ritualized and inevitably ending with seafood purchased at the Portland fish markets. Mr. Van Wyck is survived by two sons from his first marriage and a third son, Geoffrey Van Wyck from his third marriage; as well as his three siblings, Kathleen Tanham, Philip Van Wyck III and Katrina Wilson. A memorial service is planned for May 24 in the Essex, Mass. area with details listed at www.petervanwyck.info.