Robert Ellis Pruyne

Robert Ellis Pruyne, 76, died Friday, Oct. 8, 2010, at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital of complications from Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a degenerative disease he had fought successfully for 15 years. He was born in Newton Aug. 7, 1934, the second son of Margaret (Gates) Pruyne and Lafayette Sumner Pruyne. He was educated at Philips Exeter Academy (1952), Amherst College (A.B. 1956), and Princeton University (M.A. 1958). On June 28, 1958 he married the former Carolyn Mock of Wellesley. They moved to the home in Wellesley where they continued to live until the time of his death. They had three daughters and a son. Professionally, Mr. Pruyne spent his entire career at Scudder, Stevens and Clark, a Boston investment firm. He began as a summer intern in 1957, then joined full time in 1958 as the second person in its bond department. He became a General Partner of the firm and Senior Vice President-Bonds in 1976 and Managing Director - Bonds in 1985. He retired in 1995. An avid athlete, Mr. Pruyne was a fine tennis player and skier throughout most of his life, continuing for many years after the onset of his MSA despite the limitations it imposed. He and his entire family were members of the Vorlage Ski Club in Woodstock, Vermont, and made many trips there. He was an active congregant of the Village Church, which he joined May 1, 1960. He continued to attend throughout his life, most recently a few days before his final hospital admission. He was active in many community organizations, including the Maugus Club, Wellesley Tennis Association, Wellesley Club, the Villagers, the Wellesley Assemblies, and the Square Riggers, a square dance club in which he and his wife took part enthusiastically for many years. He was a loyal and supportive alumnus of Philips Exeter Academy and of Amherst College, where he was a member of its President's Circle. Above all, Mr. Pruyne was devoted to his family. Even when largely confined to a wheelchair in recent years, he frequently attended the school and sporting events of his three grandchildren in Wellesley, and happily made long trips to New Hampshire and Maine to visit his more distant grandchildren, attending their games and school functions as frequently as he could. He is survived by Carolyn Pruyne, his wife of 52 years; by their daughter Alison Pruyne Gorman, her husband Sean Gorman, and their children, Hannah, Daniel, and Ethan, of Etna, N.H.; by their daughter Jennifer Pruyne Cahill, her husband Charles, and their children Robert, Thomas, and James, of Wellesley; and by their son Stephen Pruyne and his children, Andrew and Graham, of South Berwick, Maine. He was predeceased by their daughter Laura Pruyne Smith, who died in 1999 and was survived by their son-in-law, Scott Smith, of Memphis, Tenn. There will be visiting hours at the Village Church in Wellesley from 4-8 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 15. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 16, also at the Village Church. Memorial donations may be made to the Pruyne Family Scholarship Fund at Amherst College, PO Box 5000, Amherst, MA, 01002; or the Baker MSA Fund, c/o UMass Medical School, UMass Memorial Development Office, 333 South Street, 4th Floor, and Shrewsbury, MA 01545. Arrangements have been entrusted to Duckett-J. S. Waterman & Sons, 656 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776, 978-443-5777. www.duckett-waterman.com.