RICHARD KENELM WINSLOW

1918 - 2017

Richard Kenelm Winslow, 99, of Antrim, NH, died Monday afternoon, July 24, 2017, in the comfort of his own home, surrounded by the love of his family, following a period of declining health. He was born in Indianapolis, IN, on March 15, 1918 to Ralph and Anna Winslow. He grew up in Albany, NY and attended the Albany Academy. In 1936, he entered Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1940. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served for 3 years in a mine disposal unit. Following his honorable discharge in 1945, he enrolled at The Juilliard School, earning an MA in music composition. In 1942 he married Elisabeth Gittins, in a ceremony in Beaver, PA. They had 5 children and celebrated 62 years of marriage before she passed on in 2004. In 1949, Wesleyan University called him back to campus, this time to teach in the Music Department where he remained on the faculty for 34 years until his retirement in 1983. Upon his retirement, he moved from Middletown, CT, to their summer ancestral home at Alabama Farm in Antrim, where he had spent his early years growing up. There he remained for the following 34 years, actively continuing his involvement with the arts as a member of the Peterborough Players Board and serving as an early founding member and then Editor of the Antrim Limrik. He was a writer, composer, scholar, conductor, teacher and an inspiration for many of the students he mentored over the years during his tenure at Wesleyan. He was a prolific composer of exceptional breadth, depth, and originality - composing operas including Gertrude Stein's Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights, T.S. Eliot's Sweeney Agonistes, and Samuel Beckett's Endgame. He also composed the musicals Alice and Her Father The King, along with numerous choral works and songs. He had an intellectual curiosity and boundless enthusiasm for exploration in the worlds of music and ideas, along with a sharp wit and a love of jokes, and he advocated for and oversaw the establishment of Wesleyan's pioneering program in world music. He provided guidance for many students with a remarkable capacity to engage with them in their own explorations. He maintained strong connections and continued correspondence with many students, colleagues, and friends for over 50 years. He is survived by his children: Richard K. Winslow, Jr. and his wife Andrea of Arlington, MA., John A. Winslow and his wife Emily Bailey of Cambridge, MA., Susan W. Bedell and her husband Paul of Richmond, VA, Sandra W. Sherwood of Cambridge, MA and Laurence G. Winslow and his fiancée Jena Skinner of Kingston Springs, TN; 12 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; a brother Edward Winslow of Stamford, CT., as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother: Allen Winslow. A memorial service, celebrating the life of Mr. Winslow, will be held at 2:00 pm, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, at the Antrim Baptist Church, 85 Main St, Antrim, NH 03440. There are no public calling hours. Burial will take place in a private ceremony at the Maple Wood Cemetery in Antrim. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made, in Richard K. Winslow's name, to: The Grapevine, PO Box 637, Antrim, NH 03440 or online at (www.grapevinenh.org), or to the Peterborough Players, P.O. Box 118, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458. To share photographs, memories or condolences with Richard's family, please visit his permanent online memorial at (www.cournoyerfh.com). Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 33 River St, Jaffrey has been entrusted with the arrangements for the family.