Joseph Washington Hotchkiss

JOSEPH WASHINGTON HOTCHKISS died peacefully from natural causes on November 27 at the age of 91. A resident of Greenwich for 61 years, he was born on November 22, 1919 in his family's home at 55 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven to Henry Stuart Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Wyndham Washington. He graduated from the Foote School, Phillips Andover Academy, and Trinity College in Hartford. During the war, at the age of 24, he was the captain of an LST 210 (landing ship tank), transporting men, vehicles and arms to the beaches of southern France. As a returning veteran to New York City, he started his career writing short stories for Red Book and Blue Book magazines; later he became the fiction editor of Red Book. Over the next 38 years, he worked for Reader's Digest's Condensed Books, rising from copy editor to executive editor and vice president. After retiring from Reader's Digest, he was an enthusiastic volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels and The Mews. He also served on the vestry of Christ Church and St. Barnabas, and he was on the board of trustees of both the Greenwich Red Cross and St. Andrews Presbyterian College. He will always be remembered for his love of family, his generosity and his sense of humor. He is predeceased by his son ,Noah W. Hotchkiss, and he is survived by his wife of 65 years, Eugenia Whitney Hotchkiss, as well as his children, Polly Hotchkiss Boynton and her husband, Perry of Pottersville, N.J; Anne W. Hotchkiss of Greenwich, Ct.; Jody Hotchkiss and his wife Kristin Tennent of Darien; and Hannah Hotchkiss-Seely of Ann Arbor, Mi.; his grandchildren, Jason and Sam Hotchkiss, Rachel Murphy, Meiko and Suki Boynton, Sophie, Graham and Leah Hotchkiss and Fin and Charlie Seely; seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service in celebration of his life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Foote School 50 Loomis Place New Haven, CT 06511 or Compassion & Choices, PO Box 101810, Denver, CO 80250 (www.compassionandchoices.org), a non-profit organization, improving care and expanding choice at the end of life.