Alan C. Eccleston

Alan Eccleston died peacefully on May 14, 2025 at Hospice of the Fisher Home, just a few months shy of his 90th birthday.

Alan's life was a model of living faithfully. As a Quaker pacifist, he had the ability to recognize the glimmer of a spiritual leading, and the patience and wisdom to take time to explore and season it, both inwardly and with the assistance of others, until the way forward was clear to him. Having discerned a direction, he followed that path faithfully and courageously, facing even his death with that same clarity and commitment. He measured his successes by how well he followed spiritual guidance rather than by traditional standards.

Alan was born on August 30,1935 in Hamilton, New York to DeEtta and Clifford Eccleston. After high school he entered a combined program at St. Lawrence University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, receiving a degree in Architectural Engineering.

After six months in New York City working for Turner Construction Company, Alan went on active duty for two years as an ROTC second lieutenant. His assignment with a unit in Chun Chon, Korea, very near the DMZ, influenced his later transition to pacifism.

Alan then worked for USAID where he oversaw construction of self-help housing and community-built rural schools, serving in Nicaragua, Panama, and Washington, D.C.

Upon completion of an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1964, Alan worked on building low-income housing for the Development Corporation of America in Boston. He then moved to Columbus, Indiana to work for J. Erwin Miller who served on President Lyndon Johnson's Committee for Urban Housing. Alan's efforts there contributed to the creation of Section 8 Affordable Housing with the passage of the 1970 Housing Act.

In 1972, Alan moved to Lexington, Massachusetts and started his own company to build well-planned, high-quality housing. In 1980, after finishing an award-winning condominium project in New London, New Hampshire, he moved to Hadley, Massachusetts and focused on house design.

At age 53, he enrolled in the Organizational Development program at UMass, receiving his doctorate in 1991. He built a successful consulting practice emphasizing teamwork, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. After Alan consulted with a group of progressive business people and educators focused on improving regional schools, he was hired as the first Executive Director of the Regional Education and Business Alliance. Alan also served on the Hadley Long Range Plan Implementation Committee for several years.

Alan's unwavering spirit was exemplified by his resistance to paying taxes that supported wars and killing. Alan served as Chair of the U.S. Peace Tax Fund, dedicating several years to promoting the Peace Tax Fund Bill, including testifying before Congress, so we might all have a legal option to redirect the military portion of our tax dollars to peaceful initiatives instead.

During the 1980s, he directed the Woolman Hill Quaker Retreat Center for three years. In 1990, Alan and others started an Alternatives to Violence Program in the maximum-security prison in Somers, Connecticut, offering weekend trainings there for the next 20 years.

Alan would sometimes invite others to join him in actions for social justice. Carrying a concern for climate issues he initiated a voluntary carbon tax program, welcoming others to participate, resulting in thousands of dollars going to efforts countering climate change.

Alan was a trusted friend, valued spiritual mentor, loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife Linda Harris, daughter Heather "Cricket" Hunter, son-in-law David Hunter, son Duncan Eccleston, four grandchildren – Molly and Betsy Hunter and Heath and Quinn Eccleston, and brother-in-law Conard Dahn.

There will be a Memorial Meeting for Worship at the Mount Toby Meetinghouse (address below) on May 31st at 1:00. Memorial contributions in Alan's memory can be made to Mount Toby Friends Meeting, 194 Long Plain Road, Leverett, MA 01054, or to Woolman Hill Quaker Retreat Center, 107 Keets Rd, Deerfield, MA 01342.