Peter B. Dirlam

Southbridge: Peter Brackett Dirlam, 91, of Southbridge, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2025. A lifelong learner, accomplished businessman, devoted community member, and cherished husband, brother, and uncle, Peter lived a life marked by curiosity, service, and deep loyalty to his family and hometown.

Born on May 2, 1934, in Southbridge, Peter was the son of Mabel Agnes (Berry) Dirlam and John Conrad Dirlam. With Peter's arrival imminent, his parents built a new family home on Woodland Street to accommodate their growing household. He was the youngest of three children and is survived by his brother, John Dirlam of Southbridge. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Dirlam Freedman.

Peter graduated from Cornell University in 1956, an experience that shaped his intellectual life and forged many of his lifelong passions. At Cornell he was a hammer thrower on the track team-training alongside teammate and five-time Olympian Al Hall-and was active in the Outing Club, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and the Arts & Sciences community. He spent his junior year studying in France through Sweet Briar College and even took a philosophy course at the Sorbonne. Throughout his life he fondly remembered professors Blanchard Ridout, Loren Pietre, Victor Lange and Johann Hannesson, and remained a proud supporter of the Fiske Icelandic Collection and Cornell Athletics.

After college, Peter returned to Southbridge to join his father and brother at the J.I. Morris Company, manufacturers of precision miniature screws, specialty parts, and industrial polishing fabrics. Peter expanded the company's offerings to include a successful line of retail eyewear comfort products. In 2008, he and his brother John purchased the remaining Morris family interests and continued operating the business together until 2017.

Peter's interests were wide-ranging and pursued with great enthusiasm. In earlier years he lived in East Brookfield, where he raised collies and operated a licensed kennel, donating puppies to community organizations including St. Joseph's Abbey and the Treasure Valley Scout Reservation. He also served the town as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a Library Trustee, and contributed his skills as treasurer and consultant to Christ Memorial Episcopal Church in West Brookfield.

A passionate reader and supporter of the arts and humanities, Peter developed notable Arctic and whaling collections, which he and his wife later donated to the Jacob Edwards Public Library in Southbridge. Through friend Robert Gross he corresponded with artist Rockwell Kent, who created bookplates for Peter's collections; this correspondence is now preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress.

In 1984, Peter married Joan J. Crooks, with whom he shared more than four decades of companionship and service. Peter and Joan joined the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield-where they were married on June 30, 1984-and remained active members throughout their lives. Together they supported the Worcester Ecotarium, contributing rare Arctic and natural history items, and were engaged in numerous local organizations.

Peter was also deeply involved with Old Sturbridge Village. The Dirlam family had supported the museum since its earliest days as Quinebaug Village, and Peter carried that legacy forward by serving as an Overseer, founding the OSV Research Library Committee, and helping organize fundraising book auctions. He even combined his love of the outdoors with philanthropy by helping sponsor horseback trail rides supporting OSV's Morgan Horse research programs-having taken up riding himself in midlife with friends and instructors who shared his passion.

Peter is survived by his beloved wife, Joan; his brother, John; Joan's children, G. Jeffrey Crooks and Dale Marie Golden MacDonald; and his nieces and nephews: Lise Blumenthal of Cornwall, VT; Anne Berlind of Portland, ME; John Berlind of Burlington, VT; Paul Berlind of New Durham, NH; and Sasha Frey of Stow, MA. He also leaves a large family of step-grandchildren, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Peter will be remembered for his keen intellect, his devotion to local history and cultural institutions, his meticulous craftsmanship as a businessman, and his generosity toward the communities and causes he loved. His life's work-whether in industry, scholarship, or service-reflected a steady commitment to stewardship and curiosity.

His funeral service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13th, at 11:00am in the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield, 36 N Main St, West Brookfield. Burial will be private. Calling hours will be held on Friday, Dec. 12th, from 4:00 to 6:00pm in the Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home, 130 Hamilton St., Southbridge.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Peter's memory to the Jacob Edwards Memorial Library, 236 Main St, Southbridge, MA 01550, or Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd, Sturbridge, MA 01566, or the Worcester Ecotarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester, MA 01604.