Evelyn F. Hitchcock

Evelyn F. Hitchcock, retired president and chairman of Hitchcock Shoes, Inc., of Hingham, died Tuesday, April 14, 2015. She was 95 years old. Widowed at ages 33 and 47, she was a survivor who rebuilt her life twice, first to support and educate her four young children, then as a successful businesswoman. The daughter of Nelson J. Fay Sr. and Roberta M. Fay, she was born November 9, 1919, just two days less than a year after the end of World War I, in Akron, Ohio, where her father was temporarily working for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. The family, which included her younger brother Nelson Jr., lived during her childhood in Providence, R.I., Worcester and North Brookfield, and Kansas City, Mo., before settling in Southbridge, where her father worked for the American Optical Company. She graduated from Mary E. Wells High School in Southbridge at the top of her class, earning a scholarship to Wheaton College in Norton, from which she graduated in 1941 summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After college she worked as a secretary at M.I.T. and Harvards Littauer School. There she met Arthur A. Bright Jr., a Dartmouth-trained economist who was then teaching at M.I.T. and subsequently worked at the M.I.T. Radiation Laboratory. The couple was married on Oct. 31, 1942, and spent the war years living in Cambridge, where their daughter Amy was born. The Brights moved to Hanover, N.H., where Arthur taught for two years at Dartmouths Tuck School and where their twin sons, Arthur III (Terry) and Nelson, were born. In 1947, Arthur accepted a position at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston, eventually becoming Research Director. The family settled in Hingham, adding a third son, Thomas, to the family in 1952. Arthur died of a heart attack three days before his 35th birthday, leaving Evelyn to raise four children between the ages of eight and one. She was unwilling to take a full-time job that would take her away from her children so she supported the family by working from her home doing freelance indexing and copy editing work for major publishing houses. For several years, she also wrote the copy for the Talbots catalog, experience that served her well later on. After nearly 11 years on her own, she married Ethan W. Hitchcock, a widower with two daughters, in January 1964. Hitch, as he was known, owned Hitchcock Shoes, Inc., a Hingham-based mail-order company specializing in wide shoes for men. The couple enjoyed three happy years together but in June 1967 Ethan died of a heart attack while sailing his boat, leaving Evelyn a widow once more. Although she had not been involved in the business previously, she took up the reins at Hitchcock Shoes. Under her leadership, the company grew steadily, expanding its line and reaching new customers through new advertising and expanded catalogs. She remained active full-time in the shoe business, serving as chairman in her seventies and eighties and officially retiring just before her 90th birthday. She was the first woman elected to the board of directors of South Shore National Bank in Quincy. A great believer in the power of education, she was involved with Derby Academy in Hingham for more than 50 years as parent and grandparent and served for a decade on the board of trustees. She is survived by her daughter, Amy B. Unfried and her husband Stephen of Wilson, Wyo., (parents of Lydia, Thomas and Juliet); son, Arthur A. Bright III and his wife Brenda of Hillsboro, Ore., (parents of Laura and the late David); son, Nelson F. Bright and his wife Jane of Marblehead (parents of Will and Ross); son, Thomas R. Bright and his wife Kathleen of Hingham (parents of Arthur and Elizabeth); stepdaughters, Sarah Hitchcock-DeGregori and her husband Alessandro DeGregori of Mendham, N.J., (parents of Inga and David DeGregori) and Anne S. Hitchcock of Southbury, Conn., (mother of Matthew and Nicholas Merluzzi). She is also survived by three great-grandchildren. Burial in Hingham Cemetery was private. A memorial service will be held Monday, June 22, at 10:30 a.m. at the Parish of St. John the Evangelist, 172 Main Street, Hingham. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Derby Academy, 56 Burditt Ave., Hingham, MA 02043 or to the Home for Little Wanderers, 10 Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135. Downing Cottage Funeral Chapel Since 1882