From her obituary in the Boston Globe, March 17, 2009:
With equal parts grit, smarts, and Southern grace, Stella Trafford led the way to preserve and restore some of midtown Boston’s most treasured oases. Mrs. Trafford, called the grande dame of Boston parks, died Friday of natural causes in Boylston Place at Chestnut Hill, an assisted living center in Brookline. She was 97.
Whether wielding a hoe or hewing an argument, Mrs. Trafford worked with resolve and resourcefulness, her colleagues said. Her goal was consistent: Make Boston a more livable city. . . . . “In my life, I always go toward any green, living thing,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there are the most marvelous works of man or the most opulent things to look at. I’d rather go see a wildflower or even a weed.”
Even before setting foot in Boston, Mrs. Trafford had a colorful and vibrant life. Born in Mississippi, Stella (Mallett) Trafford grew up in a home filled with lively and rabidly Democratic politics. Her father, William E. Mallett, was a state senator; a cousin was a congressman. “I must have participated in three gubernatorial campaigns before I was 16,” she told the Globe in 1991. “If you didn’t know what was going on, you couldn’t follow the conversation and I was very keen on what was going on.”
She was married and widowed three times. Her first husband, Jerome Yates, was a fighter pilot who was lost over the South Pacific in World War II. Her second husband, Rene Champollion, died of cancer in New Hampshire. She married his friend, William Bradford Trafford, and the couple moved to the Back Bay. William Trafford, a lawyer, music composer, and WWII veteran, died of a heart attack while cross-country skiing on the Esplanade in 1983.
Among Mrs. Trafford’s first forays into volunteering was a stint with Planned Parenthood in New York City. A longtime member of the League of Women Voters, she consistently worked for Democratic candidates. As she neared her 90s, she took an expedition to explore the Galapagos Islands.
Mrs. Trafford leaves two stepdaughters, Abigail of Washington, D.C., and Vinalhaven, Maine, and Elizabeth of Bridgton, Maine; a stepson, William Jr. of Bridgton; two step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. Services will be announced in the spring. Abigail Trafford said her stepmother insisted on dressing smartly even as she neared death. “She died with her pearls on,” Trafford said.
With equal parts grit, smarts, and Southern grace, Stella Trafford led the way to preserve and restore some of midtown Boston’s most treasured oases. Mrs. Trafford, called the grande dame of Boston parks, died Friday of natural causes in Boylston Place at Chestnut Hill, an assisted living center in Brookline. She was 97.
Whether wielding a hoe or hewing an argument, Mrs. Trafford worked with resolve and resourcefulness, her colleagues said. Her goal was consistent: Make Boston a more livable city. . . . . “In my life, I always go toward any green, living thing,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there are the most marvelous works of man or the most opulent things to look at. I’d rather go see a wildflower or even a weed.”
Even before setting foot in Boston, Mrs. Trafford had a colorful and vibrant life. Born in Mississippi, Stella (Mallett) Trafford grew up in a home filled with lively and rabidly Democratic politics. Her father, William E. Mallett, was a state senator; a cousin was a congressman. “I must have participated in three gubernatorial campaigns before I was 16,” she told the Globe in 1991. “If you didn’t know what was going on, you couldn’t follow the conversation and I was very keen on what was going on.”
She was married and widowed three times. Her first husband, Jerome Yates, was a fighter pilot who was lost over the South Pacific in World War II. Her second husband, Rene Champollion, died of cancer in New Hampshire. She married his friend, William Bradford Trafford, and the couple moved to the Back Bay. William Trafford, a lawyer, music composer, and WWII veteran, died of a heart attack while cross-country skiing on the Esplanade in 1983.
Among Mrs. Trafford’s first forays into volunteering was a stint with Planned Parenthood in New York City. A longtime member of the League of Women Voters, she consistently worked for Democratic candidates. As she neared her 90s, she took an expedition to explore the Galapagos Islands.
Mrs. Trafford leaves two stepdaughters, Abigail of Washington, D.C., and Vinalhaven, Maine, and Elizabeth of Bridgton, Maine; a stepson, William Jr. of Bridgton; two step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. Services will be announced in the spring. Abigail Trafford said her stepmother insisted on dressing smartly even as she neared death. “She died with her pearls on,” Trafford said.
From her obituary in the Boston Globe, March 17, 2009:
With equal parts grit, smarts, and Southern grace, Stella Trafford led the way to preserve and restore some of midtown Boston’s most treasured oases. Mrs. Trafford, called the grande dame of Boston parks, died Friday of natural causes in Boylston Place at Chestnut Hill, an assisted living center in Brookline. She was 97.
Whether wielding a hoe or hewing an argument, Mrs. Trafford worked with resolve and resourcefulness, her colleagues said. Her goal was consistent: Make Boston a more livable city. . . . . “In my life, I always go toward any green, living thing,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there are the most marvelous works of man or the most opulent things to look at. I’d rather go see a wildflower or even a weed.”
Even before setting foot in Boston, Mrs. Trafford had a colorful and vibrant life. Born in Mississippi, Stella (Mallett) Trafford grew up in a home filled with lively and rabidly Democratic politics. Her father, William E. Mallett, was a state senator; a cousin was a congressman. “I must have participated in three gubernatorial campaigns before I was 16,” she told the Globe in 1991. “If you didn’t know what was going on, you couldn’t follow the conversation and I was very keen on what was going on.”
She was married and widowed three times. Her first husband, Jerome Yates, was a fighter pilot who was lost over the South Pacific in World War II. Her second husband, Rene Champollion, died of cancer in New Hampshire. She married his friend, William Bradford Trafford, and the couple moved to the Back Bay. William Trafford, a lawyer, music composer, and WWII veteran, died of a heart attack while cross-country skiing on the Esplanade in 1983.
Among Mrs. Trafford’s first forays into volunteering was a stint with Planned Parenthood in New York City. A longtime member of the League of Women Voters, she consistently worked for Democratic candidates. As she neared her 90s, she took an expedition to explore the Galapagos Islands.
Mrs. Trafford leaves two stepdaughters, Abigail of Washington, D.C., and Vinalhaven, Maine, and Elizabeth of Bridgton, Maine; a stepson, William Jr. of Bridgton; two step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. Services will be announced in the spring. Abigail Trafford said her stepmother insisted on dressing smartly even as she neared death. “She died with her pearls on,” Trafford said.
With equal parts grit, smarts, and Southern grace, Stella Trafford led the way to preserve and restore some of midtown Boston’s most treasured oases. Mrs. Trafford, called the grande dame of Boston parks, died Friday of natural causes in Boylston Place at Chestnut Hill, an assisted living center in Brookline. She was 97.
Whether wielding a hoe or hewing an argument, Mrs. Trafford worked with resolve and resourcefulness, her colleagues said. Her goal was consistent: Make Boston a more livable city. . . . . “In my life, I always go toward any green, living thing,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there are the most marvelous works of man or the most opulent things to look at. I’d rather go see a wildflower or even a weed.”
Even before setting foot in Boston, Mrs. Trafford had a colorful and vibrant life. Born in Mississippi, Stella (Mallett) Trafford grew up in a home filled with lively and rabidly Democratic politics. Her father, William E. Mallett, was a state senator; a cousin was a congressman. “I must have participated in three gubernatorial campaigns before I was 16,” she told the Globe in 1991. “If you didn’t know what was going on, you couldn’t follow the conversation and I was very keen on what was going on.”
She was married and widowed three times. Her first husband, Jerome Yates, was a fighter pilot who was lost over the South Pacific in World War II. Her second husband, Rene Champollion, died of cancer in New Hampshire. She married his friend, William Bradford Trafford, and the couple moved to the Back Bay. William Trafford, a lawyer, music composer, and WWII veteran, died of a heart attack while cross-country skiing on the Esplanade in 1983.
Among Mrs. Trafford’s first forays into volunteering was a stint with Planned Parenthood in New York City. A longtime member of the League of Women Voters, she consistently worked for Democratic candidates. As she neared her 90s, she took an expedition to explore the Galapagos Islands.
Mrs. Trafford leaves two stepdaughters, Abigail of Washington, D.C., and Vinalhaven, Maine, and Elizabeth of Bridgton, Maine; a stepson, William Jr. of Bridgton; two step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. Services will be announced in the spring. Abigail Trafford said her stepmother insisted on dressing smartly even as she neared death. “She died with her pearls on,” Trafford said.
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Buried under the marker are her cremains.
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