Elizabeth Whitin Lasell (affectionately known as Pinkie because her face turned pink when she cried as a baby, although she often said it was because of her red hair) was born in 1922, a twin sister of Katharine, and older sister of Sonia and John. The daughter of John Whitin Lasell and Frances Sumner “Happy” Lasell, she grew up in Whitinsville, a small mill town in central Massachusetts.
When Pinkie was 21, her father was missing in action in World War II after his plane was shot down over Burma. During the war Happy took a job as women’s personnel director at the Whitin Machine Works, the familyrun textile machinery business. She also built a house in Small Point, Maine, where the family spent summers with their cousins in the Sewall family.
Pinkie attended Chatham Hall and Pine Manor College and taught kindergarten before she met and married William Jenks Whipple in 1944. Pinkie and Bill moved to Grafton, Mass., and raised five children: John, Bill Jr., Chris, Sue and Lasell. They lived in a modern house on Wheeler Road designed by Bill Sr., who was president of the R.L. Whipple Co. from 1960 to 1989.
The family took great pleasure in spending time with their wonderful friends in Grafton, Worcester, and Small Point, where they spent their summers. In 1996 Pinkie and Bill moved to The Highlands in Topsham. Bill died at the age of 90 in 2006.
Pinkie was an avid tennis player and taught piano for many years. Outgoing and energetic, she was a loving and supportive mother who took her children on skiing trips and travel adventures. For many years she volunteered to play the piano for the annual Small Point musicals.
A red-headed beauty, she was known for her warmth, her thoughtfulness and her courage in the face of adversity. She had an admirable belief in the power of positive thinking and maintained a strong faith, leading her to write: “Some of us have been forced to discover this Power within because of a need for help or healing. Those who are able to draw on this source are those who love most deeply and who help themselves and their fellow man to the greatest extent.”
She often had an infectious enthusiasm for life, and her nonjudgmental kindness and interest in others generated a large network of loyal friends.
She will be dearly missed by five children, and nine grandchildren. They are John Whipple and his wife, Tish, of Portland, and their children Ezra, Hannah and Ben; Bill Whipple of Seattle, Wash.; Chris Whipple and his wife, Lois, of Montclair, N.J., and their children, Risa and Nick; Sue Whipple and her husband, Phil Peverada, of Hampden, and children Mike, Chris, Molly and Katie; and Lasell Whipple and her husband, John Torgerson, of Oakland, Calif.
She will also be lovingly remembered by her brother, John Lasell of Los Angeles, as well as a wide circle of extended family and devoted friends.
A memorial service will be scheduled in Small Point next summer.
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of Funeral Alternatives, 8 Pleasant St., Brunswick.
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