Helen “Lenkie” Angier Trumbull passed away peacefully at her summer home in Marion, Massachusetts, surrounded by her family, on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
Born in Brookline, MA in 1930, Lenkie was the daughter of Donald and Helen (Cumming) Angier. Growing up in Brookline, she attended Winsor School, before attending and graduating from Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut. Every summer of her life was spent in Marion, where growing up she learned to sail, play tennis and golf.
Lenkie was also a member of the Kittansett Club, where she won the women’s club championship three times.
She spent her winters since the late 1970’s at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Florida.
Lenkie had a knack for putting others at ease, and she quietly commanded respect. She was described by a friend as “someone we all listened to and respected.” Though she never attended college or had a working career, she was a very active volunteer in all of the communities in which she lived, starting with volunteering for the Red Cross while still a teen. Lenkie believed that it was important to ”give support to a good cause that in turn helped those in need”, and by her example, instilled in her children the importance of giving back to one’s community.
Known for her organizational skills, Lenkie served on the Boards and/or as an officer of Hospital for Women of Maryland (now Greater Baltimore Medical Center), Princeton Hospital and its Women’s Auxiliary (President & Vice-President), New Jersey Association of Hospital Auxiliaries (Vice-President), Princeton Area United Way Fund, Princeton Nursery School (Treasurer), Mountain Lake Corporation, and Mountain Lake Auxiliary for the Lake Wales Hospital. A devoted alumna of the Westover School, she also served as Trustee on its Board for many years and was a Trustee Emeritus. With these and other organizations, Lenkie was also known for her fundraising ability, heading major fundraising events for the Princeton Hospital and capital campaigns for Westover School, the Marion Art Center and others.
Besides sports and her volunteering, Lenkie enjoyed needlework, regularly creating needlepoint items and knitting socks, bridge, puzzles and reading. A very capable flower arranger, her love of gardens led to membership in the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay, as well previously with the Stony Brook Garden Club (NJ), where she served on its Board and in every officer position, and in the Garden Club of America, where she served on a number of its committees.
Lenkie married R. Brent Keyser in 1950, and was widowed in 1960. Her marriage to William Adamson, Jr. in 1961 ended in divorce. In 2002, she married local childhood friend, Walter H. Trumbull, who predeceased her in 2021. She is survived by her children Leigh K. Phillips (Peter), Donald A. Keyser (Anne), Peter S. Adamson (Mary) and step-children Lea Ferris (Bill), Hope Woodhead (George), Margaret Nash (Mike), Robin Tolan (John), Walter H. (“Terry”) Trumbull, Jr. (Valerie) and Constance (“Coco”) Mueller (Kirk), and her son-in-law John C. Evans and daughters-in-law, Pamela S. Evans and Virginia B. Keyser. In addition, “Bamie” was beloved by her many grandchildren and step-grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren, all of whom will miss her greatly. She was predeceased by two of her children, Elizabeth (“Liza”) K. Evans and W. McHenry (“Mac”) Keyser, and by her brother, Albert Edgar Angier II.
The family wants to express its thanks and gratitude to the many friends and her professional caregivers for all the love and attention shown to our mother over the past few months.
A private service will be held for the immediate family, with a celebration of Lenkie’s life to be held in her garden in Marion next summer. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Marion Art Center and/or the Sippican Land Trust, or to the Westover School (Liza Keyser Evans Scholarship Fund) in Middlebury, Connecticut. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
