August 16, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Obituaries

The Rev. Dr. Harold Taber Commons

The Rev. Dr. Harold Taber Commons, 101, of Hague, N.Y., formerly of Chestnut Hill, died July 21 at his Lake George residence.

Dr. Commons served as pastor of Baptist churches in New Jersey and New York and was for 36 years president of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) when the organization was headquartered in Philadelphia.

Dr. Commons lived in Chestnut Hill from 1940 until his wife, Corinth (Tracy) Commons, died in 1980.He was a long time member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, the Orpheus Club, the Chestnut Hill Stamp Collectors Club and the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church.

Dr. Commons was a graduate of the Moses Brown School, Providence, R.I., Williams College and Westminster Seminary.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of the late Walter H. and Evelyn T. (Taber) Commons.

He is survived by two sons, Harold T. Commons Jr. of Philadelphia and the Rev. William T. Commons of Harrisburg, Pa.; two daughters, Corinth C. Wanstall of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Elizabeth F. Barnard of Loveland, Colo.; nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held July 28 at the First Baptist Church of Ticonderoga, N.Y..

William A. Lamb, Sr
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William A. Lamb Sr., 70, of Lower Gwynedd, formerly of Chestnut Hill, died Aug. 10 at his home.

Mr. Lamb, who was raised in Chestnut Hill, was a graduate of St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School and St. Joseph’s University.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, the former M. Jocelyn Magrath; a son, William A. Lamb; daughters Darcie Rudolf, Jocelyn Martone, Megan Norris and Jennifer Hewitt; a brother, Thomas B., and 11 grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 14, at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Ambler, followed by interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Deborah Hospital Foundation, 20 Pine Mills Rd., Browns Mills, NJ  08015, or to St. Joseph’s Prep Crew, c/o St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School, 1733 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19130.

Thelma B. Sampson

Thelma B. Sampson (nee Brookhart), of Wyndmoor, died suddenly on Aug. 12.  She was the wife of the late Allen G. Sampson.

 A graveside service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 16,  at West Laurel Hill Cemetery (Belmont Ave., Bala Cynwyd).

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Free Library of Springfield Twp., 1600 Paper Mill Rd., Wyndmoor, PA 19038.

Eleanore Carola Tompkins

Eleanore Carola Tompkins, formerly of Mt. Airy, a writer and teacher on homemaking topics, died July 28 at Cathedral Village after a lengthy illness.

Mrs. Tompkins retired in 1975 after 21 years as head of adult and 4-H homemaking programs in the Pennsylvania Home Extension Service for Philadelphia County. Her professional responsibilities included writing articles pertinent to homemaking for Philadelphia newspapers and teaching and demonstrating on topics of interest to homemakers on local television channels.

Mrs. Tompkins began her professional career in the Woodstown, N.J., public schools, and then served for ten years in the New Jersey Extension Service, Camden County.

Raised in Mt. Airy, the daughter of Carl E. and Magdalena Goeldner, she graduated from Girl’s High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics from what was then Drexel Institute of Technology. She also completed graduate studies at Columbia University and what was then the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.

Mrs. Tompkins received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Home Demonstration Agents’ Association and the Outstanding Alumnae Award for professional accomplishments from Drexel.

She traveled extensively, and was an avid gardener, photographer and artist.

She also was dedicated to the humane treatment of animals and to the acknowledgment of their value in the well being of people. She especially loved dogs, which she had cared for throughout her life.

In 1998, Mrs. Tompkins adopted a rescued Labrador retriever, Flora Dora, which she trained to be a therapy dog in cooperation with the Delta Society Pet Partners. The dog’s visits to the Unitarian Universalist House in Germantown brought great satisfaction to residents.

Before moving to Cathedral Village in 2000, Mrs. Tompkins lived in East Falls with her husband, the late Carl H. Tompkins.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, in the Presser Lounge at Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Road, Philadelphia.