Imogene Baker Angell

Imogene Baker Angell died on September 19, 2015 at the age of 91, surrounded by family at her home in Kendal at Longwood, Kennett Square, PA. Her husband of sixty plus years, Brad (Richard B.) Angell predeceased her in December 2010. She is survived by her brother Hayden (Ruth); her children, John (Emily Nahat), Paul, Jim (Cathy), David (Monisa) and Kathy Angell; grandchildren, Noah, Dylan, Caitlin, Corina and Olivia Angell, Elias Ketchum (Elizabeth Horpedahl), Craig Gilman (Jessica) and Justin Lunge; and great grandchildren, Blake and Julie Gilman, Noah and Marlee Horpedahl.

Imogene was born to Lewis and Emily Baker on February 26, 1924 in Fairhaven, MA, the third of four children. Her childhood was spent in Haverhill, MA where her father worked for the gas company and her mother taught school. She attended Haverhill High School and graduated in 1941.

That year her sister, Muriel, was a junior at Radcliffe and entered a Harvard contest to translate an ode by Horace under the pen name “Sidney Smith,” The contest was open only to men, but Muriel’s entry won and she was awarded the prize of $100 after some controversy. Radcliffe tuition at the time was $200 so Muriel called Imogene to tell her that instead of waiting a year for financial reasons, as planned, she could attend Radcliffe the very next year. Muriel also arranged for Imogene to replace her as nanny for the Demos children, Penny and John, and Muriel became the cook. Thus, Imogene got a room and board job, which she kept for most of her college years, living with Dr. Raphael Demos, a professor at Harvard, and his wife Jean.

In 1945 Imogene received her degree in economics went to work for Price Waterhouse and eventually the Harvard Comptroller’s office. That same year, the Demos family had another boarder, a graduate student living on the third floor named Brad Angell. “Auntie Jean” felt that Imogene and Brad might enjoy each other’s company, so she called Imogene to suggest she return to the Demos home, introductions were made and they began to spend time together. Although he had a different girlfriend at the time of their introduction, eventually, with continued gentle plotting by Auntie Jean and extraordinary patience on the part of Imogene, Brad came to see the light, proposed and they were married at the Demos home on June 4, 1949.

After their marriage, the newlywed couple relocated to Tallahassee, FL for two years with Brad’s first teaching job at Florida State University. While there, they connected with local civil rights groups and started a lifelong dedication to supporting efforts of racial equality. While in FL, Imogene became pregnant with the first of her five children, which gave rise to another lifelong dedication to raising her family. Brad’s career next took them to Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA, where their second child was born. In 1954 Brad completed his PhD. Imogene recounted how every day he would compose pages of his dissertation and every evening, she would type them using only her two index fingers. After that, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Ohio Wesleyan and moved the family to Delaware, Ohio, where they lived from 1954 to1968, with shorter engagements in MA and upstate NY mixed in between.

While in Delaware, the family grew to five children and Imogene turned her full time attention to raising her family. She was very active in their education, intervening as necessary when her children were in need of an advocate at school. She brought her children up to be independent thinkers with high standards, strong voices and generous hearts. She had been an active member in the Society of Friends and, with her husband, Brad, was instrumental in the formation of the Friends Meeting in Delaware, Ohio. She was also active in the League of Women Voters and other civic activities.

In 1968, Brad took a position at Wayne State University in Detroit. In keeping with her emphasis on education, Imogene did the research and moved the family to Birmingham, MI, one of the best school districts in the area.. With her children growing older, she went to work as a teacher’s aide, finding satisfaction in furthering the causes of education and children’s welfare. She worked in several settings, including with children with disabilities and in the MI public school system over the years. In 1976, Imogene was elected to the Birmingham Board of Education, at a time when school closings were necessary, but unpopular. She adhered to her principles and made difficult choices which resulted in an unsuccessful 1980 recall effort. Her convictions were rewarded with a second term. She served as clerk for the Birmingham Friends Meeting, on the Board for the Friend’s School in Detroit and in1993, she and Brad founded the Quaker Inner City School Endowment Fund (QICSEF), to help sustain urban Quaker schools.

In 1994, Imogene, with her husband Brad, moved to Kendal at Longwood in Kennett Square, PA. Between them they established a number of Kendal institutions, including coordinated efforts to fill the birdfeeders for less mobile residents and the Pre-Kendal Memories programs. They were quite active in the Kendal Friends Meeting and the Kendal community. They could be seen multiple times a week walking together on the promenade, a practice Imogene continued after Brad's death. Imogene served on the Safety Committee and the Food Committee, working to reduce fat and provide vegetarian options to the Kendal Community. She was also responsible for preserving the native trillium which grows just off the path in the woods near the Angell Bench.

Imogene will be remembered for her enduring sense of social justice, love of children and family, strong advocacy and lifetime of service to others. Her dedication to education not only funded higher education for her five children, but supported college funds for her grandchildren and great grandchildren as well. She was always game for whatever peculiar adventures her family and friends came up with be it fencing with her son at college, mountain climbing or visiting Lucy the Elephant near Atlantic City. She was constantly looking for ways she could help Kendal staff and her fellow residents, most memorably her sister-in-law Helen. She leaves behind a legacy of love, graciousness and caring which is so needed in the world today.

Memorial Services will be held at Kendal Auditorium, Kendal at Longwood, 1109 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, PA on January 3, 2016 at 2 PM. No flowers, please.

Messages to family may be sent to: John Angell 4337 Valmonte Dr Sacramento, CA 95864

Donations in her memory may be made to:

Kendal Staff Appreciation Fund c/o Connie Dilley Kendal at Longwood PO Box 100 Kennett Square, PA 19348

-or –

American Friends Service Committee 1501 Cherry St. Philadelphia, PA 19102