Dr. Claire G. Cayward Obituary
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Dr. Claire G. Cayward Obituary
Town doctor for 38 years
November 28, 1969
NEW IPSWICH- Dr. Claire G. Cayward, 66, died Friday, Nov. 28, at the Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough following a brief illness. Dr. Cayward, who had been the area physician for the past 38 years, was born in Orleans, N.Y., April 9, 1903, a son of the late John S. and Nellie (Jones) Cayward, and received his education at the University of Vermont. He was honored in October by 400 friends for his service to the community. He had been retired since January of this year. Dr. Cayward was a member of the American Medical Association, the New Hampshire Medical Association, a trustee of Appleton Academy and of the Mason Village Savings Bank for more than 30 years. He was a four-letter man.. sports in college and was one of the organizers of the New Ipswich Recreation Field. While serving the community as family doctor, he was on the medical staff at Monadnock Community Hospital. He was a member of the New Ipswich Congregational Church. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Toni M. (Cotzin) Cayward; two sons, John C. Cayward of Vernon, Conn., and Glenn W. Cayward of Ellington, Conn.; a daughter, Mrs. Carol Anne Church of New London, Conn.; a stepson, David J. Cotzin, and a stepdaughter, Mrs. Anne L. Soini, both of New Ipswich, and five grandchildren and six step-grandchildren. Funeral services were held at the Congregational Church and burial was in Central Cemetery in New Ipswich. The Nelson Funeral Home in Greenville was in charge of arrangements. Pall bearers were Philip Emma, Philip Thayer, Leo Toko, George Helsberg, Uuno Kesti, Walter Bursiel, Lionel Blais and Dr. Francis Wozmak. Ushers were James Albree and William Thayer. Officiating at the service was former pastor of the New Ipswich Congregational Church, Rev. Paul Sinn of Whitman, Mass., and the organ music was by Mrs. Midge Albree of New Ipswich. Delegations attended from the Mason Village Savings and the Monadnock Community Hospital Staff.
Thayer Family Photos
The New Ipswich Historical Society has received a gift of photos from the Thayer family which show glimpses of family life in New Ipswich that spans many generations. Some have dates and captions some do not. This photo was not captioned but the building looks like the one on Turnpike Road.
One Hundred Formulas
George Carmichael donated a copy of Stephen A. Thayer’s “One Hundred Formulas” which was published in 1883. It contains recipes from everything from printing ink to pain killers. Once again we find narcotics in the mixture.
WARNING: Please don’t try any of these “remedies”, many contain ingredients which have been shown to be harmful.
James Roger diary entry
November 9th 1908 (Monday) - “too classical for New Ipswich”
Mild and spring like day. Frost in morning. Souhegan had thin sheet of ice on it. David down town on roads. I got team from Joe Silver and went to Greenville to meet Jim. Bought some things at Grainey’s got bag of grain. Hamish went with Hollis at 420 pm. David, him and I put up ballot boxes in Hall and guard rails. 2 cans of gas came by Hollis for Hall. The lecture was fairly good but too classical for the majority of New Ipswich.
Dr. Cayward was a pillar of the community for decades and exemplary citizen. Generations of young people benefited from his medical and seminal community work.
I do wonder about the event that James Roger described as being too classical for many in New Ipswich. What would that topic have been?
Many of us who read this column knew most of the people mentioned in that obit. All of them highly devoted to the town, and an amazingly talented group of people. It's not possible to summarize Dr. Cayward in this comment section, but here are a few bits. He was from Orleans, NY, a beautiful place in upstate NY, the Finger lakes region. My wife and I love that area. Dr. Cayward could have gone back to his home region but chose New Ipswich answering a plea send to UVM graduates to consider New Ipswich as a place for their practice. He was more than just a 4 star athlete at UVM, he was the star athlete in the sports he participated in. Captain of the basketball and baseball teams, and outstanding in football. He was offered professional baseball contracts more lucrative that the amount New Ipswich offered as a retainer. He was UVM's college basketball coach while he was in med school! One night at 2AM there was a knock at door at my parent's home on River Rd. I answered the door. It was Dr. Cayward. He said I received a call from the Niemi family that someone needed medical attention. I told him it must be the Niemi family in Smithville and off he went. When I was hurt in a sledding accident, I didn't have to go to the ER, Dr. Cayward came to my aid. I could go on and on.