Martha Mclane Rotch

Martha McLane Rotch of Peterborough, N.H., and a longtime resident of Milford, died Oct. 21, 2008, at RiverMead Retirement Community in Peterborough. She was 93. Mrs. Rotch was born July 4, 1915, in Milford, N.H., the daughter of Clinton A. and Dorothy E. McLane. The family moved from Milford when she was a child, but she returned to Milford after her Sept. 7, 1940, wedding to William B. Rotch, editor and publisher of the Milford Cabinet. Except for some time during World War II, the couple lived on Mont Vernon Street in Milford until they moved to Peterborough in 1996. Besides her husband, Mrs. Rotch is survived by her children, Peter B. Rotch of Amherst, and his wife, Susan; and Martha Rotch Manley and her husband, Frank; Elizabeth Rotch and her partner, Esther Hill; and John M. Rotch and his wife, Jean, all of Milford; 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A son, Malcolm E. Rotch, died in 1966. Mrs. Rotch spent her early years in a variety of schools, including a year at La Marjolaine in Switzerland when she was 12. She graduated from St. Marys School (later St. Marys in the Mountains and now the White Mountain School), and took a post-graduate course at Concord Business School. She spent several summers at Camp Grey Rocks on Newfound Lake, where her mother had started a summer camp for girls. Mrs. Rotch graduated in 1937 with a bachelors degree cum laude in sociology from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she had been very active in the Smith Outing Club. After earning a masters degree in social work from the University of Chicago in 1939, she went to work as a child welfare worker for the New Hampshire Dept. of Public Welfare. In Chicago, she lived at International House, and enjoyed weekly folk dances with students from around the world, an interest that stayed with her all her life. Although never officially on the payroll, Mrs. Rotch worked beside her husband at The Cabinet, serving at various times as bookkeeper, advertising director, proofreader, typesetter. For several years she was the staff photographer. When the newspaper moved from "hot type" to offset printing, she learned the new technology and often was the troubleshooter who would consult with the Compugraphic service department to diagnose and fix a problem with the equipment. In 1990, after the printing side of the business ceased operations, she and retired Ed Curtis established the printing museum on the second floor of the Cabinet building, a place where she could bring the history of printing to life for Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, schoolchildren and townspeople. Her interest in history led to her being president of the Milford Historical Society for five years. Mrs. Rotch was an active Girl Scout for more than 70 years. She served as a troop leader, neighborhood chairman, board member of Swift Water Girl Scout Council, publicity chairman and trainer. She was a director of Anne Jackson Day Camp in Wilton Center. In 1971, long after her own daughters were grown, she took four members of her Cadette Girl Scout troop to Europe, backpacking, hiking and visiting Our Chalet, a Girl Scout center in Switzerland. She served three terms on the Milford School Board, during which time the town built the Jacques School and the "new" high school on West Street. She was a member of the Milford Education Foundation for more than 20 years, and served as president of the N.H. School Boards Association. She was a member of the SAU 40 building committee in 1985. Mrs. Rotch was chairman of the Milford Parks and Playgrounds Committee for many years, and was instrumental in the towns acquisition of the Keyes Field property. The family gave two tennis courts to the town in memory of Malcolm Rotch. She was Overseer of the Public Welfare in Milford for two years, perhaps a logical outgrowth of her training as a social worker. She had also served as director and clerk of the N.H. Childrens Aid Society (now Child and Family Services) in Manchester, and a director and president of The Webster House, a group home for teens, in Manchester. Mrs. Rotch and her husband had a lifelong interest in international affairs, and often entertained foreign visitors in their home. She had been community chairman for foreign visitors for the Experiment in International Living. The couple traveled extensively, including trips to Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Hawaii, Israel and Jordan, Africa, Scandinavia, Europe, and the week after 9/11, to Thailand. Mrs. Rotch was active in the fight to save the Milford Town Hall, an activity that resulted in a vote to keep town offices on the Oval. She was appointed to the Town Hall Advisory Committee and elected vice chairman of that group. She chaired the subcommittee for the restoration of the auditorium. The family celebrated the Rotches 50th wedding anniversary in 1990 with a reception in the unfinished auditorium, with gifts designated for the restoration project. In 1993 Mrs. Rotch traveled to St. Louis, Mo., to accept the National Historic Conservation award for the restoration of the Milford Town Hall auditorium, one of only 20 such awards given each year. She received the Woman of Achievement Award from the Milford chapter of the Business and Professional Womens Club in 1988, and was named the Granite Granges Citizen of the Year in 1995. She was active in the New Hampshire Smith College Club, and served on the board of directors for the Smith College Alumnae Association. She rarely missed a reunion, and was on her class reunion committees for the 55th and 60th reunions. In 1997, she was elected secretary of the class of 1937. Mrs. Rotch had been an active member of the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Milford, and of All Saints Church in Peterborough. Visiting hours will be Sunday, Oct. 26, from 2-5 p.m. at Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm St., Milford (www.smith-heald.com). A memorial service will be held Monday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m. at Church of Our Saviour, 10 Amherst St., Milford. There will also be a service at RiverMead Retirement Community in Peterborough on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council, PO Box 10832, Bedford, NH 03110 or online at www.swgirlscouts.org.