Corrected and updated June 15, 2015
Educator, community activist, volunteer
Milly Chandler. (Courtesy photo)
Mildred A. Chandler, “Milly,” 92, of Littleton County Road, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2015, in Yarmouth, Maine. She was predeceased by the love of her life, her husband, Roger T. Chandler. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy Capps, and her husband, Bill, of New Gloucester, Maine, and by her son, Bruce Chandler of Newport, Rhode Island. She is remembered by her two grandsons, Evan and Trevor Capps of New Gloucester, Maine; her nephew, Bill Chandler, and his wife, Kathy, of North Carolina, and son Chris Chandler of Long Island, New York.
Milly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Robert Lafayette and Alta Ward Anderson of Arlington, Virginia. She was a graduate of American University and earned her master’s degree in library science from the University of Rhode Island. She continued her education toward her doctorate degree in library science at the University of Southern Connecticut.
A devoted educator, Milly made her career in the Sudbury public school system, where she served as director of media services from 1976 to 1981. She introduced a systemwide standard for professional library services in the areas of collection development, cataloging, circulation, materials organization, and staff training. She brought many well-known children’s authors into the schools and hosted conferences and workshops for parents and staff.
She was promoted to the position of administrative assistant to the superintendent, where she was responsible for curriculum and instruction. She held this position until her retirement in 1989. In her work with the superintendent, Milly was responsible for restructuring the curriculum for the Sudbury public school system, introducing educational technology, and working to bring computers into the classroom, which was a rare innovation at the time. Upon her retirement, Sudbury honored her by dedicating its new General John Nixon Elementary School library to her, and naming it the Mildred A. Chandler Library.
Milly was civic-minded and known for her determination, commitment, and activism. She received the Robert W. Lewis award for her work in the League of Women Voters, the Nashua River Watershed Association, Devens Historical Museum, Freedom’s Way Heritage Association, and the Harvard Conservation Trust.
Stop the airport
In 1993, Milly and a handful of friends formed a “Stop the Airport” protest group to advocate against locating a major regional airport at Devens. Out of that coterie of friends, the idea of a regional organization began. The board of what was to become the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area was evenly divided among people who wanted to create a regional planning organization and those who wanted to create a regional heritage area. In the end, the concept of a national heritage area took hold. The aim of that organization was to secure national recognition of the region where major historical and cultural events took place. Milly was feted at a celebration in 2009 when the U.S. Congress officially designated the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. She received a standing ovation that included Congressman John Olver, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, State Senator Pamela Resor, and State Representative James Eldridge.
Milly was serving as vice president of Freedom’s Way Heritage Association in 1999 when she facilitated a meeting to gauge interest in forming a museum to commemorate the military and social history of Camp and Fort Devens. She was one of the original charter members of the Fort Devens Museum and served on its board of directors. Milly set a high standard for compiling and organizing the records of the museum during her tenure on the board, and the careful groundwork she laid remains the museum’s solid foundation.
She also organized Citizens to Protect Residential Harvard (CPRH), a neighborhood association that began as an attempt to convince a developer to move a Boxborough office park entrance off a winding, scenic road. She successfully and probably single-handedly negotiated changes in the plans for the office park and continued to work with a housing developer on a project there too. She organized annual CPRH meetings and brought in well-known speakers on a variety of topics such as light pollution, protection of country roads, and protection of stone walls. CPRH was instrumental in stopping the construction of a major airport at Fort Devens.
A passion for gardening
She will be remembered for her passion and enthusiasm for gardening, her love of books and travel, her generous hospitality and entertaining, and her tireless activism and volunteerism to benefit her community.
Throughout her lifetime, Milly remained an active member of the Unitarian Universalist church, with the last 40 years being devoted to her beloved Harvard Unitarian Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Freedom’s Way Heritage Association, 94 Jackson Road, Suite 311; Devens, MA 01434, or to the Nashua River Watershed Association, 592 Main St., Groton, MA 01450.
A memorial service will be held at the Harvard Unitarian Church on Friday, June 19, at 2:30 p.m.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected and updated. In the original article, the address of Freedom’s Way Heritage Association was incorrect.
