Avid horsewoman, conservationist, music lover
Priscilla Endicott. (Courtesy photo)
Priscilla Endicott, 95, of Harvard, died peacefully on June 22, 2024, with family at her side. Known to most as “Pep,” she was a longtime philanthropist, beloved for her charm, warmth, and generosity.
Daughter of Priscilla Maxwell and H. Wendell Endicott, she was drawn into her father’s world of opera, travel, hunting, and horseback riding. She was passionate about music as she attended and supported the Metropolitan Opera Company, Boston Opera Company, and Boston Symphony Orchestra during her earlier life in Boston. She served on the boards of the Boston Opera Association and the New England Conservatory of Music. After she moved to Harvard in 1972, she became a frequent concert-goer at Indian Hill Music (now Groton Hill Music Center). She served as a dedicated board member for 15 years, including two years as vice-president and four as president. She helped pave the way for the creation of Groton Hill Music Center and its new state-of-the art facility in Groton.
Most of all, Priscilla loved horses. When she attended the 1968 Olympics to watch the equestrian sports, she was introduced to the sport of dressage. It was ballet on horseback, and she immediately fell in love. Dressage was in its infancy in this country. So, in her usual determined style, Priscilla set out to find the best local trainer and build a network of dressage riders and trainers. That led to her founding the New England Dressage Association in 1972 with several friends. Priscilla served as NEDA’s first president for 20 years, and it quickly became the largest dressage organization in the country. Priscilla’s farm, the Ark, also became a hub of high-level learning and training as she brought in some of the top European dressage trainers to give clinics there.
To pursue dressage further, Priscilla accepted the invitation of dressage master Walter Christiansen and trained with him for a year in Tasdorf, Germany. At the age of 50, Priscilla hired a tutor to start learning German and then went to Germany for a year with her horse Inca. Her book “Taking Up the Reins” is an inspiring and insightful memoir about that year.
Priscilla was also dedicated to her town of Harvard and passionate about land conservation. She served as a trustee on the Harvard Conservation Trust for over 20 years, and played a key role in protecting several significant parcels of land.
Priscilla graduated from The Madeira School, attended Sarah Lawrence College and Wellesley College, and wrote occasional pieces for the New York Herald Tribune. She is survived by her three daughters, Katrina Wollenberg, Francesca Okerlund, and Cricket Potter; grandchildren Carolyn and Robby Miller, Eric Okerlund, Andrew and Blake Wollenberg, Haley and Dagma Potter; and three great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her three ex-husbands, Richard Moulton, Brooks Potter, and Russell Hergesheimer as well as by her brother, Bradford Endicott, and half-sister, Martha Frasch.
Friends are invited to a Celebration of Life for Priscilla Friday, Aug. 9, 11 a.m. at the MIT Endicott House, 80 Haven Street, Dedham. Refreshments are at 10:30; a buffet lunch follows the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Priscilla to the New England Dressage Association Education Scholarship Fund, c/o Cathy Liston, Treasurer, 902 Sligo Road, North Yarmouth, ME 04097 (neda.org/donations), or to Groton Hill Music Center, 122 Old Ayer Road, Groton, MA 01450 (grotonhill.org).