Page 51 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 94, No. 1 Fall 2013

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At Cushing, he continued his wood-
working passion and renovated his Maine
summer cottage on MacMahan Island.
After his retirement, he lived in West-
minster and Walpole, Mass., before mov-
ing to Pomfret School in Connecticut.
There he served as the school’s top
English, history, and Latin tutor while
continuing his success in watercolor
painting, woodwork, and local theatre.
He and his wife moved to an 1840
farmhouse in the neighboring town of
Woodstock, Conn., where Mr. Stebbins
converted half the old barn into the
woodshop of his dreams.
In 2000, he wrote to SPS with news that
he continued to teach at the local commun-
ity college in the Learning in Retirement
program. “It’s fun to have students older
than I!”
Mr. Stebbins spent his last four years
at Piper Shores Lifecare Community on
the ocean in Scarborough, Maine.
He celebrated his 85th birthday a few
weeks before his death with children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren,
nieces, and nephews, regaling them with
stories. He loved giraffes, model planes
and railroads. He always said his demise
would come (embarrassingly) by being
trampled by butterflies. At the time of
his death, he had almost finished mem-
orizing Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock.”
Mr. Stebbins is survived by his second
wife, Janet Jones Stebbins; his child-
ren, John Blodgett Stebbins Jr., George
Tobias Stebbins, and Elizabeth Stebbins
Torkelsen; four grandchildren; two
great-grandchildren; his dog, Amber;
and many wonderful friends. He was
predeceased in 2012 by his brother,
Edward C. Stebbins Jr. ’47.
1950
Hiram Edward “Ed”
Manville III
passed away on
September 29,
2013, surrounded
by family at Yale
New Haven Hos-
pital. He was 81.
Born in Mt.
Kisco, N.Y., on
May 21, 1932, to
Hiram Edward
Manville Jr. of the Form of 1925 and Ethel
Schniewind Pratt, he was the great-grand-
son of the founder of the Johns-Manville
Corporation, an insulation and building
material giant of the American industrial
age. His grandfather, the president of the
company, gave a gift to St. Paul’s School
to construct Manville House in 1922, when
Ed’s father was attending the School.
Mr. Manville attended Eaglebrook
School in Deerfield, Mass., before enter-
ing the Second Form at St. Paul’s in 1945.
His size and coordination made him a
capable athlete, and he excelled at foot-
ball, hockey, and track. He also captained
the gym team and was awarded the
Jeffreys Medal. He sang in the Choir and,
throughout his life, was proud of the solo
he performed in “O Pray for the Peace”
at his baccalaureate. He was also an
enthusiastic member of the Dramatic
Club, the Glee Club, and the Rubber Band.
Mr. Manville was a skilled and untiring
mechanic and was also known for his
love of the outdoors.
He attended Brown University and was
an Olympic hopeful for the 1952 U.S. ice
hockey team. He was most proud of his
Korean War record from 1952 to 1954 as
a U.S. Navy communications technician,
where he deciphered codes for the NSA.
His business and hobbies gave him the
opportunity to utilize his technical and
creative skills; he loved woodworking and
building; he was a successful real estate
developer; and he was a manufacturer’s
representative, selling and consulting on
hydraulic torque wrenches, tube repair
items, orbital welding equipment, and
laser alignment instruments. He also
sold insurance for a time and was proud
of being named a Chartered Life Under-
writer in 1972.
Mr. Manville maintained a strong con-
nection to the School, generously and
consistently supporting the SPS Alumni
Fund. He also provided communications
equipment for the SPS crews in the late
1990s.
Mr. Manville maintained a passion and
talent for music (in particular Dixieland
and Wild Bill Davidson) and sang four-
part barbershop harmony for most of
his life. He lived in the mid-Connecticut
shore area for many years, but also
enjoyed spending time at his home in
Sarasota, Fla. In 1997, he joined the
Sarasota Chorus of the Keys and formed
a quartet there. “Popeye,” as he was
affectionately called by three genera-
tions of his family, was known and loved
for his sharp wit, dry humor, and warm,
affectionate nature. A lifelong sports fan,
he was a proud supporter of the New York
Giants and the Boston Bruins.
He is survived by his beloved wife of
43 years, Nancy Manville; his son, Hiram
Edward Manville IV; his adopted daugh-
ters, Nancy McMahon and Donna Islieb;
his step-children, David J. Tiffany,
Jennifer Tiffany, and Andrea Tiffany;
his sisters, Ethel Woolverton, Mia de
Laire, and Deming Pratt Holleran; and
many friends.