Elisabeth Endicott Weil
Elisabeth Endicott Weil died
peacefully at her home in Boston on Monday morning May 11, 2009 at the
age of 64, after a lengthy illness. She had lived in Boston for the
past forty years and in her late mother Vivian Endicott’s house in
Ipswich since 2007.
Elisabeth Endicott Weil was born
on October 7, 1944 in Putnam, Connecticut. The daughter of George and
Vivian (Wood) Endicott, she was the second of two children. She grew up
in the Rufus Putnam House in Rutland, Massachusetts, a historic house
from which General Rufus Putnam set forth to Ohio with a group of
pioneers. Elisabeth graduated in 1962 from Miss Hall’s School in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She attended Wellesley College for three
years and the graduated in economics from George Washington University
while her husband Henry Birdseye Weil was on active duty in the US Navy.
Returning to Boston in 1969
Elisabeth raised a family of two children, Rebecca and John, while
pursuing a successful business career in partnership with her husband.
She held a number of senior positions in firms led by her husband, most
recently as a Director of Weil & Company, an international management
consulting firm specializing in corporate strategy for
technology-intensive industries. Her work involved regular travel to
London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Sydney. Elisabeth co-authored the
influential publication “The Road from Dependency to Empowerment” which
describes how effective information management drives the value of
customer relationships.
Elisabeth was passionate about
early childhood development and education. The twinkle in her eyes when
she read to a four-year old, built castles out of blocks, or drove
little trains over wooden tracks was infectious. She served for more
than twenty years as volunteer Treasurer and member of the Board of the
John Winthrop Nursery School in Boston where she very active and made
her mark. Her children attended John Winthrop, as does the eldest of
her grandchildren.
Following in the tradition of
her family which was deeply involved in trade between New England and
China Elisabeth served on the Asian Export Art Visiting Committee and
the Board of Visitors of the Peabody Essex Museum. She also was a
shareholder in the Salem Athenaeum and a member of the Danvers
Historical Society whose property, Glen Magna, was the home of her
cousin William Crowninshield Endicott.
Elisabeth and family had their
summer holidays in Scotland for many years where she became an avid
salmon fisher. Each year she presided over a house party of prominent
Scottish and English personalities including the Chairman of a private
bank, a very senior courtier, and a former private secretary to the
Viceroy of India. She held her own on the river, not catching the most
fish, but often the largest. A slightly indiscreet guest ascribed here
success to pheromones. Her grit and determination were evident on a
rainy night when she got a big salmon on the line. Just as she was
about to lift the exhausted fish from the water the fly pulled out.
Without hesitation she threw herself on the fish. Her husband grabbed
Elisabeth’s belt and hauled her and a twelve pound salmon safely onto
the bank.
She is survived by her husband
Henry Birdseye Weil of Ipswich and Boston, her daughter and son, Rebecca
Weil of Zurich, Switzerland and John Weil of Boston, two
grandchildren, Jack Weil and Maximilian Weil, and a sister, Vivian
Endicott Barnett of New York. In lieu of flowers,
contributions in her memory may be made to the Angell Animal Medical
Center, to the attention of Douglas Brum DVM, 300 S. Huntington Ave,
Jamaica Plain, MA. A memorial service will be held in Boston at a later
date.
