Obituary for April Susan Bacon (Bacon)
April Stuart Bacon, artist, educator and activist, peacefully died September 27th at age 89 in her home in Nottingham, New Hampshire.
Born in Gorham, Maine in 1933, April graduated from Wells High School in 1952 and attended Northeastern University. She went on to spend decades in New York City, where she worked as an artist, educator and social worker. She was also an activist with Congress on Racial Equality beginning in the 1950s. In the 1980s, she returned to New England, settling in New Hampshire. She was a substitute teacher at Nottingham Elementary school for several years, where she volunteered in an enrichment program for students who needed to be academically challenged.
A fiercely principled person from a Quaker background with a passion for Native American spirituality, a lover of nature and a skilled gardener, April was ever on the lookout for a challenging discussion, a good book, or an absorbing radio program, her eyes always focused on what mattered.
She is survived by her sister Rebecca Damsell of Exeter, New Hampshire, her stepdaughter Afrodesia McCannon of New York City, her step grandchildren Shulamith Zumhagen and Art Zumhagen, her nieces Melissa Bacon and Amanda Allard, nephews David Damsell, Nathan Damsell, and Mark Damsell, and grand-nieces and nephews Hunter St. Jean, Maryah St. Jean, Melinda Edgerly, Marissa Edgerly, Valerie Damsell, Daniel Damsell, and Sarah Damsell.
A memorial featuring April Bacon’s art will be held in Nottingham, NH at a date to be determined.
Born in Gorham, Maine in 1933, April graduated from Wells High School in 1952 and attended Northeastern University. She went on to spend decades in New York City, where she worked as an artist, educator and social worker. She was also an activist with Congress on Racial Equality beginning in the 1950s. In the 1980s, she returned to New England, settling in New Hampshire. She was a substitute teacher at Nottingham Elementary school for several years, where she volunteered in an enrichment program for students who needed to be academically challenged.
A fiercely principled person from a Quaker background with a passion for Native American spirituality, a lover of nature and a skilled gardener, April was ever on the lookout for a challenging discussion, a good book, or an absorbing radio program, her eyes always focused on what mattered.
She is survived by her sister Rebecca Damsell of Exeter, New Hampshire, her stepdaughter Afrodesia McCannon of New York City, her step grandchildren Shulamith Zumhagen and Art Zumhagen, her nieces Melissa Bacon and Amanda Allard, nephews David Damsell, Nathan Damsell, and Mark Damsell, and grand-nieces and nephews Hunter St. Jean, Maryah St. Jean, Melinda Edgerly, Marissa Edgerly, Valerie Damsell, Daniel Damsell, and Sarah Damsell.
A memorial featuring April Bacon’s art will be held in Nottingham, NH at a date to be determined.