William S. Maxwell Montgomery passed away on Thursday, February 11, 2016 at the age of 94. Max was born in Brookline to the late Samuel and Elizabeth (Maxwell) Montgomery who immigrated to the United States from Ireland. A graduate of Brookline High School, Max went on to study engineering at Brown University. Although a member of the Brown class of 1944, Max completed his course work in the fall of 1943 and, after competing in his final football game against Princeton (W 28-20), he reported to Ocracoke Island to begin his service as a Naval officer in the South Pacific during WWII. He later completed his graduate studies with a masters degree from the Harvard Business School.
Max began his professional life as a teacher and athletic coach at Pittsfield High School and contemplated a career in music, studying at Tanglewood. While in the Berkshires, Max met Constance (Trepania); the two were married and moved to New Jersey and later Ohio where Max worked for the Campbell Soup Company as a plant engineer. A desire to return to New England and to teaching brought the family to Westwood, Mass., and Max to a position on the faculty at Wellesley High School where he would teach and coach for the next 25 years. While he valued the academic and athletic achievement of his students, he was most inspired by those displaying energy, effort, and good nature in the classroom. Max also worked as a computer programmer for Wellesley Public Schools and was a longtime member of the faculty at Babson College where he taught in the graduate program. Max and Connie retired to Connie’s childhood home in Stockbridge where they spent nearly 20 wonderful years. Competent in almost any endeavor, Max could work with comparable ease on math proofs, ground strokes, electronic circuitry, homework, musical bass lines, and home repair. His greatest joy, however, was spending time with his family and he rarely missed a game, recital, or performance. A big man, his warm, gentle, and affectionate nature surprised some but was a constant source of comfort to those who knew him.
He is survived by his beloved wife Connie of 59 years and his four children: Jane (Montgomery) Brophy and her husband Tom of Mill Valley, Calif.; Anne (Montgomery) O’Connor and her husband Rick of Avon, Conn.; Kay (Montgomery) Lammey and her husband Glenn of Simsbury, Conn.; and John Montgomery and his wife Suzie of Cohasset, Mass. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren: Christopher (and wife Lizzie), Michael, and Peter Brophy; Maxwell, Campbell, and Colleen O’Connor; Will, Katharine, and Grant Lammey; and Max (II), Morgen, and Sam Montgomery. Max was predeceased by his sister Rosamond and his nephew Blakely and is survived by his nephew Fred and his nieces Alison and Betsy, all of whom he loved dearly.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral service on Saturday, February 27, at 1 p.m. at The First Congregational Church, 4 Main St., Stockbridge, Mass.
Gifts in his memory may be made to The First Congregational Church of Stockbridge c/o Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances may be sent to his family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.
