As some of you may know, we lost two class officers early this year: Henry “Hank” Schmelzer, vice president, in January and Harold “Harry” Ellsworth, treasurer, in March.
After graduating from UMaine and George Washington University School of Law, Hank served in Vietnam as a captain in U.S. Army Military Intelligence. He earned a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry. He went on to practice law in Boston until 1999, when he took a substantial pay cut to give back to his community. As head of the nonprofit Maine Community Foundation, he doubled its donors and dramatically increased its endowment. Hank’s obituary at www.jordanfernald.com said he will be remembered for his kindness, easy laugh, friendly joking, and the natural ease he brought to every interaction.
Jake (Jacubowicz) Gordon, Hank’s college roommate, Lambda Chi Alpha brother, chess opponent, and friend for 64 years, agrees. He attributed Hank’s easy manner to “his appreciation and love for people and the joy he derived from them and from life.” Hank also had an adventurous side. When Jake bought a 20-foot full keeled sailboat, “Henry’s response was to buy a copy of Chapman’s (the sailor’s bible). He pored over Chapman’s during the week and then drove to Maine for the weekend,” Jake said, and they spent weekends learning to sail.
Leaving a bar at 10 o’clock one “exceptionally lovely” Saturday night, Jake said they rowed back out to the sailboat and set sail “for Mackerel Cove on Bailey’s Island in Harpswell ― a distance of some 10 to 12 nautical miles. We tied up to a Mackerel Cove buoy at 2:30 a.m., slept on board, and sailed back on Sunday morning with a lifetime story.”
A similar spur-of-the-moment adventure came on December 30, 1972. Vic Finnemore had set the pair up with New Year’s Eve blind dates in Boston that fell through. Jake had recently met someone in Jacksonville, FL. He called her and the two 29-year-olds made airline reservations. After sleeping out an ice storm delay in the airport, they flew out next morning. “We celebrated New Year’s in Jacksonville ― with dates,” he said. “My 1973 New Year’s date became my wife the next June.”
Henry and Jake also shared adventures skiing, hiking, and climbing a few of Maine’s coastal and inland mountains. “A valued relationship now a memory,” Jake said. “Here’s to you, Brother Henry.”
During our college days, Harry Ellsworth probably was best-known as the campus rep for “Craig the Tailor,” collecting and returning laundry with door-to-door service. Particularly memorable was the time he ran for campus mayor. With a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles, a thick mustache and a three-piece suit, Harry looked remarkably like, and ran as, Teddy Roosevelt. The Maine Campus ran a memorable photo of Harry flanked by his Secret Service bodyguards (Skip Walter, Hank Schmelzer, Owen Wells, Dave Svendsen and Horace Horton).
Despite “a spirited campaign,” Harry lost; his bodyguards agreed that was fortunate “so we didn’t have to go to all the athletic events cheering on the student body for the next year!”
Following college, Harry taught science at Boston Latin School, where he was well-liked by his students for his enthusiasm, kindness, and genuine interest in their success. Harry’s love for Cape Cod eventually led him to leave teaching to live full-time in Eastham, MA, where he began a second career as a real estate agent, retiring at 80.
Lisbeth Wiley Chapman said Harry was active in The Church of St. Mary of the Harbor in Provincetown, serving on every committee. “For years, Harry drove my Dad every Sunday to St. Mary’s for services,” Beth said. “Dad had macular degeneration and could not drive. Harry has a special place in my heart and in the hearts of all the members of this congregation.”
Horace noted that Harry’s obituary at www.dignitymemorial.com “reflects on his love for the university and all his friends, both fraternity and throughout campus.”
“He became a close friend and loyal alum, attending most of the class reunions and serving as our class treasurer for many years,” Horace said. “His quick wit and mischievous smile will long be remembered by his many UMaine friends.”