Faith Austin

Faith Elizabeth (Quimby) Austin was born on June 16, 1934 in New Boston, NH to Delbert (Del) and Lillian Elizabeth (Lib) Quimby. She was raised in Brookline, NH with her siblings Loring, Pearline and Marilyn (Mert). Faith wrote her own book so there's no way we're going to capture here the full essence of her life. She wrote good chunks of her life story on an old typewriter and put it all together in a bound book. She had stories to make you laugh and stories to make you cry. She had spent years typing her father's memoir before that. Faithie would tell you that she "survived" her childhood. She fell in a river and was rescued by her mother as a young child. Before the age of 5 she fell off a barn roof, and later climbed into a culvert under the road and had to be pushed out by her brother. She wandered away from home often (she would tell you she wasn't running away, she was just curious). As a child, Faith loved to be outdoors. She was proud to tell anyone of her Abenaki heritage and ancestral roots to Mother Nature. Her father had a lumber mill and she also spent time delivering milk locally. Her love of being barefoot, even outside, started at a young age. She loved walking in the woods, often alone, but enjoyed walking with others as well. She grew up around lots of family and made many lifelong friends in Brookline. Faithie met the love of her life in elementary school, although they didn't start dating until their teen years. Edward A. Austin, affectionately known by many as "Joe", spent time with her while she was babysitting and it blossomed into a lifelong partnership that everyone who knew them envied. They got married after high school, and the story goes that they needed a judge's special permission to get married because Joe was "too young". Ultimately they married on September 12, 1953, two days after Joe's 19 th birthday. Shortly after getting married Joe got a job in Connecticut and their life trajectory changed. Their first son, Daniel Austin, was born in 1954, followed by their second son, Warren Austin, in 1957. They settled in Storrs, Connecticut and began to make friends and connections there. Faithie and Joe built their own home, together, over the course of about 3 years. They cut their own lumber from her father's land, had family help them and built it with precision and love. She designed her own kitchen to be efficient. She was an integral part of the planning and actual labor. Joe got a job at Pratt and Whitney and worked second shift while Faith was home to raise the kids. Faith would tell you that her boys "raised hell" but she handled it all with grace. She took in many children over the years, one little girl, Sharon, for 6 months, that she forever called her own. Others stayed for days, weeks, months, even years, as second children (and grandchildren). She always opened her home to anyone that needed it. She filled her home with love and somehow children and adults in need always knew they could come and visit, and even stay if they needed to. She made us all feel safe. Faith missed Brookline and would visit often. Faith joined the First Baptist Church of Mansfield, which was just a short walk from her house. She found a second home and sense of community there. Faith spent years babysitting and baking as a side job, on top of raising her two boys. When their own sons were teenagers, she and Joe ran the youth group at church, called the BYF (Baptist Youth Fellowship). They spent almost two decades shaping and molding dozens of teenagers, modeling their love and kindness. They took long bike trips up to New Hampshire. They went camping and hiking. They have collages on their wall of the "BYF kids" and have stayed in touch with many of them to this day. Faith was active in the church, helping with church suppers and serving on the Executive Board. She attended weekly for most of her adult life. Faith also spent many years as assistant treasurer of FBCM, and her granddaughters fondly remember helping her count the change each Sunday after church. Joe took up flying airplanes in the 1970's and Faith became his co-pilot and expert navigator. They often flew to New Hampshire to visit family, but they also traveled as far as Florida, and New Orleans to visit her sister. After her children grew up, Faith continued to bake, be active in church and the BYF, and visit with family. Faith always loved children, especially babies. Both Dan and Warren were married and began having children. Dan married Gail Esty and they had Danielle (1982) and Courtney (1986). Warren married Laura Honeychurch and they had Becky (1982) and Allyson (1985). Both families lived in Mansfield and spent countless hours at Faith's home. Joe put in a swimming pool and the girls grew up spending weekends together, swimming, playing with the cows and causing mischief. Over the years Faithie and Joe raised not only countless humans, but animals. They had honey bees at one point but were well known for their cows. They started raising beef cattle as soon as they were married and continue to care for some today. Faith spent a lifetime "rock hounding". She loved to collect her favorite rocks, mainly amethyst and quartz. She and Joe went to gold mines all over the country including California, Canada, and Alaska. Faithie was a prolific artist. She especially liked to draw fairies and magical creatures. Faith collected family memories. She made and kept well organized photo albums with captions worthy of laughing out loud. And she was happy to share that gift, making similar photo albums for her granddaughters from mementos and pictures of their childhood. Faith kept up beautiful gardens at her home in Storrs. Many people fondly remember the annuals in the pool yard, the large gardens and beautiful flowering bushes in the backyard. For years there were raspberries and blueberries in the yard and many of us remember picking fresh berries with her. There was an apple tree in the backyard for many years that holds a special place for her family. Shortly after her first grandchildren were born, she and Joe began traveling in their retirement. They drove their van cross country and camped, ending in Alaska. Faith would tell you that she camped above the Arctic Circle. She was the lead organizer of the trip and packed all the food and supplies, making sure they were well taken care of. They took another trip cross country, following the Lewis and Clark trail. They traveled to Cancun. One of their most memorable trips was to Israel and Egypt in 1986. They went with a church group to visit Israel and stopped in Egypt last. While there, they got caught in domestic terrorism and there was a fire at their hotel. It was a harrowing experience, in which she and Joe almost died. Eventually they were rescued by local police and were able to fly home. Faith was known for her prowess in the kitchen. She was an avid baker and cook. She was well known for her fresh baked bread, whoopie pies, rolls, powerbars, old fashioned donuts and lots of cookies. She also was the family chef most weekends, feeding whoever would stop by. For years she made jellies and wine. She was well known for her Christmas cookie tins, which were elaborate boxes of at least a dozen types of cookies (hand decorated spritz cookies, Russian tea cakes, crunchy fudge bars, penuche fudge, chocolate crinkles). She always had more secrets, and told new stories that would surprise you. Each of us had our own special relationship with her and got to know these unique, wonderful things about her. Faith will forever be known as Joe's co-pilot in life. They spent over 66 years together, truly intertwining their lives. They were stronger together, as much as each of them is their own unique, amazing person. Faith was a mother, a grandmother, a Mimi, an Auntie, and a second mom to so many people. There is no way to capture in words how many lives she touched. She loved deeply and she made each person she knew feel special. She was a therapist before her time, counseling dozens of young people, demonstrating an empathetic, listening ear to anyone who needed it. She spent years writing letters to important people in her life, checking in, letting you know she cared. And she would fit it in somehow with all the other things she had going on. She would write a few lines, come back and write a few more. She let you know she was thinking of you and you always felt loved. She even seemed to know when someone really needed a letter or phone call. She actually saved a few lives with her well timed calls and letters. She had premonitions and was very spiritual. She had a sense of what people needed and would offer her love and support at just the right times. Faith passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, after complications from a series of strokes, on May 20, 2020. Her loss is profound for those who knew her and is really hard to capture in even a few pages. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Edward Austin, her children, Daniel (m. Kerry Landeck) Austin and Warren (m. Laura Austin) Austin, her grandchildren, Danielle (m. Neal Austin) Austin, Becky (m. Trevor Parton) Parton, Allyson (m. Eric Lalumiere) Lalumiere, and Courtney Austin, and her great grandchildren Naomi Austin, Blake Austin, Anthony Austin, Eleanor Parton, Josiah Parton, Leonie Lalumiere (and a baby Lalumiere on the way), Briana Fulton, Emily Fulton, Jacob Fulton and Owen Fulton, along with many beloved nieces, nephews, and her brother Loring Quimby. Her family is grateful to her sons, Dan and Warren, her daughter in law Kerry, her granddaughter Becky, her niece Annett Quimby, and her provider, Jill Fuller, APRN for assisting in her end of life care. There will be no services at this time, but we hope to have a large celebration once we can gather again. Joe (Ed) would be grateful for any stories you wish to share and we are printing them out in a book for him, or you can mail him your favorite memories/ stories/ or thoughts.