Local Preservation forces lose a longtime friend
By Jane Lopes
Editor Middleborough Gazette Reprinted with Permission
Middleboro local historic preservationists lost a good friend earlier this month with the death of Sylvia Breck president emeritus of the Eddy Homestead Association.
Mrs. Breck, 83, died on Jan. 13 at her Duxbury home with her family.
She was the wife of Richard Winslow Jr., a descendant of Pilgrims Samuel and John Eddy, who settled in the section of Middleboro known locally Eddyville.
Mrs. Breck and her husband were for many years involved in the preservation and maintenance of the historic Eddy Homestead, built in 1803 for Zachariah Eddy, a prominent local attorney, and his bride. The couple were guiding forces in ensuring that the homestead was preserved as a museum, open to the public during the summer months and the site for many years of the annual reunion of the Eddy family members.
The Brecks were also active members of a local organization, Friends of Middleborough’s Past, that coordinated Founder’s Day events in the 1990s. Mrs. Breck related stories about the Eddy family and the homestead during those Founder’s Day celebrations and also spoke locally on other occasions. She often conducting tours of the homestead that were enhanced by her wealth of knowledge regarding the house and its Eddy owners. Her love for the East Middleboro was evident in her long association with the property- as a guest when her husbands grandparents Louise Eddy Breck and her husband Samuel lived in the house and continuing until her death. When she resigned as fulltime manager of the homestead in 1980, she wrote a letter to the house “I know every nook and cranny of your edifice; your massive beams which are the reason for your erectness; you’re beautiful floors that creak now and then, as well they should considering the weight they’ve carried over the years,” she wrote.
Mrs. Breck authored the book “ Eddyville, Middleboro, Massachusetts, 1661 – 1987,” and was the editor, writer and publisher of the Homesteader, the Eddy Homestead Association newsletter. Mrs. Breck was involved with both the Eddy Homestead Association and the Eddy Family Association for over 35 years and was president emeritus of both organizations.
Born in Roxbury, Vermont the daughter of James W. and Madeline (Sowles) Thorington, Mrs. Breck was raised by foster parents, Mrs. Clough and Mr. And Mrs. Sergeant, in Northfield Vermont, where she became involved with church and community groups. Educated in a one-room school, she became the first female Eagle Scout.
Mrs. Breck worked in the Naval Department Bureau of Ships and the Office of Strategic service during World War II.. Upon her husband’s discharge from the Army and the O.S.S. in November, 1945, the couple moved to Massachusetts, where Mrs. Breck worked as a business Secretary, and later as a Secretary to the dean of admissions at Phillips Academy in Andover. Mrs. Breck was also a licensed realtor and became known in Duxbury in the 1970s through the 1990s as the “ The Candy Lady” for her Cameo Candies Business. She made and sold specialty candies for Sweetzers, Cotton’s and special occasions. She is listed in “Who’s Who of Women of the Northeast.”
Mrs. Breck was given the honor of presenting the Eddy Anniversary Plate to Governor King at ceremonies marking the 350th anniversary of the landing in Plymouth of John and Samuel Eddy.
“As a dedicated wife, mother, and enduring friend, she was a prolific writer with the ability to pull family and others together” a family member said. “She had a heart to guide, uplift, and make you feel accepted.”
In addition to her husband she is survived by a daughter and son, Mary Y. Breck of Rockland and David S.G. Breck of Duxbury; two brothers, Kendall Thorington of Martha’s Vineyard and Charles Hedrick of Maine; two grandchildren, Andrea C. Lantz and Richard W. Breck III, both of Plymouth; and two great grandchildren, Ashley Anne and Christopher of Plymouth.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 2 PM in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist church on Tremont Street (Rte. 3A) in Duxbury. Burial will be in the mayflower cemetery adjacent to the church.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of her years of dedicated service, donations may be sent to The Sylvia T. Breck, Eddy Homestead Memorial Fund in care of Richard Cormier, treasurer, 75 Taber St.., New Bedford, MA 02740.
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