Hope Stokes

Hope Stokes (Procter)

• Hope Stokes (Procter) Obituary
• Find A Grave Memorial ID # 181358860

Stokes was born in New York City. She attended Miss Hewitt's School in New York City and graduated from St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland in 1935. In the early 1940s, she met the Rev. Stokes at his sister's wedding. In 1943, the couple wed in Stockbridge, then moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he was a rector. In 1945, they had their first daughter, and moved to Honolulu, where he served as canon at St. Andrew's Cathedral. In 1950, the family moved to New York City, where the Rev. Stokes served as rector of St. Bartholomew's Church. The family relocated to Brookline in 1954, after he was elected bishop of Massachusetts. He died in 1986, and she moved to Stockbridge in 2002.

Throughout her life, Stokes took pleasure in tending her garden, especially her orchids. Her knowledge of orchids led her to win several awards at New England horticultural shows. She also gained a reputation in her community for philanthropy. With an interest in natural and historical preservation, she donated to many organizations anonymously. She also helped establish a traveling fellowship for the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge.

Stokes became a member of the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill and St. Paul's Church in Stockbridge. She was also a member of the Country Club in Brookline; the Chilton Club, a women's club in Boston; the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames, a preservationist society; the Orchid Society of America; the Chestnut Hill and Lenox garden clubs; and the Emory Bag, a women's society in Brookline.

Stokes left behind two daughters, Carol S. Fremont-Smith of Seal Harbor, Maine, and Ketchum, Idaho, and Mary E. Stokes Waller of Stockbridge; four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by a sister, Beatrice S. Procter Frelinghuysen.

Stokes' funeral service was held January 16 at St. Paul's Church in Stockbridge. A private burial followed at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City.