Dr. Fayette "Twig" Branch '46
The bells continue to toll for members of the Class of 1946. The Alumni Office has been informed of the death of Dr. Fayette (Twig) Branch on September 22, 2007, in Easthampton, MA.
Twig was born in Utica, NY, in July 1924. His family soon relocated to Amherst, where he was educated in the local schools culminating with graduation from Amherst College in 1949 after majoring in English. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta. His education was completed at Tufts University dental school where he earned a degree in orthodontics.
During World War II, he served in the US Navy commencing with the V-12 program at Williams College along with a huge contingent of incubating ensigns. During the Korean conflict, he served as a dentist in the US Air Force until 1953. He practiced dentistry in Northampton and Amherst for many years before retiring in 1973 to Nobleboro, ME, where he was very active in town politics and the volunteer fire department. In 2006, he returned to the Connecticut River Valley and resided in the Lathrop Community in Easthampton to be closer to long established friends.
Dr. Branch is survived by his wife of fifty-eight years, Janette (Stephenson) Branch, and his three children: Geoff and wife Kate Spencer, Carol Conz and husband Bill, and Tom and his partner, Lisa Ford. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Charles L. Branch and wife Yvonne, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Twig loved his Irish setters (especially Molly), the great outdoors, and the great State of Maine. He was never happier than when he was quietly sipping a cold martini on his front porch deep in the woods overlooking beautiful Damariscotta Lake while reflecting upon a day devoted to nature and the glories of the surrounding forest.
—J. Wells Steinwart ’46