Obituary of Peter B. Huxtable

Peter Burgess Huxtable (83) died suddenly due to cardiopulmonary collapse at his home at The Village of Duxbury where he and his wife, Alaina Huxtable, had resided joyfully for ten years. Peter was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on June 3, 1940 to Howard Lansing Huxtable and Virginia Thompson Huxtable. 

Peter, devoted husband, proud father, and playfully doting grandfather loved nothing more than being surrounded by family, caring for and supporting his family, rooting for the Boston Red Sox, following all Boston-area professional sports teams, engaging with friends and family in games of horseshoe, bocci, darts, pool, among many others, walking religiously for both exercise and to be “out and about” socially to see his many friends on the beautiful campus of The Village, and working on puzzles. 

Peter was raised an only child and attended school in Swampscott, MA and graduated high school from the Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY where he was a member of the baseball, golf, and bowling teams. After Storm King, Peter attended Roanoke College in Virginia. At the age of eight Peter contracted and miraculously recovered from a case of encephalitis triggered by German Measles. Encephalitis left him with a form of epilepsy that impacted much of his adult life. Despite his diagnosis Peter lived a full and fulfilling life beginning his professional career as a computer programmer in Boston in the late 1960s. 

He met the love of his life, Alaina Beatrice Ramsdell, on a blind date in 1969. They were married later that year  at the Church of St. Andrew (Episcopal) in Marblehead, MA and raised their family in Woburn, MA where they lived happily for forty-three years. While in Woburn, Peter and Alaina served as foster parents to children in emergency need for the Department of Social Services, ultimately hosting fourteen different children over a span of eight years. Peter worked in a number of laborer positions for various companies, including The Winchester Company, Rothsteins, MarJam, Atlantic Plywood, and Bright Horizons during his time in Woburn.

Always up for an adventure and especially with his grandchildren, “Grampy” could be found at any point in time camping, paddling a canoe, snowshoeing, hiking, sledding, playing catch, flying kites, building sandcastles, going on whale watches, birding, or collecting shells on the beach. Grampy was a master puzzler - both puzzle maker and puzzle completer. He would often mail original word-search games to his children and grandchildren for their enjoyment. He also greatly enjoyed puns and numerology, often finding humor in the English language and connections among seemingly unconnected things thanks to his mathematical interpretations. Peter, a sentimentalist at heart, always seemed to find just the right knick-knack or memento to make a moment last a lifetime whether it was a newspaper headline clipping shared years later with someone he knew would appreciate it or picking just the right Hallmark card to help him express the love, gratitude, and pride he felt so deeply for his family. 

Peter leaves behind his beloved wife, Alaina, of 54 years, their two children and their spouses, Jonathan (Kelly, Wilmington, DE) and David (Kelley, Hull, MA), Alaina’s son John Ramsdell (Nikki, Seattle, WA), grandchildren Nathaniel (19), Annabelle (15), Nelleh (13), and Kennedy (11), and beloved cousins Verda Huxtable Larson (Attleboro, MA), Doris Huxtable Daniels (Foxborough, MA), Diane Huxtable Bryant (Foxborough, MA), Merrie Huxtable MacNeill (Paxton, MA), and Marti Huxtable Hood (Winchester, MA). Peter is predeceased by his parents Howard and Virginia Huxtable, daughter-in-law Christine Monk Huxtable, and grandson Benjamin Thomas Huxtable.

Peter was a member of Friends Meeting at Cambridge (Quakers). In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his honor to Friends Meeting at Cambridge, the national Epilepsy Foundation, The Jimmy Fund, or a charitable foundation of your choosing. A Celebration of Life will be held at The Village of Duxbury on November 24 at 2:00 PM. Remains will be interred in a private ceremony at the family lot in Agawam Cemetery in Wareham, MA.