Vincent Francis Travis, 77, of Norfolk, MA, died on Thursday August 13, 2020. Born in Northampton County, Virginia on September 5, 1942, he was a resident of Bucks County, PA for many years until recently moving to Norfolk to live out his final days with his sister Rita and her family. Vince (or “Bud” as he was known to his family) was raised and educated on the Eastern Shore of Virginia until 1959, when he traveled to Pennsylvania to begin studies for the Catholic priesthood. He graduated from Saint Francis Preparatory School where he was valedictorian of his class, and later received his B.A. from Saint Francis College where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Philosophy and History. After leaving the seminary in 1968 (thinking he could perhaps serve others better in a different capacity), he settled in the suburban Philadelphia area where he received a Masters of Social Services (M.S.S) in Policy and Planning from Bryn Mawr College.
Vince’s career in public service began as a caseworker with the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, providing direct services to disadvantaged and underserved families and individuals. He went on to work with the Philadelphia City Council to improve state and city health programs, and formed a coalition of Philadelphia legal and social work professionals to improve child care services for local families.
The focus of his work shifted to insurance regulation and reform when he was recruited by the PA Commissioner of Insurance to manage media relations and public affairs for the Department. He soon became a vocal advocate for insurance consumers and for the next ten years worked tirelessly to safeguard their rights to fair rates, clear policies, and straightforward guidance on complaint resolution. His strengths in policy and statutory analysis led to key legislative reforms in three states, and, in positions ranging from Director of Research and Education in Massachusetts to Assistant Commissioner of Insurance in New Jersey, he oversaw a broad range of consumer education and protection efforts.
During his later working years, Vince took his extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and his considerable talents as a writer, planner and analyst to the private sector, where he was instrumental in the start-up and management of three not-for-profit reciprocal insurers: MEIE for workers’ compensation, NJ CURE for auto insurance, and NJ PURE for medical malpractice insurance. He helped set up initial programs, operations, policies and procedures, and continued to participate as a senior manager/in-house consultant for each of the reciprocals. Following his retirement, Vince continued to work as independent consultant for the reciprocals until he became ill earlier this year.
Vince approached his illness as he lived his life: with grace and dignity. His doctors described him as brave and valiant. His friends marveled at his hopefulness. He did not waste time bemoaning his fate (at least not publicly). He simply expressed his desire to spend as much of his remaining time as possible surrounded by family. Because to Vince, family was everything. And he devoted his life to the care and keeping of his own.
He lovingly cared for his mother Margaret for more than 40 years, assisted her in the raising of his sister Rita, and traveled tirelessly between Pennsylvania and Virginia to visit and support his Aunt Betty in the last three years of her life. With the passing of his sister Mary and his brother-in-law Tom, he tried to act as a good guide and mentor to their children Chris, Rob and Theresa, and as they began families of their own, to the next generation of nieces and nephews. It was important to him to keep family traditions alive, to tell the stories of those who had come before, and to make sure all within the family circle felt nurtured and loved.
He shared his love of art, music and books with his family and made sure they were present in their lives. Books were important to him. And he had thousands. On just about every subject imaginable. But he especially gravitated to theology, literature, history and poetry. He also enjoyed a good mystery, a challenging crossword, and a classic country tune, preferably in the presence of good food, good wine, and good company--- which, in no particular order, included his friends, his family and his cats!
Many saw him as a private and contemplative man, often found reading in a quiet corner during family gatherings, but his greatest delight was having an engaging conversation with those he loved. He was a man of many interests who could speak with great insight and intelligence about just about anything (politics, philosophy, literature, art, religion), but mostly he liked to hear about how each of was doing. He had the gift of really looking at us when we spoke and really listening to what we had to say. He taught us a lot about life in those conversations, about the beauty of words and music and art, the importance of family, and the power of a kind word. We are already missing acutely his many kind words and the messages of love they held for each of us, but it is our sincere hope that we can carry each other forward in the same spirit of family solidarity and hope with which he carried us all these years.
Vince was preceded in death by his father Burleigh A. Travis, Jr.; his mother Margaret R. (Belda) Travis; his sister Mary Moyers and her husband Thomas Moyers; his aunts Virginia Dunton, Betty Travis and Mary Ward; and his uncle Francis Belda. He is survived by his sister Rita Travis and her husband Richard Leffelholz of Norfolk, his nephew John Christopher Moyers and his wife, Karen, of Pennsylvania, his nephew Robert Moyers of Virginia, his niece Theresa Zitkevitz and her husband, Timothy, of New Jersey, his nephew Benjamin Leffelholz of Melrose, his niece Hannah Leffelholz of Norfolk, great nieces and nephews Antonia Angiolillo, Thomas and Caroline Zitkevitz, and Abigail Moyers; great-great niece Isabella Angiolillo; and many cousins in Virginia. He also leaves his dear friends Bill and Joanne Day, Tom and Joan Laffey, and Ron and Sharon Sharp, all of Pennsylvania, and affectionately known as “the Council”.
Vince was buried next to his mother Margaret at Pine Hill Cemetery in Sherborn on August 19th in a quiet peaceful service for his family. A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday September 5th, 2020 at 10:30 am at St. Timothy’s Parish in Norwood, MA. Oteri Funeral Home in Franklin has been entrusted with handling the arrangements. For online condolences or to share a memory of Vince, please visit: www.oterifuneralhome.com