DARTMOUTH — Joseph Rotch Frothingham, Jr., 66, died of cancer at his home on Sunday, March 23, 2008. He was the son of the late Dr. Joseph R. Frothingham and Janet F. Frothingham.
Born in Boston, MA, he attended schools in New England, served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, and attended Colorado State University where his love of the West developed into a desire to live and work in the mountains.
From 1972 to 1997, he was the Northwest Region Pilot for the Colorado Division of Wildlife and flew out of Grand Junction, CO. He was admired by the biologists who flew with him as one of the best and safest conservation pilots in the Division of Wildlife, and was known for his meticulous attention to preflight checks and his skill at flying among the canyons and mountain peaks. His flying included aerial wildlife surveys using radio telemetry, fish stocking of mountain lakes, search and rescue, and night patrols to locate poachers. His earlier flight experience included instructing, crop-dusting and transport.
In 1997, he retired and moved east to live in the house built by his parents in Dartmouth, MA. He immediately acted on his passion for outdoor work and land conservation by volunteering hours of his time as a core trail volunteer and a leader in land stewardship for the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, with special focus on their Slocum River Reserve. He always said he would rather spend a day working in the rain in the woods than an hour in a meeting in the office.
His pleasure in extended family was shown by his involvement in working with younger cousins to teach them proper use of machinery, work ethic, and community spirit. When work was done he could be found paddling the waters of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound in his kayak or hiking with backpack and water bottle.
He is survived by his sisters: Martha Bryan and her husband Harry, of New Brunswick, Canada; Tally Garfield and her husband John, of Dartmouth and Ann Brayton and her husband Paul, of Brooklin, ME; his nieces and nephews; and numerous cousins and friends in the East and West.
An informal gathering of family and friends will take place at his home on Sunday, March 30th at 1:00 PM.
He asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, Box P-17, Dartmouth, MA 02748 to support their work in land preservation and trail maintenance.