Nathan Hale was instrumental in creating a surname index of Maine burials transcribed by volunteers of the Maine Old Cemetery Association. His work, now known as the Nathan Hale Collection, is an important source of genealogical information for Maine families.

Obituary

Nathan Hale, 97, retired educator and headmaster, died Friday [8 Nov 1996] at Coves Edge in Damariscotta.

He was born in Schenectady, N.Y., the son of Edward Everett and Rose Perkins Hale Jr., and attended local schools.

During World War I, he served with the Army, and during World War II, served as an air raid warden.

In 1922, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady and attended Harvard University for two years.

On March 22, 1930, he married Lillian Boynton in New York City. He met Boynton, an artist, while studying at the Anson K. Cross Art School in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Mr. Hale taught at The Rivers School in Cambridge, Mass., the Riverdale Country Day School in the Bronx, N.Y., and The Buckley School in New York City.

In 1936, Mr. Hale and his family moved to England and then France a year later. While living in France, he wrote and illustrated two children's books, ''The Blue Horse'' and ''The Orange Cow,'' both of which are still in print. In 1939, he returned to the United States, assuming the role of assistant headmaster at Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich, R.I.

In 1940, Mr. Hale and his wife purchased Rocky Hill School and he became the school's headmaster. At the time, there were 35 students enrolled; upon Mr. Hale's retirement in 1962, there were 225. Over the years, his efforts moved the school from private to not-for-profit status and to a new location on Narragansett Bay. In addition, he operated the school's summer camp.

Following his retirement, he moved to his summer home here on the Damariscotta River. For many years he was the volunteer director of the Old Maine Cemetery Association's surname project.

An avid golfer and sailor, Mr. Hale was senior champion at the Wawenoc Country Club in Walpole. He was a charter member of the former Twin Villages Yacht Club here.

Surviving are his wife of Newcastle; two sons, Nathan of New York City and Christopher of Concord, Mass.; and five grandchildren.

A celebration of Mr. Hale's life will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Strong Funeral Home, Business Route 1, Damariscotta. The Rev. Donald Harrington will officiate. Burial will follow in Glidden Cemetery, River Road.

Published by the Portland Press Herald; 11 November 1996