Born April 17, 1911, in South Norwalk, Connecticut, the daughter of Everett Tolles and Willa Hoyt, Mary Esther Tolles, “Billie”, died on July 1, 2005, at 94. She was my client and she was my friend. I was not lucky enough to get to know her cousin Evelyn Parsons, M.D.
I believe that Dr. Parsons was the in-house medical doctor at the former Newton Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing. She also had a family medical practice and saw patients in the home that she shared with Billie on Longfellow Road in Wellesley.
Billie was well known in Wellesley as the person who was always happy to accept the responsibilities of Treasurer in any organization she joined. She counted every penny and hated to let them go.
She was a founding member and Treasurer of the Wellesley Friends of Senior Neighbors and a long-time member and Treasurer of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
Billie was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wellesley Council on Aging and the Wellesley Community Center.
As a participant in Tax Counseling for the Elderly, she continued to prepare income tax returns for seniors until 2003 when she was 90. Billie was honored with a Wellesley Award by the Community Center in 1992 and was named one of Wellesley’s Most Intriguing People in1994 by the Wellesley Townsman.
The Tolles Parsons Center was a dream that both women shared. Billie enjoyed the benefits of a full and active life, swimming in her own indoor lap pool and carefully planning meals that kept her body healthy and strong. Her volunteer activities kept her mind sharp. Dr. Parsons and Billie Tolles wanted to provide a place for seniors to be active and to enjoy the benefits of community every day.