Alden E. Ringquist ’54

Alden E. Ringquist ’54 died on April 11, 2022, in Kingston, Massachusetts

(The following was provided by his family on April 11, 2022)

Alden “Rink” Ringquist passed away on April 11, 2022, in Kingston, MA, at the age of 90. Rink, born on December 17, 2021, was the son of Oscar Edward Ringquist and Dorothy Foss Ringquist, and raised in Needham, MA. He attended Needham schools through his sophomore year, then transferred to the Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, MA, where he graduated in 1950. He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, graduating in 1954. Rink was a political science major, a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (Deke) and an Army ROTC graduate.

After college, Rink was selected by the Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) and served as a Special Agent Lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 8/31/54 to 8/31/56. He graduated from Ft. Hollabird, Baltimore, MD, and was stationed in Boston. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves as an intelligence officer (G2) from 1956 to 1966.

He married Mary Ann Lafonte from White Plains, NY, in September of 1956, and subsequently divorced in 1969. He and his family lived in Natick, MA. Mary Ann died on January 22, 2017. Their oldest son, Bradley, was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 23 on March 22, 1981. Rink leaves a son Nelson of Westborough, MA, and a son Neal and his wife, Stephanie, and three grandchildren, Victoria, Andrew, and Matthew, all of Lafayette, CA. Rink is also survived by his brother, Calvin, and his wife, Marilyn, of Tampa, FL.

After the army, Rink entered the life insurance business as an agent for John Hancock. He was active with the Framingham Life Underwriters Association, holding several offices, including president. He was also on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Association of the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU), and served on the State Legislative Committee. He went into management in 1980 as brokerage manager with Occidental Life in Natick, MA, then as director of brokerage for Connecticut Mutual Life in Wellesley, MA, from November 1980 to December 1996.

After retirement, Rink served as director of the Alden House Museum and Alden Kindred of America in Duxbury, MA, where he worked for six years to gain the National Historic Landmark designation for the Alden House Historic Site. He was chairman of the Alden Open Golf Tournament, a major fundraising campaign for the Alden Kindred. He was director and vice president of Project Gurnet and Bug Lights, vice president of the Friends of The Duxbury Council on Aging, and served the Duxbury Beach Preservation Committee and Lands Committee of the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society. Finally, he served as the Duxbury town constable. For all his Duxbury volunteer work, Rink was twice honored as Grand Marshal of the Duxbury Fourth of July parade.

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