Hanford Mead Twitchell

Hanford Mead Twitchell Jr., called Mead, died peacefully of natural causes April 9, 2019, in Carmel, Indiana. He was 91.

Mead was born Dec. 17, 1927, in New York City. He was the first-born child of Hanford Mead Sr. and Virginia (Sterry) Twitchell, both of New York.

Mead grew up in a brownstone on east 71st Street in New York, where he attended The Buckley School for boys. He spent summers at the family’s property on the north shore of Long Island.

He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1945. While there, he served as the editor of the student newspaper, the Exonian.

At the end of World War II, Mead travelled with the Moral Re-Armament (MRA) movement in Germany and Switzerland, assisting with reconciliation efforts. From 1948-1950, he attended Princeton University, where he wrote for the student paper and competed in long-distance running.

Mead served four years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Stationed in Texas, he became a second lieutenant and trained personnel in how to operate armored tanks.

Following the war, Mead worked as a writer, correspondent and translator in Europe and Latin America for several years. He spoke English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

In the 1960s, Mead helped found and served as production manager for Pace Publications in Los Angeles. While there, he also helped produce a newspaper for the global volunteer organization, Up With People.

Mead married Inge Dyring Larsen March 15, 1969, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inge, a native of Denmark, survives. The couple celebrated their 50th anniversary last month.

Mead and Inge moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1972 and lived there for 37 years. Mead worked as a sales manager and printing executive for Noll Printing Co. in Huntington, Indiana, for two decades. In retirement, he played tennis, volunteered as a senior tax advisor and travelled extensively.

In 2009, Mead and his wife moved to the Indianapolis area to be closer to their son, Robert Mead Twitchell, daughter-in-law Evelyn (Ellison) Twitchell, and grandchildren Robert Spencer Twitchell and Camille Grace Twitchell, all of whom survive.

Mead is also survived by his brother, Cleveland Edwards Twitchell of Central Point, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Virginia Sterry (Twitchell) Kipp.

He will be laid to rest at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, in a graveside service at his family’s plot at the Setauket Presbyterian Church cemetery in Setauket, New York.

Friends and family are invited to gather for a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at The Barrington of Carmel, 1335 S. Guilford Road, Carmel, Indiana. For more information, please visit www.flannerbuchanan.com.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, 3411 Sherman Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN, 46808; the Eiteljorg Museum, 500 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46204; or any organization of your choosing.