By Ron Hayes
COUNTY POCKET — When she wasn’t strolling the beach, chatting with friends and strangers alike, Nora Priest was contacting politicians with letters and phone calls in support of liberal causes.
In Boston, where she spent summers, Mrs. Priest fought for civil rights during the school integration crisis of the 1970s. In Palm Beach County, she agitated to keep bus service along State Road A1A.
“She was the hippie of the neighborhood,” recalls her longtime friend and neighbor, Jolyn Slebodnik. “My mother, my grandmother and my friend. She was a fighter for the underdog, and had an innocence about her that would let her write a letter to the president.”
A resident of the county pocket since the late 1960s, Mrs. Priest died Jan. 7 at Vitas Hospice after a long illness.
“The cause of death is she was 92 years old,” reports her daughter, Faith Priest, of Brookline, N.H. “She was done. We used to tease her that she had a great run — World War I, World War II and the Great Depression.”
Born April 1, 1917, in London, Nora “Noni” James emigrated to the U.S. through Ellis Island as a child.
In 1942, she married Elvin H. Priest, a musician, and the couple began vacationing in this area in the early 1950s, staying at motels until the late 1960s, when they bought their winter home at 11 Surf Road.
“In Boston, when I was growing up, she had us going door to door, campaigning for anybody who was for civil rights,” reflects her daughter. “She just embraced life and wanted to leave this a better place.”
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Priest is survived by her husband of 68 years; a son, Barry, of Bedford, Mass.; and two grandsons, Peter Nickerson and Jason Potteiger.
Donations in Mrs. Priest’s name may be made to the Prasad Project, 465 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747, which provides eye and dental care in the U.S., India and Mexico; or to a local food pantry.
A memorial service will be held on Cape Cod in the spring.
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