Lola Fortmiller Baldwin, 92, was a remarkable and generous woman who enjoyed life to the fullest and kept busy to the very end. She loved social gatherings, live music, theater, traveling, sports, games, dogs, and keeping up on news of all kinds (family, friends, local, and national). Much to her dismay, and that of friends and family, she passed away at home Sept. 18, 2026. 

Lola was born on July 30, 1934, in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Paul Valentine Fortmiller and Leta Remick Gallup Fortmiller. She grew up in Newark, New York, with her younger sister Mary Fortmiller Cornwell.

Their parents passed when they were children and teenagers, from then on, their godparents, Lem and Norma Boulware, provided their parenting and education from there. Lola went to secondary school at Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, and Smith College, where her best sport was crew. She graduated in the class of 1955 with a degree in American studies.

Lola had resided at the Woodlands in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for the past 10 years. She was predeceased by her husband Charles (Skip) Baldwin III in 2016 when they were living in the house they built for their retirement on the shore of Canaan Street Lake, in Canaan, New Hampshire, prior to her move to Woodlands. Lola’s sister Mary also passed away in 2016. 

Lola and Skip were married on July 1, 1955. For a year and a half, they lived in Frankfurt, Germany while Skip served in the Army and their first daughter Christiane (Christie) Kenniston Baldwin was born. They soon after moved back to the USA where they eventually bought Juniper Farm (built in 1790) on Newton Street in Weston, Massachusetts, where they raised Christie and her younger siblings Elisabeth (Betsy) Remick Baldwin, Charles (Chuck) Edward Baldwin IV, and Peter Fortmiller Baldwin. They all enjoyed spending their summers at a family home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine including family cruises in their boat Drifter and outings on other boats on the coast of Maine. 

In addition to raising her family, Lola was a board member of the Boston Children’s Hospital Women’s Committee for three years and was also the chairman of the Library for Patients. She was actively engaged in various roles for the Junior League of Boston, the Garden Club, the Vincent Club, and in many alumnae capacities for Walnut Hill and Smith College. Lola was a Board Member for the Weston Visiting Nurse organization for three years. She was a solicitor for many local United Way campaigns. Lola and Skip were members of the Dedham Golf & Polo Club, and they enjoyed golfing together throughout New England.

In Boothbay she was tennis co-chairman on Juniper Point, hiring the annual coaches and program directors, and frequently playing competitively as well. At the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, she worked with her husband running the Junior Activities Program. 

Lola began her professional career in the mid 1970s in customer service for Polaroid in Boston. She was soon after hired by Harvard to work on their robust program for their annual 25th reunions. She became the first woman to be director of the Harvard College Fund. In this capacity she enjoyed meeting with alumni for each class and traveling all over the country. She left Harvard after seven years to become the dean of development at Tufts Dental School. After four years there, she moved on with her boss in a new development consulting business called The Wayland Group.  

In her capacity as a consultant, Lola enjoyed the networking involved and eventually became president of Women in Development of Boston, an organization of over 1,000 women from all over New England. During a consulting assignment from Walnut Hill School, the Wayland Group created a position at that school for the head of development. Lola won the position at Walnut Hill, the school she attended 40 years before. Originally a school for girls, was now a coed school called Walnut Hill School for the Arts. As head of development, Lola and her team grew the school’s endowment considerably. Lola loved meeting and learning about people and this passion resulted in an admirable knack for successfully raising money for the institutions she represented for which they were all extremely grateful! 

In 2000, Lola and Skip built a house near Skip’s grandfather’s farm with a stunning view across Canaan Street Lake looking at Mount Cardigan nearby. They were active in their new community – including as Lake Hosts and at the Canaan Public Library. Lola won an award from the New Hampshire Library Association as Volunteer of the Year after raising about $300,000 for the library renovation project.  

Lola and Skip joined Montcalm Golf Club when it first opened and enjoyed playing regularly and joining tournaments there. One highlight was Lola having a “hole-in-one” on the second hole. In one member-guest tournament at Montcalm, she won the “closest to the pin contest,” when she was 87! Lola was “director of athletics” at Woodlands. Not a real title, however she enthusiastically, with vim and vigor, arranged a Wii Bowling League, cornhole games, ping pong and pool nights, and many other activities for her friends in the Woodlands community. She loved traveling to Maine in the summer, with many annual trips to North Haven Island where her daughter Christie and her family live. 

Lola will be remembered for her persistent optimism and eagerness for all things fun. It was her most resounding attribute that shone throughout her life’s challenges over 92 years. Lola’s character exemplified a noted Baldwin family expression: “Don’t Give Up the Ship!”

Always looking forward, as recently as last week Lola was planning her trip to Maine next summer (and she was holding out hope she could play golf there, even if it meant just chipping and putting!) and working on arrangements for future family holiday gatherings.

Lola is survived by her four children; Christie’s husband: Angus Barney Hallowell, Chuck’s partner: Noel Anne Lyons, and Peter’s wife: Jona Ravelo Baldwin; as well as Lola’s grandchildren Leta Hazard Hallowell, Maddie Mabel Hallowell, Alexandra Perry Baldwin, and Carter Maddocks Baldwin. 

A celebration of Lola's life will be held sometime next spring, with the date TBD. 

In lieu of flowers, please support the Friends of Canaan Public Library and/or The Walnut Hill School.  

Please visit the online guestbook at www.rickerfuneralhome.com.