Bernard (Bud) Fine

Bernard (Bud) Fine of Northampton died on April 23 of natural causes.  He had been receiving hospice care at his daughter’s home in Ashfield.

Bud was born in Hartford on November 2, 1926 to William and Ida (Kaseowitz) Fine.  He grew up in the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, graduating from Classical High School in 1944, and then served with the U.S. Army in the Pacific in the final months of WWII.   He earned a B.A. at American International College (AIC) in Springfield, followed by two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in Psychology at Boston University. 

For 38 years, Bud was a research psychologist at the U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, conducting studies in human performance under environmental stress.  He was a Fellow in several national scientific and psychological associations and authored or co-authored over 50 articles published in professional journals. 

Bud and his first wife, Eleanor Walker, raised their children Rachel and Jonathan in Harvard, MA, where Bud gardened extensively, and was involved with the Unitarian Church and the public library.  Eleanor died in 1978.  

Music was a significant part of Bud's life, first as a teenage sax player in early ‘40s swing bands in Springfield, and continuing as a saxophonist in the 40th Division and then 282nd Army Ground Forces Band in Korea.  In the 1970s he created “Concerts at the Common,” bringing classical and folk musicians to a lovely small town setting at the First Congregational Unitarian Church in Harvard, MA.    

In 1991 Bud met Diane Goetz Hubbard, with whom he shared almost 20 years in Weston and then Northampton.  In his retirement, Bud especially enjoyed helping in the workshop of Hubbard Harpsichords, a business that Diane successfully carried on after the death of her first husband, Frank Hubbard.  Diane died in 2009.

Bud is survived by his children Rachel Moore (Harry Dodson) of Ashfield, MA, Jonathan Fine (Michele Vail) of Dorset, VT, and grandchildren Elspeth Moore and Mullainy Fine.   He also leaves Diane’s daughters Polly Hubbard (Duncan Wood) of Boston and Julia Hubbard (Bill Beeton) of Sag Harbor, NY and grandchildren Colton and Lily Wood and Harlan and Lucy Beeton.   Bud also leaves two beloved cat companions, Margot and Pamela, who now reside in Ashfield.

Bud's family would like to thank the staff of Linda Manor Assisted Living in Leeds for the high level of care and support they provided to him over the past six months, and also the staff of the Inn at Lathrop in Easthampton, his prior residence.

Burial in Harvard, MA will be private.  Memorial donations may be made to Dakin Humane Society or the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

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