Land donation from benefactor will help bolster Osterville library endowment fund

The Osterville Village Library has received a donation of land from the estate of a library supporter, the late Rev. Eleanor Panasevich. The four-plus acres of vacant wooded land is in the Seapuit area at 39 Fox Island Road in Osterville.

The property has been put up for sale for $2.5 million and the money raised will be added to the library’s endowment fund with the Cape Cod Foundation, library Executive Director Cyndy Cotton said in a phone interview. She said Panasevich was a strong supporter who “saw the potential of the library and believed in what we’re doing."

Library trustees intend to use the proceeds of the sale "as wisely as we can," said Claudia Mahoney, the library Board of Library Trustees vice president. The trustees “were just thrilled that someone in village looked at what we’re doing, saw the number of people we bring in and the energy" and wanted to be a part of that, Mahoney said. She said it was heartwarming to have someone feel the way the board feels about the library.

The library, at 43 Wianno Ave., is a nonprofit that contracts with the town of Barnstable to provide public library services, according to the website.

Who is Eleanor Panasevich?

Panasevich was born in 1941 in New York City, raised in northern Westchester County and attended Emma Willard School, Smith College and Episcopal Divinity School, according to a press release. She was ordained as a deacon and Episcopal priest and served parishes in Massachusetts. She is described as a “renaissance woman with passions that spanned from music to faith to the arts.” She also worked at WGBH and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Cotton, who had known Panasevich, a seasonal resident, for 10 years also said previous trustees knew her as well.

Jack Cotton, the listing real estate agent, described the vacant, wooded parcel overlooking Bog Pond as “beautiful, excellent and desirable.“ "You don’t find four acres in Osterville,” Cotton said. The listing describes the parcel as a “blank slate” opportunity for a future owner to create an “ideal oasis.” He said the property could also be sold to a conservation organization.

The property has a path off Fox Island Road that meanders through the woods. Fox Island Road is off Ice Valley Road.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sale of donated land will help boost endowment of Osterville library