Obituaries pg 8 9-5-13

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Joseph P. Meier
EASTFORD — Joseph P. Meier of Eastford Road died Aug. 28, 2013 , at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester. He was born July 18, 1939 in Putnam,  son of the late Joseph and Anna (Mitterer) Meier.
Joe took great pride and joy in spending time with family and friends.. He held several positions within  the Eastford Independent Fire Department. He loved gardening, playing cards and hosting card parties with friends. Joe was a retired truck driver who worked in the construction industry.   
He leaves his partner Betty Kowalski of Eastford; children Cheryl Harris of Freeport, Maine, Kelly Leveille of Thompson; stepchildren Cheryl Gilmore of Woodstock, Edward Horonzewic of Ashford, Janet Veldkamp of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Mary Ann Phaneuf of Woodstock, Cathy Julian of Thompson; his sister Ann Meier of Dearborn Mich.; grandchildren Bill, Kim, Ryan, Christopher, Alexander, Melanie, Lindsey, Benjamin, Antonie and Jans and four great-grandchildren.. He was predeceased by a brother Charles Meier. He was also predeceased by his wife of 25 years Phyllis (Cudworth) Meier.   
The Funeral was Sept. 4 at Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St. Putnam, with burial with military honors at St. Philip Cemetery, Ashford. Donations: Eastford Independent Fire Department, 6 Westford Rd, Eastford, CT 06242.

Jeannette Korch
WHITEFIELD, Maine — Jeannette Korch, 83, of Putnam, died Aug. 20, 2013, at Maine General Rehabilitation and Nursing Care at Glenridge Drive, Augusta, after an extended illness.
She was born Sept. 23, 1929, in Putnam, the daughter of Hector Collette and Dora (Bonosconi) Collette. She was educated in Putnam, graduating from Putnam High School.
Mrs. Korch was employed by American Optical for many years.
She had a youthful personality and loved camping, watching the cooking channel and listening to her radio with her cat, Sammy, on her lap. Her hobbies included knitting, crocheting and sewing. Mrs. Korch and her husband loved vacationing to Maine to visit her great nieces and great nephews and their sons.
Jeannette was a lifelong communicant of St. Mary Church, and a member of St. Mary Circle Daughters of Isabella.
She was predeceased by her husband, Harold E. Korch, on Feb. 14, 2007. She was also preceded in death by two sisters, Rosilda Basinet and Florence C. Houle; two brothers, Alfred Collette and Raymond Collette; a niece, Paula Collette.
She leaves nephews in Connecticut, Gerald and Robert Houle, Roland and Paul Basinet; and Michael and Richard Collette and great nieces and nephews in Maine and her cat Sammy.                     
A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Sept. 5 at St. Mary Church of the Visitation, Putnam, with burial in St Mary Cemetery. Donations: P.A.W.S. – CT, PO Box 191, Eastford, CT, 06242. Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.

Gerard O. Menard
N. GROSVENORDALE — Gerard O. “Jerry” Menard, 69, of Morin Street, died unexpectedly Aug. 29, 2013, at home. He was the husband of the late Linda (Duquette) Menard.  Born in 1944 in Webster, the is the son of Omer W. Menard of N. Grosvenordale and the late Edna (Blanchette) Menard.
Mr. Menard worked as the building manager for Nutmeg International Truck Sales for over 37 years. He enjoyed candlepin bowling, going to the casinos, and playing pitch. He was a member of the Valley Springs Sportsman, Thompson Rod and Gun Club, and the Can-Am Horseshoe league.
He leaves his father, a son Christopher Menard (Elodie) of Brooklyn; a sister Ann Gauvin of Florida; his “adopted” grandchildren Emmalena, Bentley, and Skyelar; and his cat Alex.
A Mass of Christian Burial was Sept. 4 in St. Joseph Church, N. Grosvenordale. Gilman and Valade Funeral Homes.

Sr. Tarcisia Navickaite
PUTNAM — Sister Tarcizija-Elena Navickaite, 101, of Thurber Rd, died Aug. 26, 2013, in Matulaitis Nursing Home.  She was born 1912 in  Lithuania. She attended village schools and being drawn to religious life, in 1932 entered the Sisters of Immaculate Conception of the Poor in Marijampole, far from her village home.
She came to the U.S. in 1936 and worked for fiv eyears in Marianapolis, the Marian Fathers College in Thompson. Later she was transferred to the Marian Fathers House of Studies in Hindsdale, Ill., where she made her final profession in 1941 in the Marian’s Chapel. She returned to the Motherhouse in Putnam in 1944. Throughout her religious life her main responsibility was providing proper nutrition. From the beginning of Matulaitis Nursing Home in 1968, she assisted in the dietary department and having finished Food Supervisor studies, supervised the kitchen staff at the home.
Sister Tarcizija was well liked by all the staff for her calm, gentle and serving manner, her love and respect for all people and her patience, diligence and perseverance. During the last week of her life, she attended the sister’s annual retreat, and during the last day of the retreat, felt weak, received the sacrament of the sick from the retreat master and the following day, with her community sisters joining her in prayer, she surrendered her soul to the Lord she served and loved faithfully throughout her 101 years.  
The Mass of Christian Burial was Aug. 28 in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Donations: Matulaitis Nursing Home, 10 Thurber Rd., Putnam, CT. 06260 Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.

Loretta Patnaude
PUTNAM — Loretta M. (Jason) Patnaude, 79, of Putnam, died Aug. 28, 2013, at UMass Memorial Health Care - Memorial Campus, Worcester.
Loretta was born in Revere, Mass., daughter of the late August R. and Henrietta (McCarthy) Jason and lived in the Pomfret-Putnam area all her life.  She was last employed by the Colony Corporation and had previously worked at Idle Wild Farms.  She leaves two sons, Ralph R. Patnaude II of Putnam, and his companion, Cindy Phillips of Canterbury, Christopher J. Patnaude of Putnam; two daughters, Lisa M. Gannetta (Michael) of Lisbon, Laurie A. Patnaude of Canterbury; two sisters, Lillian Carbone of Stoughton, Mass., and Jeannette Lespasio of Putnam; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.  She was predeceased by a brother, August “Gus” Jason, and by a sister, Rosemarie B. Heath.
A prayer service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster, with visitation from 1 to 2:30. Donations: Charity of the donor’s choice.