Reunited

Putnam resident Alan Joslin, right, a U.S. Navy veteran who was seriously wounded in Vietnam, was reunited this summer with Dr. Cesar Cardenas in Lake city, Iowa.  When Joslin was wounded with life-threatening injuries during his tour in Vietnam, Dr. Cardenas, a surgeon who was a Major at the time, performed life-saving surgery allowing Joslin to be transferred to a military hospital.  Joslin’s injuries occurred on Sept. 7, 1969, in Catlai, South Vietnam. Courtesy photo. 

 

Sr. Alice Chicoine 

PUTNAM — Sr. Alice Chicoine, 93, a member of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, died Dec. 17, 2014, in the Holy Spirit Health Care Center where she had been in residence since November of 2014

Born Alice Simone Chicoine on July 3, 1921, in Evansville, Vt., the daughter of the late William and Annette (Lucier) Chicoine, Sr. Alice entered religious life in 1938 and made her religious profession on July 1, 1943, in the Holy Spirit Provincial House in Putnam, CT. She was then known as Sr. Joseph de St. Andre.

Sr. Alice served in various ministries throughout her religious life. She attended and took courses at Diocesan Sisters’ College, and Annhurst College in S. Woodstock as well as St. Joseph College in W. Hartford. Later, she attended St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Hartford and earned a LPN from that institution. Problems with her health forced her to curtail her performance as a nurse. She obtained a TESL from St. Michael College in Winooski, Vt and taught English as a second language at Annhurst College in 1967. She did pastoral work in Hartford, Sweet Springs, West Va. and New Britain, CT. and migrant worker ministry in 1989 and in 1992 she served as Pastoral Assistant in Gadsden and Anniston, Ala. In 2002 she served as Pastoral Assistant in Cambridge, Vt. and retired to the Provincial House in Putnam in 2000.

She leaves two brothers, Bill of Murrels Inlet, S.C., and Edmond of N. Guilford; and two sisters, Theresa Carrier of Glover, Vt., and Claire Wolod of McConnellsburg, Penn.; nieces and nephews; and grandnieces and grandnephews.

The Mass of Christian Burial was Dec. 20 in the Holy Spirit Provincial House chapel, with burial in St. Mary Cemetery in Putnam. Donations: Daughters of the Holy Spirit Retirement Fund, 72 Church St., Putnam, CT 06260. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.

 

John de Bruyn Kops III

THOMPSON — John Otto de Bruyn Kops III of Thompson died Dec. 14, 2014, at Pierce Memorial Baptist Home in Brooklyn. John was born May 20, 1931, in Boston, the son of John Jr. and Dorothy de Bruyn Kops.

He graduated from Harvard in the Class of 1953 and worked in the manufacturing field, advancing in management through PPG, Heublein, Combustion Engineering and American Optical, until retiring in 1985 to take up farming. This was his avocation. Sheep, cattle, horses, dogs, cats, Christmas Trees and hay, he enjoyed caring for them all.

John leaves wife Cynthia; his three children, Peter and his wife Katrina, Anne and her husband Peter, Stephen and his wife Julie; five grandchildren: Christina, Alisa, Tristan, James and Paul; his former wife Mary de Bruyn Kops. He was predeceased by his sister Dotty Jean.

Burial was private. Donations: The Thompson Fire Engine Company, 70 Chase Road, Thompson, CT 06277;  or The Thompson Village Improvement Society, P.O. Box 2, Thompson, CT 06277. Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.

 

Joseph F. Mondor,

WWII vet

BROOKLYN — Joseph F. Mondor, 87, of Hamilton Ave., died Dec. 21, 2014, in Day Kimball Hospital.  He is the husband of Theresa (Blanchette) Mondor.  Born in 1927 in Putnam, he was the son of the late Joseph Mondor and Laura (Cournoyer) Mondor Whipple.

Mr. Mondor was a proud veteran of WWII serving with the 990th Air Material Squadron of the 559th Air Service Group on Okinawa and Mariana Islands.

On Aug. 6, 1949, he was united in marriage to Theresa Blanchette in St. James Church in Danielson. 

Mr. Mondor worked for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft as a machine investigator.

He was a member of the American Legion Post 123 in Rocky Hill. Joseph was an avid Red Sox fan and enjoyed working in his yard, woodworking, and traveling especially throughout Europe, the Canadian Rockies, and Ogunquit, Maine.

He leaves his wife of 65 years Theresa; a son Robert Mondor (Blair) of Danielson.

The funeral was private. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.

 

Joel Lyons,

Vietnam war vet

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Joel R. Lyons, 68, died Nov. 17, 2014, after a brief illness at the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital.

Joel was born in Putnam, son of Catherine R. (Gilbert) Lyons of Belchertown and the  late Robert T. Lyons, who died in 1985.

He was a Vietnam U.S. Army veteran, serving during the TET offensives. He was a broadcast specialist and basic military journalist. Joel received the Bronze Star for his actions during the TET offensives. 

He enjoyed a special bond with his daughter Zoe. He enjoyed butterflies and butterfly gardening. Movies were also a great passion and had amassed a large collection. He was especially fond of art, and studied art at the Corcoran School of Art and design in his favorite city Washington, D.C. 

He leaves two daughters, Sunday Marro of Yorktown, Va., and Zoe Lyons of Charleston; his son Ross K Hartman of Belchertown, Mass.; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A celebration of life was Dec. 20 at Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster. 

 

Richard A. Walker

WEBSTER — Richard A. Walker, 63, died Dec. 17, 2014, at Brookside in Webster. He was born in Clinton, Mass., son of the late Forrest and Eleanor (Liard) Walker Sr. and lived in Webster for the past 25 years prior to that living in Arizona. He was formerly employed at Lelanite Corp. He leaves his daughter Jennifer; a brother Anthony L. Walker of Clinton; three sisters; Alice Galleano of Benson, Ariz., Alta Derosier and Robin Dursma, both of N. Grosvenordale. He was predeceased by two brothers, Gary Walker and Forrest Walker Jr.; two sisters Sharon Allard and Janice Sasse. Shaw- Majercik Funeral Home, Webster.

 

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By Ron P. Coderre

Girls’ basketball season traditionally begins a week prior to the boys’ schedule because of another tradition, Thanksgiving Day football games.  A full slate of prep and high school female contests dotted the early season calendar last week. 

The preps squeezed in pre-holiday tournaments before taking a break.  The high schools started the regular season schedule and will roll into the holiday tournament mode next week.

Pomfret School hosted the New England Basketball Classic and split four games.  Marianpolis exited the tourney with a win, while the Hyde-Woodstock Wolfpack finished its week at 1-1.

The Putnam Lady Clippers, after dropping their opener, enjoyed a pair of wins, moving to 2-1 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in the Constitution State Conference.  Tourtellotte also enjoying early success raised its record to 2-1 with an easy win over Lyman.  Plainfield and Killingly each picked up victories, while Woodstock and Ellis Tech suffered through winless weeks.

Putnam Off to Surprising 2-1 Start

The Putnam Lady Clippers of second-year coach Mandi Hogan is a young squad.  The team features only one senior, Lynsay Dashnaw and a bevy of younger players.  Despite its youth, Putnam picked up a pair of Constitution State Conference victories in last week’s competition.  

In a 33-20 victory over Holy Family Academy both teams started cold with the Lady Clippers taking an 11-4 lead into half time.  Putnam warmed up in the second half behind sophomore Alyssa Espinosa, who had 11 and 11 rebounds to pace the team’s first win of the young season.  Alyssa Frederick chipped in eight points and 10 boards.

Putnam came back strongly in its next contest, eclipsing Grasso Tech 46-28 behind another explosive offensive showing by Espinosa, who posted 18 points in capturing game-high honors.

Tourtellotte entertained Lyman in a game that was closely contested in the first half before the Lady Tigers ran away with a 58-35 victory behind the duo of Allie Ablondi and Abby Poirier.  Ablondi was game-high scorer with 21 markers, while Poirier added 14 and Emily Vincent and Jess Dodd chipped in nine and eight points respectively.

Junior Megan Bianchi, picking up where she left off last season, posted a pair of 20 point games as Killingly bested Griswold 61-37 and lost to New London 47-37 to go to 1-2 on the season.  Karissa Slowik (15 points) and Reagan Morin (10) were also in double figures for the Redgals in the win over Griswold.  Bianchi was the Redgals lone offense in the loss to New London.

Plainfield opened its week with a 62-40 trouncing of Lyman before falling in a nail biter to Waterford 60-57.  The contest with Waterford was close throughout with a late Plainfield fourth quarter rally falling just short.  Julie Jordan with 27 points captured game-high honors.  She was joined in double digits by Madeline L’Orange with 11 points.  In the win over Lyman Jordan posted 21 points and Adrienne L’Orange had 13 for the 2-2 Lady Panthers.

Woodstock and Ellis Tech each were 0-2 for the week.  The 1-2 Lady Centaurs were dropped by Ledyard 53-36 and Norwich Free Academy 77-18.  The Ellis Tech Lady Eagles appear to be in for a long season following a 53-5 (that’s correct five points the entire game) loss to Parish Hill and a 47-15 defeat at the hands of Derby.  Ellis Tech is 0-4 on the young season.

New England Basketball Classic Highlights Prep Action

Pomfret School hosted the two-day New England Basketball Classic and walked away from its tournament with two wins and a pair of losses.  The Lady Griffins played shorthanded with three of their mainstays out, hampered by illness or nagging injuries.

Pomfret opened and closed with Choate-Rosemary, splitting the two contests.  The hosts took the opener 31-28 behind 17 points from Deja Ross and lost the final contest 33-30 in a game that was close throughout.  Ross was high scorer again with nine markers for the 4-4 Lady Griffs.

Sandwiched between the Choate-Rosemary games was a 57-29 loss to Berkshire Academy and a 51-27 victory over Kent School.  In the Berkshire contest, Rebecca Erosa was the top scorer for Pomfret with nine points, while Cassie Hayward and Alyzae Davis each dropped in eight points.  Ross rebounded strongly in the win over Kent with an outstanding 23-point performance.  She was helped offensively by Erosa who added 14 markers.

Rachel Aho, who is headed to Providence College next year, led Marianapolis V1 to a 58-45 win over Choate-Rosemary in a tournament contest.  Aho registered 19 points and corralled 10 caroms for the 2-2 Lady Knights.

Hyde-Woodstock opened its week with a narrow 44-43 loss at the hands of Providence Country Day.  Hyde’s one-two punch of Trayniece Mims and Doussou Ndiaye were in double figures with 24 and 14 points respectively.  The Wolfpack bounced back with a 52-39 victory over Bancroft School to raise its record to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the SENE.  Mims exploded for 34 points to lead the Hyde charge.  Ndiaye added 13, as the duo remains the area’s most powerful offensive pair.

 

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