- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Stephen LaFreniere,
National Guard vet
POMFRET CENTER — Stephen R. LaFreniere, 77, of Pomfret Center died unexpectedly, July 26, 2021, at home.
He was born Oct. 11, 1943, in Boston, son of the late Charles and Florence (Garceau) LaFreniere. He was the husband of Judith (Murray). They were married 55 years.
He was a graduate of Ellis Tech and served in the National Guard. He was an outdoorsman and loved his fishing trips to Moosehead Lake in Maine with his good friend Ed Robbins and enjoyed his trips to Alaska. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, setting an example of exactly what a hardworking family man should be.
He was the owner of Pomfret General Repair and of Pomfret Fuel Service and was a mechanic at Mathieu Ford. He was a mechanical genius and could fix anything, and was a go-to guy for not only his friends and family but for the entire community. He was reliable, generous, charismatic and humorous. His gigantic personality and signature booming laugh never failed to brighten up anyone’s day.
In addition to his wife Judith, he leaves his children David LaFreniere of Brooklyn, Diane Kelleher of Pomfret Center, Joanne Plummer of Woodstock; grandchildren Jacob LaFreniere, Alyssa Kelleher, Claudia Plummer and Samuel Plummer.
Visitation was July 29 at Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.
Donald E. Steinbrick
services Aug. 7
PUTNAM — Donald E. Steinbrick, 82, of Providence Pike, died July 20, 2021, at UMass Memorial University Hospital. He was the husband of the late Patricia Ann (Taylor) Steinbrick for 58 years. He was a proud veteran of the Vietnam era serving with the U.S. Air Force, 551st Air Police Squadron, being honorably discharged at Otis Air Force Base on Aug. 5, 1962.
He worked at American Standard, sold cars at Mathieu Ford, worked at Knox Glass, Star City Glass, Amfram Packing and Foster Forbes Glass. He was then a postal worker.
He was a member of the American Legion Post 13 in Putnam and the Putnam Lodge of Elks 574.
He leaves two sons, David Steinbrick, (Laurie) and Christopher Steinbrick; four grandchildren: Nicole Steinbrick, Alexa and Oscar Steinbrick, and David Steinbrick Jr.; two nieces.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 6 in Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam. A Graveside Service is at 11 a.m. Aug. 7 in Grove Street Cemetery. Donations: Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, ATTN Charlie Milewski, P.O. Box 3, Danielson, CT 06239.
Carol Ann Gleason
Carol Ann (Boucher) Gleason was born on Sept. 26, 1950, in Providence, the daughter of the late Alfred Boucher Sr. and Aldea (Dufresne) Boucher. Carol died at home July, 7, 2021, after a courageous and hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer.
She stayed home to raise her three children through elementary school. She later worked as a chef at Matulaitis Nursing Home before spending the bulk of her career as a purchasing agent at Superwinch, Inc. in Putnam. In her free time, Carol enjoyed spending time with those she loved, going to the beach, playing cards, cooking and spending time at the casinos in Connecticut. She also loved gardening, preserving her bounties, and playing bingo at the Putnam VFW. She was a kind, strong woman with a positive outlook on life, even when battling cancer.
She leaves her partner of more than 20 years, Ronald Grace; her two brothers, Alfred Boucher Jr. (Diana) of Dade City, Fla., and David Boucher (Patricia) of Putnam, stepbrother Jack Young (Grace), also of Putnam; three children: Deana Chrzan (Don) of Woodstock, Brett Gleason (Tricia) of Terre Haute, Ind., and Melissa Sears (Randy) of Moosup; grandchildren: Nathaniel, Samuel, Benjamin, Isaac, and Paige.
The disposition of her ashes will be private. A Memorial Mass was held July 18 at Saint Eugene’s Church in Chepachet. Donations: Day Kimball Homemakers, Hospice and Palliative Care, 32 South Main Street, Putnam, CT 06260.
Joan I. Rumrill
N. GROSVENORDALE — Joan I. Rumrill, 85, of Riverside Dr., died July 28, 2021, at home. She was the wife of the late Rayford “Smokey” Rumrill. Born in Berwick, Maine, she was the daughter of the late Arthur and Cecile (Provencher) Ames. On April 14, 1956, in Billerica, Mass., she was united in marriage to Rayford Rumrill who predeceased her on May 20, 2003.
Mrs. Rumrill worked as a stitcher for 28 years at Bates Shoe followed by an additional three years at B&W Footwear both of Webster. Joan was a member of St. Joseph Church in N. Grosvenordale and enjoyed building puzzles with her family and friends.
She leaves her companion of 14 years, Walter “Lefte” Jones of N. Grosvenordale; her two sons, Ronald Rumrill (Donna) of N. Grosvenordale, and Kevin Rumrill (Renee) of Woodstock; her daughter, Joyce Hebert (Treffley) of Central Village; two brothers, Richard Ames of Dennison, Texas, and Leonard Ames of Putnam; two sisters, Shirley Demers of Quinebaug, and Loretta Baker of New Hampshire; nine grandchildren, Trista, Timothy, Kayla, Anthony, Les, Mike, Sandy, Andrea, and Marissa; 12 great-grandchildren, Lelani, Brianna, Savannah, Dakota, Emma, Madeline, Cadence, Aria, Greyson, Cody, Annabelle and Jonathan; nieces and nephews.
The Graveside Service was Aug. 2 in W. Thompson Cemetery. Donations: Hospice of Northeast CT, P.O. Box 632, Putnam, CT 06260. Valade Funeral Home & Crematory, 23 Main St., N. Grosvenordale.
Patrick Smith
WOODSTOCK — Patrick Smith was born in Boston on May 2, 1950. After an epic 26-day struggle in the Tufts ICU, he died of cardiovascular failure on July 2, 2021.
Patrick attended school in New Canaan and London, graduated from the U of Colorado, and settled in Danielson and then Woodstock.
He worked in commercial fishing and the building trades, wrote poetry, and published a memoir Leaving the Life, and a thriller Leaving Fire.
After Patrick’s first wife Claudia Vincenti died, he met and married Bet Zimmerman. Patrick and Bet teamed up to conserve 100 acres in Woodstock.
He leaves his wife Bet; siblings Alexandra Homes, Catharine Stultz, Lowry Maclean, Richardson Smith and Vincent Smith.
Donations: Roseland Park, 205 Roseland Park Road, Woodstock CT 06281; or Day Kimball Hospice & Palliative Care. A celebration of Patrick’s life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 14 at Roseland Park.
.