Nelson Ralph Vose,
National Guard
SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Nelson Ralph Vose, 76, of Sebastian died Dec. 12, 2017, at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach, Fla., after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He was born Aug. 26, 1941, in Putnam, son of the late Ralph D. and Adrienne (Gatineau) Vose.
In 1963, Nelson served as first lieutenant company commander for the National Guard in Putnam and Danielson. From 1963-1965, Nelson assisted his father and uncle at the family-owned business, Modern Lumber. Next, in 1965, Nelson began a career at Pratt & Whitney as an aviation technician. In 1969, he became a field representative for Pratt & Whitney and accepted an assignment in 1970 in Wichita, Kan. In 1974, he was assigned to be the first Pratt & Whitney representative in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he dedicated 13 years of service to Pratt & Whitney. From Brazil, Nelson continued his career with Pratt and was based in Singapore for 12 years, where he served as the local on-site resident manager. He ultimately retired in 1999, holding the title of general manager for Sales, Marketing, and Customer Support for airlines in the Asia-Pacific Region, accumulating at total of 35 years of service.
He leaves his wife, Barbara (Spielman) of 55 years; his eldest son, David G. Vose and his wife Kathy (Rondeau); grandchild, Ryan Vose, all of Tolland; youngest son, Mark E. Vose and his spouse (Donald Canalejo) of Key West, Fla. He was predeceased by his sister, Karen A. Vose in 2016.
A final private family service will be held in Sebastian and burial will be held at Sebastian City Cemetery.
Richard H. Jaquish
POMFRET CENTER — Richard “Dick” H. Jaquish, 76, of Brayman Hollow Rd. died peacefully Dec. 9, 2017. He was the husband of Julie (Pierce) Jaquish for 47 years.
Born in 1941 in Burlington, Vt., he was the son of the late Harold and Pearl (Stone) Jaquish Boldosser and stepson to the late John Boldosser.
Dick was a graduate of the University of Montreal and Assumption College. He also attended the University of Louvain, Belgium. He was a guidance counselor for the Putnam Public School District for many years, a grant writer and yearbook advisor at Putnam High School, as well as CCD teacher at Most Holy Trinity.
He spearheaded the Career Education movement in northeastern Connecticut and presented at many national conferences.
He shared his love of history by working as a docent at Old Sturbridge Village.
He was a member of the Foresters, enjoyed gardening, traveling, playing cards. He was always smiling and had a kind word to share.
He leaves two daughters, Joanne Dursin (Andre) of Wakefield, R.I., and Erica Beeman (Brent) of Springfield, Ill.; his sister, Cheryl Cyr (Allen) of Lakewood, Colo.; and his step-sister, Gerilyn “Geri” Pawlaczyk (James) of Westland, Mich.; two grandchildren, Abigail Beeman and Theo Dursin; his mother in-law, Elizabeth Pierce, five brothers-in-law and five sisters-in-law.
A Mass of Christian Burial was Dec. 16 in St. Philip the Apostle Church, Ashford.
Donations: Weston Priory, 58 Priory Hill Rd, Weston, VT 05161. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St, Putnam.
Richard Tillman Allen
EASTFORD — Richard Tillman Allen died Dec. 11 at home. He was born in 1950 in Oxford, Mass. He was raised there.
He met his wife Faith Basto Green and moved to Eastford with her in 1993. He went to East Coast Aerotech to prepare himself for a career at East Hartford based Pratt & Whitney Aircraft as a “class A mechanic” assembling aircraft engines. He retired from there after more than 30 years.
While at Pratt his passion for speed and fast cars turned into another business opportunity — Fox Automotive on Fox Road in Putnam. A special bond was formed when he helped raise his nephews Michael and Jimmy Sullivan who currently live in Massachusetts. If he wasn’t working on cars or watching the NHRA drag racing, he was going to the next Beach Boys concert.
He was predeceased by his parents Anne and Tillman Allen, uncle John and sister Nancy. He leaves his wife Faith Allen of Eastford; stepchildren Angela Barlow of Putnam, Kenneth Green of Eastford, David Green (Sharon) of Casselberry, Fla.; two nephews James Sullivan, Colleen and Michael Sullivan and five great nieces, nephews, and five grandchildren.
Luddy-Peterson Funeral Home & Crematory, New Britain. Donations: Eastford Independent Fire Co. #1, 6 Westford Road, Eastford, CT 06242.
Gene E. Fafard Jr.
THOMPSON — Gene E. Fafard Jr., 51, of Thompson died unexpectedly Dec. 14, 2017, at W. W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. He was the husband of Danielle (Parmentier) Fafard of 18 years.
He was born Aug. 12, 1966, in Putnam, son of the late Gene E. and Irene (Gagnon) Fafard.
Gene and his wife were devoted Harley Davidson Riders and took many trips through the countryside. Gene affected many lives with his upbeat personality. He enjoyed making everyone laugh and smile. He loved joking with and teasing the people he cared about most.
Gene was a strong and successful businessman as the owner, operator and CEO of Thompson Fence Company. Gene was a very hard worker and self taught in every area of his business.
He leaves his children Halie Danielson, partner Brandon Keene, Logan Danielson, partner Emily Mead, Joshua Fafard of Danielson, and Tyler Fafard of Putnam; siblings: Cherie and Randy Jenkins of Grand Prairie, Texas, Christine and Kip Blanton of Grand Prairie, Louis and Karen Fafard of Putnam; nieces and nephews.
A graveside service was Dec. 18 at Munyan Cemetery, Putnam. Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 48 Grove St., Putnam.
John Thomas ‘JT’ Moore
POMFRET — John Thomas Moore (JT), 67, of Pomfret died peacefully Dec. 3, 2017, at home after a six-month battle with cancer.
Born in 1950 in Lancaster, Penn., JT was the son of Irene Brubaker Moore and Floyd Moore. Along with his siblings, he was active throughout his early years in the family poultry business, Moore Farms Inc., and played an active role as a member of 4-H Club. JT developed a love for baseball at an early age. He was a loyal Philadelphia Phillies fan attending many games as a young boy, and later, after his move to Boston, he switched his allegiance to the Red Sox.
JT attended Manheim Township Junior and Senior High School in Neffsville, Penn. He graduated cum laude from Middlebury College with a bachelor’s and later received an MBA cum laude from Boston University School of Management.
He started his career as a service manager at the Filenes Division of Federated Department Stores in Boston. This was punctuated by a stint as a flight attendant on Pan American Airlines international flights. He worked for almost 20 years at Brandeis University as director of Administrative Coordination and Planning followed by nine years as a senior project administrator at Management Sciences for Health, a Boston-based international development non-profit organization.
In his mid-fifties, JT chose to pursue his lifelong interest in antiques and began a modest business as a dealer. He was able to bring a discerning eye to a broad and varied range of antiques. He was a frequent presence at antiques auctions where he was constantly expanding his collections, which were more often acquired for his personal enjoyment than for resale.
JT was most at home in the kitchen where he was an assured and confident cook. It gave him great pleasure to feed and entertain his friends, and his ease and skill made everybody happy and comfortable. His delight in entertaining blended nicely with his acquisitions of antique china, silver and linens, which he used without hesitation when he entertained. It was in this milieu that his generous, optimistic and fun-loving spirit shined.
He supported arts and conservation efforts and held a serious and informed appreciation of classical music. He maintained a subscription to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 40 years. He also supported his alma mater Middlebury College for which he held tremendous respect. His experience there afforded many happy memories and lifelong friendships.
He leaves his loving husband and partner of 30 years, Robert Paladino; and his two dogs, Otis and Amos, who provided constant joy and amusement. He also leaves four siblings: Charles Moore of Reno, Nev.; Floyd Moore of Pittsburg, Joseph Moore and sister in law Judith Moore of Denver, and Grace Mattes and brother-in-law James Mattes of Doylestown, Penn.; four nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 13 at the Pomfret School Clark Chapel. More details will be available through Gilman and Valade Funeral Home at www.GilmanAndValade.com. Donations: Boston Symphony Orchestra, 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA, 02115; or through the BSO Friends Office at 617-638-9276 or online at BSO.org.
Rhea R.R. McCarthy,
Vietnam war vet
N. GROSVENORDALE — Rhea Roseland Roy McCarthy died Dec. 14, 2017.
She would not want you to take time from your busy day to read this description of her life as she would describe herself as just an ordinary person. She was anything but.
Rhea was a private, humble, kind, stoic, open-minded, and generous woman who will be remembered for telling you she was “fine” throughout her three-year battle with cancer and thanking every nurse, family member, and friend that visited, tucked her in, or provided her with words of encouragement or chocolate.
She was born April 17, 1942, in NYC to William and Marie Roy, the youngest of three sisters. Her family lived for a short time in Putnam, and eventually settled in Webster. After graduating from St. Louis, she attended nursing school at Memorial Hospital in Worcester.
Her passion for helping others lead her to enlist in the U.S. Army in order to care for soldiers and civilians as an operating room nurse during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam war. Rhea continued to serve in the U.S. Army and eventually retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2002.
Rhea spent her career as an OR nurse at Hubbard Regional Hospital in Webster and eventually retired from Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam.
Rhea married Kenneth McCarthy of Canadaigua, N.Y. Although they parted ways, their friendship lasted their lifetimes. Rhea spent most of her life living in N. Grosvenordale where she raised their two children, Kimberlee and Christopher.
After retirement, she continued serving others: She participated in three mission trips in Africa volunteering as an OR nurse with Mercy Ships. She also traveled to Vietnam twice and provided basic health care at a local clinic with a volunteer organization, Vets with a Mission.
You could also find Rhea attending church services, making meatloaf at the local food pantry, having breakfast with friends, working in the yard, feeding the birds, upcycling, watching something on the History Channel.
She leaves her children, her sisters Ruth and Roni, her best friend Tina.
A Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 23 at St. Anthony’s in Dudley. Burial with military honors follows. Donations: Mercy Ships, ASPCA, Maryknoll, the Wildlife Federation OR volunteer at a local organization OR do one random act of kindness today. Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster.
Edward Szlyk, DDS,
Navy vet
LIGHTHOUSE POINT, Fla. — Edward P. Szlyk, DDS, 79, of Lighthouse Point, died on Nov. 16, 2017, after a battle with leukemia. He was born Oct. 27, 1938, in Worcester, son of Edward S. and Martha (Piasta) Szlyk.
Dr Szlyk graduated from North High School in Worcester, Class of 1957. He then attended Assumption College and was the first student to be accepted into Dental School after only three years of premed studies. He attended Georgetown University School of Dentistry in 1964..
He then entered the U.S. Navy where he received training in general anesthesia at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
He began his dental practice in 1966 in Webster and then moved his practice to Village Street in Dudley. He retired in 1999 and moved to Florida with his wife in 2000.
He leaves his wife of 26 years Janice (Lavoie) Szlyk; one daughter Margaret (Maggie) Schelegel (Randy) of Brooklyn; two sons Timothy and his partner Robert DiSanto of Asbury Park, N.J., and Michael and his partner Jackie Germaine of Dudley; three grandsons and one great-grandchildren; stepdaughter Jessica Paire of Barrington, R.I.; sister Dorothy Perron (Roland) of Worcester. He was predeceased by his stepson John Paire. A celebration of life service was Dec. 16 at Bartel Funeral Home, Dudley.
..
