Robert J. Herlihy,

Korean war vet

PUTNAM — Robert J. Herlihy, 84, of Putnam died, Dec. 4, 2016, at Day Kimball Hospital, after a brief illness. He was the husband of Charlotte (Rovero) Herlihy for 61 years. He was born Nov. 6, 1932, in Putnam, son of the late Lester and Laura (Miour) Herlihy. 

He was a veteran of the Korean war serving with the U.S. Navy on the USS Tripoli. Robert was a life member of the Putnam Lodge of Elks 574. He worked in the Research and Development department at Rogers Corp, for many years before his retirement. He was a devoted Patriots and Red Sox fan. 

Besides his wife Charlotte, he leaves his children: Daniel Herlihy (Liz Medvetz) of Hoosick, N.Y., Michael Herlihy (Deb) of Plymouth, Mass., Joan Woodis of Putnam, Doreen Herlihy of Thompson, Dorothy Herlihy, Marla Allard (Jim) of Putnam;  grandchildren, Mike Woodis (Julie), Madori Armenio (Dan), Tamreh Herlihy, Kat Woodis, Abby Allard, Joshua Allard, a sister Anne Auger (Benny) of Glastonbury; nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by, parents Lester and Laura Herlihy, brother John Herlihy (June), and sister Jean Criscione (Ange).

A Memorial Service was Dec. 9 at Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam, with burial following in St. Mary Cemetery with military honors. Donations: Westview Recreation Department, 150 Ware Road, Dayville, CT 06241. 

 

Madelaine Palardy

Madelaine A. (Benoit) Palardy died of natural causes Nov. 26, 2016.

Born Jan. 24, 1924, she was the daughter of Clement Benoit and Mary Louise Bernard Benoit. Raised in the N. Grosvenordale section of Thompson, she attended St. Joseph grammar school under the tutelage of the Sisters of Holy Cross. Regrettably she could not attend high school since in those days work was the next step in life.

Her first job was in the local Cluett Peabody Mill like so many in this French-Canadian mill town. In 1944, through a relative, she met a returning WWII army sergeant, Ephreme Joseph Palardy from Rogers. They were married in June 8, 1946, at St. Joseph Church in N. Grosvenordale.

Madelaine and Joe made their home in Grosvenordale and Quinebaug and had spent nearly 20 years on Cape Cod after Joe retired from the Prudential Insurance Company. With memory failing. Joe lived to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a home mass at the home of their granddaughter Becky West on the Cape presided by Fr. Ed Healey. He died Dec. 16, 1997, two weeks after they returned from their retirement home due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Madelaine and Joe hosted many a summer picnic and nights at the drive-in from their porch in Quinebaug for the Sisters of Holy Cross and her aunt and cousins of the same order. Joe and Madelaine were both involved in fund-raising for all the parishes they had lived in. Madelaine worked in both the Grosvenordale and Quinebaug post offices, sold Avon for many years and volunteered at Day Kimball Hospital after Joe died. As a housewife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother Madelaine was a talented self-taught seamstress and pianist—but loved playing the organ most of all.

Her proudest accomplishments were the 25 years she devoted to being a CCD instructor at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Quinebaug and in Pius X Parish on Cape Cod.

Madelaine and Joe leave one daughter Susan (Patrick) Collins of Griswold where she lived her final years up to two months before she died at Matulaitis Nursing Home in Putnam; three grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Rebecca (Brian West) and their sons, Joshua and Benjamin and their wives Sheena and Kayla all of Cape Cod; David (Lynn) of Brooklyn; Daniel (Charleen) and their sons Joseph and Michael of Colchester; and three great-great-grandchildren, Jacob West (Ben); Evelyn and Levi West (Joshua) of Cape Cod; two step grandsons, Ryan and Nickolas Perreault.

The Mass of Christian Burial is at 11 a.m. Dec. 16 at St. Joseph Church, N. Grosvenordale,  with burial to follow in St. Joseph Cemetery. Donations: Sisters of Holy Cross Development Office 377 Island Pond Road Manchester, NH 03109-4811. Gilman-Valade Funeral Homes & Crematory. 

 

Philip L. Parent,

Navy veteran

DANIELSON —  Philip L. Parent, 90, of Shawnee Dr., died Dec. 11, 2016, in his home.  He was the husband of the late Concorde C. (Nolet) Parent.  Born in 1926 in Fall River, Mass., he was the son of the late Oliver and Antoinette (Charest) Parent.

Mr. Parent was a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy (Chief Yoman.) He was present at the Normandy Invasion, presided as a court reporter for the sinking of the USS Thresher. 

He leaves his son, Richard A. Parent (Bonnie) of Danielson; his sisters Doris Souza of Fall River, and Rita Thibeault of Fall River.

All services are private and have been entrusted to the Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.

 

Janice Warrender

DANIELSON — Janice D. Warrender, 73, of Danielson, died unexpectedly Dec. 7, 2016, at home. She was born May 12, 1943, in Brunswick, Maine, daughter of Walter and Lois Duplisea of Solon, Maine. She was a 31-year resident of Danielson. 

Janice was well known for her award winning quilts which brought warmth and comfort to so many. She had a lifelong love for country music. 

She leaves her longtime companion D. Linda Fitzgerald; her two daughters Mrs. John (Laure) Boucher of Leicester, Mass., and Luann Morgan of Danielson; two sons Ross Morgan of Hebron and Scott Morgan of New Hampshire; 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Janice’s life will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Danielson, Elks Lodge, 13 Center St., Danielson. Donations: Please bring a dish and happy memories. Gagnon and Costello Funeral Home, 33 Reynolds St., Danielson.

 

Jens Risom

NEW CANAAN — Jens Risom, of New Canaan and Block Island, died Dec. 9, 2016, at “The Inn” in New Canaan, where he had lived since early 2010.

He was born on May 8, 1916, to Sven and Inger (Henriques) Risom in Copenhagen, Denmark.  His father was the prominent and award-winning architect Sven Risom, a student of Nordic Classicism.

Risom was one of the first designers to bring traditional Scandinavian values of form, function and craftsmanship to the U.S., creating post-WWll “Danish-modern” furniture design.  He had graduated from the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design, and went on to pursue academic studies in business and contemporary design at the Business College of Niels Brock. Briefly working for the Danish architect Ernst Kuhn, he created several furniture pieces for Gustav Weinreich of ALS Normina, in Copenhagen.  Risom’s early designs for Normina were exhibited at the cabinetmakers Guild Exhibition of 1937. He went on to work for a small design shop in Sweden specializing in residential furniture, and Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) where he was exposed to other designers (e.g. Hans Wegner and Borge Mogensen).

Jens Risom immigrated to New York City in the U.S. in early 1939 to study contemporary American furniture; he found there was almost none. Undaunted, he freelanced with Dan Cooper in a small textiles firm and did a few pieces of furniture on the side for various architects. This led to being included in Collier’s “House of Ideas” designed by Edward Durell Stone and constructed at Rockefeller Center during the 1939 New York World’s Fair. 

In 1941, he teamed up with Hans Knoll to produce a high-quality, Contemporary line of furniture. In 1942, Risom designed 15 of the 20 pieces in KNOLL’s inaugural “600” line. Materials were hard to get during the war, so he designed simple, elegant, clean-lined birch furniture with surplus parachute webbing. This signature line is still sold through KNOLL.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army (1943-45), serving under General George Patton.  After the war, Risom returned to NYC to start his own company, JENS RISOM DESIGN, Inc., on May 1, 1946. 

In 1949 he moved his family to New Canaan, where he lived until his death.   In 1956, the family began vacationing on Block Island. He assisted in the design of his own house there in 1967, it was featured on the cover of LIFE magazine (and later in DWELL magazine).  

Risom (JRD) soon needed larger production space and more employees. In 1955, the Connecticut Development Commission approached Risom, then in NYC, about establishing a factory in N. Grosvenordale. The area had become depressed after the mills had closed, but the workers were skilled and hard-working and the factory (Risom Manufacturing Company) became a place of respect and success. Risom set up a program so that workers could earn their GEDs while at work.  In the 1960s, Risom’s designs became less residential as he worked with hospitals, libraries, offices and hotels around the world.

Risom furniture is permanently exhibited at many major institutions. Jens was a trustee at RISD for two five-year terms and during their 120th Commencement Ceremonies he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree. In 1996, he was knighted by Queen Margrethe of Denmark, with the Danish Knight’s Cross. The Brooklyn Museum awarded him “Man of the Year” and in 2004 he was the honoree for the Russel Wright Design Center.  

JRD/RMC was sold in the early 1970s and Risom set up Design Control, Inc. in New Canaan, through which he could license his designs to : Ralph Pucci; Rocket (London); and Design Within Reach (DWR) among others, to continue the Risom name with quality furniture.  One of his latest designs (at age 93) was a rocking chair.

In 1939, he married Iben Haderup and they had four children. Helen Risom Belluschi, Peggy Risom Bull, both of New Canaan, Thomas C. Risom of Old Lyme, and Sven C. Risom of Block Island.  After Iben died in 1977, Jens married Dr. Henny Panduro Madsen. They were married 36 years until her death in late 2015.

Jens Risom was always involved in design. He was on the Board of Silvermine Guild and RISD, and was involved with local design projects in New Canaan and NYC. He helped with design decisions at Waveny, the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan and the Historical Commission (among others) in New Canaan.   The New Canaan Historical Society named the Risom Room, at their Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park, to honor Jens.

He always said the worst part of getting older was losing so many friends. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Iben; his second wife Henny; his infant son Jens Edward; and in 2000, his brother Ole Risom.

He was father-in-law to Dr. Sherman Bull, Pam Austen, and Laura Pinkham Risom; and a step-parent to Helle Jacobsen and Dr. Michael Madsen. He was grandfather to Pietro, Catharine (Bryan), Sky (Bill), Thayer (Chris), Whitney (Becca), Thatcher, Tyler, KC, Ethan (Chirona), Tucker and Leah. He was great-grandfather to Josson, Axel, Sofi, Ellie, Natalie, Gabe, Nate, Lily, Abby, and Fiona.  He is also leaves his youngest brother Niels (Kay) in Denmark.

Donations: Block Island Conservancy, P.O. Box 84, Block Island RI 02807; or to The Inn (part of Waveny LifeCare) 73 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan CT 06840. Interment private to be followed by a Celebration of his life in May, 2017.  Hoyt Funeral Home.

 

Richard Benoit Sr.

PUTNAM — Richard G. Benoit Sr., 75, of Putnam, died Dec. 4, 2106, at UMass Memorial Healthcare - University Campus, Worcester.

He was born in Putnam, son of the late Leodore and Agnes (Lamiotte) Benoit, and lived in Putnam all his life.  He worked at Bates Shoe in N. Grosvenordale, Numa Tool in Thompson and Metal Selling in Putnam before opening his own business, Richard Benoit Painting Contractor, which he owned and operated for more than 45 years.  He loved painting and enjoyed going to the casino.

He leaves his wife of 57 years, Barbara A. (Perry) Benoit of Putnam; a son, Mark S. Benoit (Tammy) of Thompson; a daughter, Donna L. Benoit and her companion Matthew Morin of Thompson; two brothers, Edward Benoit (Alice) of Brooklyn, Normand Benoit (Beverly) of Florida; a sister, Carol Riggs (Gary) of Florida; eight grandchildren, Richard, Allan, Amanda, Danny, Kyle, Glenn, Dylan and Ben; 13 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a son, Richard G. Benoit Jr.; a  sister, Jeanne Bennett and by a brother, Ronald Benoit and his wife Joanne.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a date and time to be announced.  Donations: St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105.  Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster.

 

Maryann Higgins

WEBSTER — Maryann (Spitz) Higgins, 79, died Dec. 11, 2016, at UMass Memorial Healthcare - University Campus, Worcester.

She was born in Webster, daughter of the late Michael and Mary (Ondrasek) Spitz and lived here all her life. She was a clerk for many years at the Bartlett Insurance Company in Webster. She enjoyed, music, playing the piano and oil painting.

She was the wife of the late Dean P. Higgins who died in 2001. She leaves two sons, Robert J. and John P. Higgins, both of Webster; two daughters, Karen C. Higgins of Webster, Kathleen Greene (Jeffrey); a granddaughter Megan Greene, all of N. Grosvenordale; a sister, Joanne Dudek of Chandler, Ariz.

The Funeral Mass was Dec. in St. Anthony of Padua Church, Dudley, with burial in Mount Zion Cemetery, Webster. Donations: VNA Hospice of Southern Worcester County. 14 Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster.

 

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