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John P. Rivers,
talented musician
FT. MEYERS, Fla. — John Patrick Rivers died May 12, 2012, at home in Fort Meyer. His death was caused by cardiac arrest.
Born Feb. 8, 1968, in Putnam, he was the son of Stewart and Edwina (Schmidt) Rivers of Ballouville.
John spent most of his life in northeast Connecticut, until moving to Florida nine years ago. He served in the Connecticut Army National Guard for nine years, part and full time. John worked at Rogers Corporation for 13 years. Shortly after moving to Florida, he began working for the Diamond District in several capacities and most recently as the limousine chauffeur. John was a scout in Pack and Troop 45 in Dayville. He enjoyed golfing and going to the beach. He was a talented musician, playing the guitar and piano. John played out in various local northeast Connecticut establishments solo and with Frame of Mind, in the 1990s. Most notably, John’s personality was one of a kind. “Such a cool, awesome guy who always made everyone feel special.”
In addition to his parents, he leaves his long-time partner Stephanie Davis; brother James Rivers and wife Kelly, his niece Katherine Rivers and nephew Keenan Rivers; cousins, aunts and uncles; his dog and companion, Winston.
Make donations to your favorite charity. A Celebration of John’s life was held May 19.
Jacqueline A. Daigle,
church member
PUTNAM — Miss Jacqueline A. Daigle, 89, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died May 2, 2012, in Hollywood, Fla.,. Born in 1922 in Putnam, she was the daughter of the late John B. and Albertina (Gamache) Daigle.
Miss Daigle graduated from Putnam High School in 1940. She worked in the office of Belding Heminway Corticelli until the Flood of 1955. She then moved to Fort Lauderdale, and was a member of St. Maurice Catholic Church.
She leaves her niece, Paula Nelson of Woodstock; nephew John Matheiu of Madison and other nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brothers, John, Aime, Gilbert and Quentin Daigle; and her sisters, Leonie Matheiu, Naomi Schillare and Claire Jalbert.
A private graveside service will be held for Jacqueline in St. Mary Cemetery, Putnam. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Clifford Greene,
volunteer firefighter
THOMPSON — Clifford I. Greene of Thompson, 82, died May 14, 2012, after a short illness.
He was the son of Frank Greene and Reba (Sarty).
Clifford loved boating on Quaddick Lake, visiting Florida. He was known around town as the bike man, fixing bikes for neighborhood children. He spent his younger years working in weaving mills, then many years with the Weight Watcher organization. For many years he was a devoted volunteer firefighter with the Thompson Hill Fire Department. Clifford spent many years playing dartball with the Men’s Fellowship League.
He leaves his wife of 56 years, Hattie Carney; daughter Angela and her husband David, and four sons, Benjamin Greene (Darleen), Ronald Greene (Beth), Jeff Greene (Kathleen), and Carlton Greene (Kelly); grandchildren, Heather and Alyssa, Eric, Kevin, Mary, Ben, Megan; great-grandson Noah; two sisters, Alice Smith and Nancy Bugbee; brother Frank.
A Graveside Service will be at 10 a.m. May 26 at Munyan Cemetery, E. Putnam. Donations: Thompson Hill Fire Department, 70 Chase Road, Thompson, CT 06277. Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.
Harley David
Racine –Goble
PUTNAM — Harley David Racine – Goble, 24 of Sunnyside Avenue, died May 12, 2012, unexpectedly at home. Born in 1987 in Putnam, he was the son of Kathy Racine of Putnam.
Harley worked as a master foreman – roofing for Northeast Builders. He enjoyed fishing, golfing, shooting his BB guns, and riding his four-wheeler. He especially loved his dog “Rosey”. Harley was always the first to help anyone and had an amazing smile that would light up any day.
In addition to his mother, he leaves brothers, Brian Cadger (Jalynn) of San Antonio, Texas, and Chevy Goble – Racine of Putnam; sisters Krystal Racine-Dalton and her wife Nicole of Brooklyn, and Sabrina Racine and her fiancé J.R. Desreuisseau of Putnam; nephews Brian and Blake; niece Emily Russell Hart; his grandmother Bern Racine of Woodstock; uncles, Mark Racine and Alan Racine of Dudley; and many other close “brothers.” Harley was predeceased by his brother, Cory Racine. Visitation was May 18 at Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Richard B. Johnson
N. GROSVENORDALE —Richard Johnson, 60, of Riverside Drive, died May 12, 2012, at home. Born Aug. 4, 1951, in Putnam, he was the son of the late Oscar and Jennie (Ciesluk) Johnson. He was a lifelong resident of Woodstock before moving to N. Grosvenordale in 2007.
Mr. Johnson worked as a laborer for many local construction companies. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, refinishing furniture, cooking and watching movies. He was a member of the Connecticut Trapping Association and served in the Army National Guard.
He leaves his sister Dorothy Seney (Merrill) of N. Grosvenordale; brother in law Raymond Faucher Sr. of Thompson; nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He is predeceased by his sister Barbara Faucher.
Donations: Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group P.O. Box 664, N. Grosvenordale, CT 06255. Gilman and Valade Funeral Homes.
Wayne Lee Vinal,
instructor
EASTFORD — Wayne Lee Vinal, 74, of Eastford, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, May 11, 2012.
He was born Feb. 23, 1938, in Bangor, Maine, son of the late Guy and Dorothy (Cronin) Vinal and had made his home in Eastford for the past 50 years. He was a 1956 graduate of Woodstock Academy. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1958 where he served four years. He returned to Connecticut and enrolled at Ellis Tech Aircraft Maintenance Program, graduating in 1965. He then enlisted in the CT Army National Guard at Groton, where he maintained aircraft for 23 years. After retiring from the guard, he returned to Ellis Tech as an instructor and trained aircraft mechanics for 17 years, retiring in 2011. In 2011, he was awarded the Charles Taylor Award for 50 years of service in aviation.
He was a faithful member of Eastford Baptist Church where he served as a youth group leader, a mission board member, executive board member and hospitality committee member where he was affectionately known to many as “Grampa Donuts.” He actively participated in missions, traveling to Suriname and Ukraine. He served his community for more than 40 years on the parade committee, organizing the annual Memorial Day Parade. In 1987, he began the tradition of honoring a veteran each year on Memorial Day. In 2011, he was awarded this honor by the Citizens of the Town of Eastford.
He leaves his wife of 50 years, Effie J. (Lane) Vinal; two sons, Richard Vinal (Amy) of Woodstock, Timothy Vinal (Mary Jo) of Owenton, Ky.; four daughters, Jeanne Griswold (Kirk) of Newmanstown, Penn., Christine Hustus (David) of Eastford, Brenda Ng (Jerry) of Puyallup, Wash., and Faith Pollina (David) of Gozo, Malta; adopted son, Dave Alisentono (Kathy) of Lewisville, Texas; three adopted daughters, Svitlana Lukyanchenko and Tetyana Lukyanchenko, both of Eastford, and Veronica Mironova of Donets’ka Oblast’, Ukraine; two sisters, Alice Congdon of Woodstock and Faye Rogers of San Diego; mother-in-law, Leona Lane of Woodstock; 20 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was predeceased by infant daughter, Amanda; infant grandson, Joseph Vinal; four brothers, Guy Jr., Louis, Paul and John and one sister, Barbara.
A celebration of his life was May 19 at the Eastford Baptist Church, with burial with military honors in Grove Cemetery, Eastford. Donations: Eastford Baptist Missions Fund or Eastford Baptist Teen Club, 133 Union Rd., Eastford, CT 06242. Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.
Robert G. Willett,
postmaster
WOODSTOCK — Robert G. Willett, 83, of Rt. 169, died May 6, 2012, at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was the husband of the late Claire (LeBoeuf) Willett. They were married Sept. 3, 1951.
Born in 1928 in Quinebaug, he was the son of the late George and Jane (Rivers) Willett.
Mr. Willett graduated from Tourtellotte Memorial High School in 1945 and attended UConn for 1 ½ years before joining the Army in August of 1946. He went to basic training in Fort Bragg, N.C., and then served with the Hohkaido Military Government Team. He graduated from the New England School of Accounting and attended Clark University.
Mr. Willett owned and operated the Ballouville Store and was a postmaster from 1951-1984 when he retired. He lived in Las Vegas, from 1987-1995, and then moved to Woodstock in 1995.
He leaves two sons, Robert M. Willett of Woodstock, and David M. Willett of Hopkinton; sister Elizabeth (Willett) LeClair of Quinebaug; three grandchildren Chris, Eric, and Nicole Willett of Hopkinton.
A Celebration of Life was May 21. Donations: Cardio Pulmonary Research Division in care of Massachusetts General Hospital Development Office, 165 Cambridge St. Suite 600 Boston, MA, 02114. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam .
John C. Bradford,
history buff
BROOKLYN — John Clarke Bradford, 91, of Canterbury Road, formerly of Woodstock, died May 18, 2012, in Day Kimball Hospital. Born Feb. 20, 1921, in Putnam, he was the son of the late Howard and Edna (Clarke) Bradford.
Mr. Bradford graduated from Putnam High School and attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute before enlisting in the Navy in 1943. He was a local history buff and a member of the Woodstock Historical Society. He was a life-long enthusiast of auto racing and was an avid sailor, sailing J boats as a young man, then competing in the Block Island and the Newport-Bermuda races.
He leaves his son, John C. Bradford Jr. (Linda) of Woodstock; daughters, Janet L. Bradford of Norwich, and Susan B. Landon (Richard) of New Haven; grandchildren, Simon Bradford (Jamie) of Tunbridge, Vt., Paul Bradford of Woodstock, Katharine Landon of New York City, Corinna Landon of Stamford; great-grandchildren, Jackson and Camden Bradford, and Ryan Bradford.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations:Hospice and Palliative Care of Northeast CT or Woodstock Historical Society. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Rita Poirier,
church member
STERLING — Rita G. Poirier, 91, of Sterling, died May 14, 2012, at home.
She was the wife of the late Roland Poirier. They were married Sept. 27, 1941. He died July, 30 1994.
Rita was born June 1, 1920, in Plainfield, daughter of the late Joseph and Lucia (Laliberty) Poudrette. She was the last of 14 children.
Rita attended Sacred Heart School, she worked in many textile mills. Her last employment was at Gant Shirt Factory where she was a supervisor. Rita was a communicant of St James Church. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting, and gardening.
She leaves a son, Roger Poirier; daughter, Elaine Shippee (Denise) of Sterling; grandchildren: William, Todd and Brett Poirier; great-grandchildren: Zachary, Lexi, Kylie, Halie and Abagail Poirier.
Donations: Sterling Fire District, c/o Bruce Lindberg, 780 Margaret Henry Road, Sterling, CT 06377. Gagnon and Costello Funeral Home, 33 Reynolds St., Danielson.