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8 NEWS THE COMMONS • Wednesday, April 20, 2011
MILESTONES
Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County
Obituaries
Editor’s note: The Commons
will publish brief biographical information
for citizens of Windham
County and others, on request, as
community news, free of charge .
The Rev. Monsignor
Thomas J. Ball, 77, Rector of
the Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception in Burlington. Died
April 17 at his residence. Born
in Dover, N.H., the son of the
late William and Elizabeth
(Bragg) Ball, he was educated
in Somersworth, N.H., schools,
St. Anselm College, St. Mary’s
University and the Blessed
Sacrament Seminary. On June
11, 1966, he was ordained a
priest by the Most Rev. Robert
F. Joyce. His first assignment
was St. Charles Parish in Bellows
Falls from 1966 to 1971, under
the guidance of his mentor,
Msgr. Patrick Barry. Other assignments
included Christ the
King Parish in Rutland from
1971 to 1974, Christ the King
Parish in Burlington from 1974
to 1976. He then became pastor
of St. Charles Parish from
1976 to 1987 and Rector of the
Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception in Burlington from
1987 to the present. He served
as Dean of Windham County
for 10 years, on the Priest Benefit
Fund Committee and Vocations
Committee. He was a life member
of the Knights of Columbus,
3rd degree and served as chaplain
of the Knights of Columbus
in Bellows Falls and Burlington,
and a member of the American
Legion and B.P.O.E. 916.
M EEMORIAL MOR I A L IINFORMATION N FOR M AT ION :
A funeral Mass was held on
April 20 at the Cathedral of
the Immaculate Conception in
Burlington. Burial will be in the
Dougherty, Ball, and Dupuis
Family lot in Rollinsford, N.H.
Donations to the Cathedral of
the Immaculate Conception
Renovation Fund, 20 Pine
Street, Burlington, VT 05401.
Leon J. Farnsworth, 82, of
Brattleboro. Died March 23 at
Westwood Nursing and Care in
Keene, N.H. Brother of the late
Norman Farnsworth. Born in
Springfield, Mass., the son of the
late James and Edna Farnsworth,
he served in the Army during
World War II. As an artist, he
created many wonderful and
unique oil paintings, woodcarvings,
and dollshouses. He was a
member of the American Legion
Brattleboro Post 5. M EMORIAL
INFORMATION : A graveside service
was held on April 18 in the
veterans section of Locust Ridge
Cemetery in Brattleboro.
Susan A. Kamus McCanna,
60, of Walpole, N.H. Died
April 15 at Maplewood Home
in Westmoreland, N.H. Wife
of Jeffrey F. McCanna for 39
years. Mother of Benjamin P.
McCanna of Steamboat Springs,
Colo. Sister of Robert J. Kamus
and his spouse, Patricia Cryder
Kamus, of Antes Fort, Pa.
Predeceased by her father. Born
in Warren, Pa., the eldest child
of Frank J. and Marjorie E.
Bossert Kamus, she graduated
from Jersey Shore High School
in 1968. She attended Lock
Haven University and Lycoming
College, before receiving her
Bachelor’s (summa cum laude)
from Johnson State College.
She later earned a Master’s
Degree in Education from the
University of Vermont. For 18
years, she taught Dummerston’s
Kindergarten children, and did
so with great kindness, caring
and concern. She died as she
lived — with courage, strength,
and grace. M EMORIAL INFOR-
MATION : A memorial service
will be held at Dummerston
Congregational Church on April
23 at 1 p.m. A memorial service
is planned in Jersey Shore, Pa.,
on April 30, beginning at 10
a.m. Internment will be in her
family’s plot in Woolrich, Pa.
Donations to the Dummerston
School Endowment Fund or
CaringBridge.org.
Monica Morse, 48, of
Guilford. Wife of Charles Morse.
Mother of Gabriel Morse. Born
in Brook, Ind., she graduated
from Worcester (Mass.) State
College. She spent 12 years
working as a counselor, cook,
teacher and mentor at a camp for
disadvantaged youth. In 1999,
she received her nursing degree
and moved to Vermont, working
as a pediatric nurse at Springfield
Hospital. She loved camping,
knitting, and any creative challenge.
She was a doer, a leader,
a teacher, and an inspiration to
all who knew her. M EMORIAL IN-
FORMATION : A memorial service
was held on April 17 at Guilford
Community Church. Donations
to the Four Winds program of
Guilford Central School.
James W. Perkins, 89, of
Dummerston. Died April 12 at
his home on April 12. Husband
of Shirley Twiss Perkins for 61
years. Father of Laura Marsh of
Middlebury, Barbara Wyner,
of Belmont, Mass, and David
Perkins, of Washington, D.C.
Born in Madison, Maine, the son
of Charles and Bertha (Jewett)
Perkins. In his youth, Jim spent
considerable time at Lakewood
Theatre, a summer theatre and
resort on the shores of Lake
Wesserunsett, where his father
was a scenic artist for 40
years. There, he worked at the
theatre’s general store, served
as caddie and tennis partner
for resort guests, and he often
shared the theatre stage with
many renowned Broadway actors
and actresses, many of whom
would later achieve stardom in
Hollywood. Graduated from
Skowhegan High School, Class
of 1939, and attended Bay Path
College in Longmeadow, Mass.,
studying business administration.
Near the end of his second
year, he enlisted in the
Army Air Corps, serving from
1942 to 1946 as an aircraft mechanic
and crew chief while stationed
in North Africa, Egypt,
and Italy. After his service, he
attended Boston University
under the GI Bill, returning to
Lakewood occasionally to visit
family. During one of these visits,
he met his future wife, who was
waitressing at the theatre inn.
He graduated from BU in 1951,
and after the birth of their first
daughter in 1953, the Perkinses
moved to Vermont, first settling
in Brattleboro before moving
to their Dummerston home in
1964. Locally, he worked as an
office manager at Templeton
Furniture and as a purchasing
agent at The Book Press,
before taking the position of
Field Auditor for the Vermont
Department of Employment
and Training; a position he
held for 20 years. He was a former
member of the Brattleboro
Rotary Club, a lifetime member
of the VFW, and for several
years was a Dummerston town
auditor. While raising his family
in Dummerston, he enjoyed
maintaining his homestead, trout
fishing in the local streams, walking
and working in the woods
behind his home, and garden-
ing. M EMORIAL INFORMATION
EMORIAL INFORMATION :
A graveside service will be held
at the Dummerston Center
Cemetery later in the summer.
James A. West, 78, of
Rockingham and Sebring, Fla.
Died in Florida on March 28.
Husband of Helen West for
57 years. Father of Dale and
wife, Stephanie, of Miami;
Scott and his wife, Wanda, of
Westminster; Laurel and wife,
Rebecca, of Charlestown, N.H.;
and Todd and wife, Carla, of
Rockingham. Brother of Phyllis
Hall of Stockton Springs, Maine,
and Lillian Bishop of Sebring,
Fla. Predeceased by two sisters,
Helen Smith and Caroline
Perkins. Born in Stockton
Springs, the son of Albert and
Delia West, he was trucker all
of his adult life, West worked
for several Maine companies
including Merrill Transport
in Searsport, Scott Motor in
Belfast, and Eastern Fine Paper
in Brewer. In 1968, he moved
to Rockingham, and drove for
St. Johnsbury Trucking until it
closed in 1993. As a driver, he
had more than 4.5 million miles
under his belt and 23 safe driving
commendations. He met his wife
at Waldo County Hospital in
Belfast, Maine, when he sought
treatment for a broken foot and
she was serving as an X-ray assistant.
In retirement, the Wests
became snowbirds, spending
summers in Maine and winters in
Florida, along with stops to visit
family in Vermont. Summers
were consumed traveling around
New England to show his restored
pride and joy, his 1938
Chevy truck. Winters in Sebring
found him with a collection of
“St. Jay” Trucking retirees and
car show fans. M EMORIAL IN-
FORMATION : A memorial service
will be held at Fenton &
Hennessey Funeral Home in
Bellows Falls on April 23 at 2
p.m., with a gather for family and
friends immediately following at
the Westminster Fire Station.
Donations to the St. Johnsbury
Retirees Scholarship Fund, c/o
Irene Howe, 1160 Salido Ave,
Lady Lake, FL 32159.
Births
• In Brattleboro (Memorial
Hospital), April 12, 2011, a
son, Emmett Andre Adams ,
to Kevin and Elizabeth Adams
of Wilmington; grandson to
Annabel Tobey of Jacksonville
and Greg and Brenda Adams of
Wilmington.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial
Hospital), April 5, 2011, a
daughter, Addison Lee Hallock ,
to Kathy and Adam Hallock of
Westminster; granddaughter to
Donna and Larry Wentzel and
Kathy and David Hallock.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial
Hospital), April 2, 2011,
a son, Porter Dickson Roy
Williamson , to Allison (Guptill)
and David Williamson of
Marlboro; grandson to Patsy
and George Williamson and Rob
and Laura Guptill.
• In Keene, N.H., (Cheshire
Medical Center), April 1, 2011,
a son, Karter Vernon , to Dana
Vosburgh and Kyle Pierce Jr. of
Bellows Falls.
• On March 29, 2011, a daughter,
Lilly Avah Suponski , to
Stephen and Michelle (Emerson)
Suponski of Wilmington; granddaughter
to Steven and Martha
Emerson of Cummington,
Mass., and Francis and Marie
Suponski of South Newfane;
great-granddaughter to Jane and
the late Alvah “Pete” Emerson
of Cummington, the late Walter
and Ruth Steins of Huntington,
Mass., the late Lillian and
Francis Suponski, and Wanda
and the late Joseph Katiewicz,
all of Stratford, Conn.
• In Thessaloniki, Greece,
(Genesis Hospital), March
4, 2011, a son, Dylan Ozan
Shearer Demir , to Jennifer and
Hakan Shearer Demir of Pristina,
Kosovo, and Dummerston;
grandson to Thomas and Patricia
Shearer of Northfield, Mass.,
and Cemil and Aysel Demir of
Ankara, Turkey; great-grandson
to Harriett Grover of Tampa,
Fla.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial
Hospital), Dec. 11, 2010, a son,
Bodhi Ananda Kilts , to Sarah
(Raleigh) and Thomas Kilts of
Putney.
College news
Kiera Lewis of Putney, presented
A Cursory Account: Against
the Civic Conception of Nation ,
at the 25th annual National
Conference on Undergraduate
Research held at Ithaca College
in Ithaca, N.Y., from March 31
COURTESY PHOTO
Brattleboro area youths Alex Lier, Nico Hessel, and Alex Shriver, front
row, and Lars and Shawn Andrews joined with 170 students from around
the state to participate in the 24th annual Vermont State Scholastic Chess
Championships on April 9 in Berlin. Hessel, a fifth-grader at Oak Grove
School, took fifth place in his division. Shriver, of Green Street School, and
Lier, of Hilltop Montessori School, also finished in the top 10 in the second
grade section, which was one of the largest with 28 players. Shawn Andrews,
an 11th-grader from Halifax, placed fourth in the high school division, while
Lars Andrews claimed second place in the fourth grade competition. Four
of these students have been receiving coaching through chess programs
sponsored by the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department, and it was
one of the best showings by southeastern Vermont youths in recent memory.
to April 2. Selection to the conference
was competitive, and
Lewis was among 3,000 students
representing some 440 colleges
and universities nationwide.
The undergraduate researchers
presented work from a broad
array of subject areas, including
the humanities, social sciences
and many professional fields
as well as the fine and performing
arts. In addition to oral presentations
and poster sessions,
the conference included a visual
arts component along with
dance, drama/theater and music
performances.
School news
Sela Wang of Putney, a junior
at Loomis Chaffee School in
Windsor, Conn., was presented
with the Coaches’ Award for
Girls’ Swimming.