Mary H. Beaulac
PUTNAM — Mary (Hannifan) Beaulac, 83, of Myers St., died April 14, 2019, at Westview Healthcare. She was the wife of more than 50 years to the late Maurice Beaulac. Born in 1935 in Putnam, she was the daughter of the late Timothy and Hildur (Peterson) Hannifan.
A 1952 graduate of Putnam High School, Mrs. Beaulac, along with her late husband, owned and operated Beaulac’s Pharmacy. Mary was a very social person who loved to get together with family and friends. She loved taking pictures, took up golf in her retirement, and was a UConn sports fan. She liked completing crossword puzzles and watching Jeopardy and the Wheel of Fortune. She enjoyed her summers at Alexander’s Lake and wintering at Lake Fairways in N. Fort Myers, Fla.. Mary was also a Corporator of Day Kimball Hospital and a communicant of St. Mary Church of the Visitation.
She leaves her son, Michael Beaulac of Putnam; her daughters, Maureen Beaulac of Marlboro, Mass., and Margaret Beaulac and her partner Eileen McLaughlin of Las Vegas; her sister in-law, Colleen Hannifan of Boca Raton, Fla.; her nephew, James Hannifan of Boca Raton; her niece, Kathleen Hannifan of Boca Raton. She is predeceased by her brother, John Hannifan and her sister, Jean Hannifan.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. April 22 in Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam. A gathering will begin in the funeral home at 10 a.m. April 23 followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. Mary Church of the Visitation, Putnam. Burial follows in St. Mary Cemetery. Donations: the Maurice P. Beaulac Scholarship Fund, c/o The Putnam Rotary Foundation, Inc., PO Box 682, Putnam, CT 06260; St. Mary Church of the Visitation, 218 Providence St., Putnam, CT 06260; or to Day Kimball Hospital, P.O. Box 632, Putnam, CT 06260.
Wilfred L. Decoursy,
Korean war vet
DANIELSON — Wilfred L. Decoursy, 84, of Woodward St., died March 27, 2019, in Matulaitis Nursing Home. Born in 1934 in Brockton, Mass., he was the son of the late William B. Decoursy and Noella (Giard) Koons.
Wilfred was a graduate of Lexington High School and Boston University School of Business, Class of 1961.
Wilfred was a proud U.S. Marine serving during the Korean war where he received the National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and Korean Service Medal.
Mr. Decoursy worked as an administrator for the Department of Social Security
He was a member of the American Legion Post 200, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign War Post 2650 in Danielson, Life Member of the Marine Corps League where he received the Distinguished Service Medal, Salvation Army advisory board and Cornerstone Baptist Church in Danielson. Past President from 1984 – 1986 of the Northeastern Connecticut Personnel Association. He also received an official citation from the State of Connecticut General Assembly for his many years of dedicated service to the public as manager of the Social Security Office in Willimantic and the Paul C. Houghton Detachment Marine of the Year Award on Nov. 6, 1999.
He enjoyed attending Boston University chorale and sporting events, was an avid reader and was extremely knowledgeable especially about history and loved to have in-depth serious conversations. Wilfred traveled to Europe and joined the Scottish McCleod clan after visiting a festival and finding out his paternal grandmother was from Isle of Skye.
He leaves many cousins and friends. He was predeceased by a sister Florence Mason.
A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. May 22 at the State of Connecticut Veteran’s Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane, Middletown Please meet at the main gate starting at 12:45 p.m. Donations: Toys for Tots, 53 Quebec St., Devens, MA 01434. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Gary E. Haynes
WOODSTOCK — Gary E. Haynes, 67, of Playground Dr., died April 11, 2019, at home. He was the husband of Priscilla (Downes) Haynes. Born in 1952 in Burlington, Vt., he was the son of the late William F. and Noella (Menieur) Haynes.
On Jan. 17, 1986, in Enfield, he was united in marriage to the former Priscilla Downes.
Mr. Haynes worked for many years as a welder for Carlin Burns in Windsor. Gary also worked as a self-employed plumber and handyman. He enjoyed fishing, camping, and was a master woodworker.
He leaves his wife of 33 years Priscilla; his children, Gary M. Haynes of Enfield and Jennifer Cote of Maine; brothers, Thomas, William, and Lawrence Haynes, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Dr. Arnold
Richard Klemola
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Arnold R. Klemola is closer to the stars he spent his lifetime studying by passing on Jan. 5, 2019, at his home in Santa Cruz.
He was born Feb. 20, 1931, in Pomfret, to the (late) Uuno Mattias and Auna Leona Irene (Help) Klemola.
Even with the hardship of losing his parents at a young age Arnold excelled in school. He graduated from the Abington School, a one room school house for grades 1-8, and then graduated from Putnam High School In 1949.
He was the first in his family to attend college and earned a bachelor’s degree in astronomy from Indiana University and his Ph.D. in astronomy at UC Berkeley. Arnold decided to make his home in Santa Cruz and went to work for the University of California at Santa Cruz.
He also worked in Argentina from 1962 through 1967 helping to put into operation a telescope that measures stellar positions for Yale. He was a noted astronomer in Lick Observatory for many years, retiring in 1992. NASA consulted him several times over the years and he made significant contributions in his field. He even discovered a comet that bears his name (visible in November of this year) while doing his research. After retiring Arnold continued to work and be a mentor at the University until his health issues in 2018 forced him to stop. Although Arnold lived far away from family, he kept in touch and visited annually. His life was full with his work, friends he made, and his work family at the University of California.
He leaves his cousin, John Brandt Jr (Norma) of Pomfret; niece Kimberly A. Mele (Vincent) of Torrington, nephew Richard A. Klemola (Cindy) of Pomfret; grandnephews James Mele (Melanie) of Johnson, Vt., Jeffery Mele of New Orleans and Andrew Klemola of Pomfret. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Allan Milton Klemola in 1992, his cousin’s wife Norma (Ponzi) Brandt in 2005, his cousin Lois Brandt in 2010 and his sister in law Muriel (Warner) Klemola in 2011.
A Celebration of Life is planned 2 p.m. April 27 in the Abington Cemetery in Pomfret, with the burial to follow. Donations: James Edward Keeler Fund for Excellence in Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz (which he established in 2016). https://secure.ucsc.edu/s/1069/bp18/
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Gertrude M. Latici
WOODSTOCK — Gertrude M. (Moynihan) Latici, 99, of Roseland Park Rd., died Jan. 5, 2019, at the home of her daughter.
She was born in 1919.
She leaves two sons, Steven Latici (Laura) of Gilmanton, N.H., and Renald Latici of Woodstock; three daughters, Cristina Latici (Justin McAvoy) of New York, N.Y., Elena Latici of Bologna, Italy, and Jennifer Latici of Woodstock; a sister, Phyllis Coulp of Hampton, N.H.; a brother-in-law, Donald Latici of Montvale, N.J.; five grandchildren, Justin Latici, Margot Stern, and Finn, Blaise, and Millicent Latici-McAvoy; and three great-grandchildren Emma and Alden Latici and Joslin Stern. She was predeceased by her husband, Bruno N. Latici; a brother, Fred Moynihan and three sisters, Elaine Herindeen, Barbara Drinan, and Helen Moynihan.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. April 27 in Most Holy Trinity Church, Pomfret, with burial in Elmvale Cemetery. Donations: Day Kimball Homecare- Visiting Nurses, 320 Pomfret St., Putnam, CT 06260; or the Nantucket Land Council, P.O. Box 502, Nantucket, MA 02554 Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
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caption, page 10:
The Team
The Centaurs boys’ tennis team is off to a 4-0 start this season. Photo by Ann Rathbone
It’s been a good first two weeks for the Woodstock Academy boys’ tennis team.
The Centaurs are off to a 4-0 start (2-0 in Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II) after three wins last week.
The Centaurs survived a 4-3 battle with Waterford, easily captured a 7-0 win over Bacon Academy and got through a spring break exodus to record a 4-1 win over Killingly.
“They look good,” Woodstock Academy boys and girls tennis coach Ann Rathbone said of the boys program. “We have confidence and chemistry this year. I think we’ve turned the program around from three years ago when it was floundering. Everyone feels good about the direction of the team.”
The Centaurs downed Waterford despite getting just one singles victory.
Top singles player David Fleck was not available for the match.
That meant the doubles teams pulled the Centaurs fat out of the fire with the sweep.
The No. 1 team of Stefan Chervenkova and Aidan Stewart posted a 6-2, 6-2 straight-set win over the Lancers Kevin McEntarter and Lucas Marlott.
That was followed by a 6-2, 6-2 win for Connor Quinn and Jai Abrams over Nick Poscich and Ethan Chan.
Evan Haskins and Morris Hsu wrapped things up with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gabriel Parent and Enzo Guarnieri.
The only singles player to post a victory was Italian exchange player Luigi Boselli who downed Elias Picinich 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) at No. 3 singles.
“I knew he was going to come on for us in the fourth spot but he played three in Waterford and did well. He’s a fighter. He’s feisty. You watch him play and he spews Italian. After he won, we didn’t know what he was saying, but, we knew he was excited,” Rathbone said.
The Centaurs cruised to victory, for the most part, against the Bobcats (1-4, 0-1).
“Last year, we struggled against Bacon. We split with them in the season so I feel great about the 7-0 win,” Rathbone said.
Fleck and Boselli were tested a bit in their matches.
Fleck was taken to three sets by Greg Vilardo before pulling out a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 win. Boselli had to come back from losing the first set to Riley Fitzsimmons, 6-3, to record victories of 6-1, 6-2 and raise his personal record to 3-0 on the season.
The Centaurs did get victories from Riley Douglas and Chervenkova in the other two singles and swept the two doubles matches that were played. The Bobcats forfeited the third.
Everyone was searching for players April 12, but the seven the Centaurs had were enough.
Woodstock Academy lost only one game in singles to Killingly.
Fleck downed Bryan Barrow 6-0, 6-1; Douglas posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mike Charron and Aidan Stewart won by that same score over Russell Farnsworth.
Chervenkova and Jacob Boynton lost their first set at No. 2 doubles to Jacob Brower and Aidan Parsons, 6-3, but rallied to win the match with 6-0, 6-3 victories in the next two sets.
Girls Raise Mark to 2-1
The Centaurs girls’ team played only one match last week and pulled out a 4-3 win over East Lyme.
It was the first ECC Division I match for Woodstock Academy.
“It was hard fought and I didn’t expect it to be that close,” Rathbone said. “We’ve had East Lyme’s number the past couple of years.”
Top singles players Mari Ruggeri and Morgan Bassett both posted victories.
The Centaurs captured the first two doubles matches.
The No. 1 team of Adeline Smith and Caitlin Sroczenski won at No. 1 singles and Rachel Lambert teamed with Emma Durand to also take the No. 2 doubles match.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
There will be a lot of baseball for the Woodstock Academy team this spring break week.
It just won’t take place very close to home.
The Centaurs went on the road last weekend, taking advantage of the vacation week for a little team vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Although it won’t be all just fun. There will be games.
“You play some teams from across the country and we’re excited,” Woodstock Academy coach Brian Murphy said prior to leaving on the trip.
Only one of the games that Woodstock Academy will play down south will actually count toward its record.
That took place on Tuesday night (the game ended too late for this edition) against Westbrook, Maine.
Murphy said the Centaurs held a two-hour practice on Monday which was followed by a doubleheader on Tuesday. They will have a morning practice and afternoon games on Wednesday and Thursday as well.
“We are planning on some fine dining. Sometimes, we go out for pizza,” Murphy said with a laugh. “There are a couple of places the kids like to go. There is an amusement park with Go-Karts and all kind of games like miniature golf and we just have a blast. Obviously, we will have a team dinner. The kids love it. The ride down is long, but the kids bond and it’s part of the team experience.”
Senior Eric Preston was ready.
“I’m looking forward to it; the team is looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can win the one game that counts, play the rest of the scrimmages and have fun,” the pitcher-catcher said.
The Centaurs headed south in good spirits.
They finished up the week with a pair of good wins over East Lyme and Ellington to raise their record to 5-2.
Not only was Preston ready for vacation, but it appears his bat is too.
The senior got off to a slow start at the plate. He was hitting just .214 coming into the week.
But Preston, who will play baseball at Assumption College next, had a break out day against Ellington April 11.
He went 3-for-3 at plate, including two doubles, and knocked in four runs, raising his average to .350, in a 13-1, five-inning, mercy-rule win over Ellington at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
“I’m pretty happy my bat came around. I think I kind of sparked some life into the team and they started hitting it,” Preston said.
Preston helped the Centaurs open things up in the third inning.
His two-run double ignited an inning in which the Centaurs scored all of their runs.
“That was nice to see,” Murphy said. “We’ve been waiting. Eric is a great competitor. He is the toughest on himself and we just have to get him to relax. When he relaxes and starts hitting, it’s good for us. That was the Eric Preston that I know (on Thursday).
Preston added another two-run double in the stanza while Luke Mathewson and Jacob Hernandez also knocked in a pair of runs each. Winning pitcher Tommy Li and Doug Newton added singular RBIs.
The beneficiary of all the offense was Li who raised his record to 2-1 with a four inning, two-hit performance. He finished with six strikeouts and walked just two.
“I’m going to say Tommy (who suffered from arm trouble a year ago) is back,” Murphy said. “His fastball had a little zip on it (Thursday). His curveball had some bite. They had some guys who could swing the bat but we had a big inning, jumped out, and the rest is history.”
It was a win the Centaurs needed as it came before the game with East Lyme and followed a loss to Ledyard.
The Colonels, who are ranked in some state polls, shut down Woodstock Academy, 2-0, April 10.
“I call it a ‘bounce back day’ and the beautiful thing about baseball is that you get to do it day-after-day. It’s a little like pro ball. You have no time to sweat it. They didn’t have much time to think about it. They moved on and were hungry (against Ellington),” Murphy said.
The game with Ledyard was played at the Woodstock Middle School as the Bentley Athletic Complex was just too wet to use.
Senior pitcher Ken Turner limited the Centaurs to just two hits.
“He pitched a great game but, early on, we had some shots at him. He got tougher as the game went on,” Murphy said.
Cade Walters gave Turner all the offensive support he would need, which was fortunate since it was all he would get, in the first inning.
Walters hit a two-out, two-run double to put the Colonels up early.
The Centaurs put two runners on base in the bottom of the inning.
Newton walked and Preston singled.
After a strikeout for the second out, Nathan John ripped a ball to right field that Robbie Petriel made a nice play on to rob the Centaurs of the potential tying runs.
The Centaurs had only three more runners the remainder of the way.
John walked in the fourth, Hernandez singled in the fifth and Brendan Hill walked in the sixth. None of those runners got past first base.
“I was so proud of them against Ledyard, it was a tough game. They saw that we could compete and we just have to jump it to the next level. I was happy with the performance,” Murphy said.
The Centaurs finished off the week in style with a 5-2 win over East Lyme April 12.
Mathewson went the distance on the mound.
The senior pitched a five-hitter with six strikeouts to raise his record to 3-0.
Freshman Jonathan Smith had a two-run double while Mathewson, Preston and John each had RBI singles.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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Profile in Pink
Anna Lotti, 3, of Spencer, Mass., was one of many who visited the Fairy Festival in downtown Putnam April 13. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.
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