
Joe Rao
‘It is an experience every fiber of you gets involved in,” said Joe Rao of the phenomena of the total eclipse; it has “no rival for sheer drama and excitement.”
Rao has traveled “by land, sea, and air to hunt the total solar eclipse” for more than fifty years, he told attendees at a Zoom lecture hosted by the NorthEast-Millerton Library on Thursday, March 28; the result is that he has witnessed thirteen total eclipses in his life. Rao was chief meteorologist at News 12 in Westchester, New York, for 21 years and writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine and the Farmer’s Almanac and Space.com. He is also an instructor and guest lecturer at Hayden Planetarium in New York.
Rao’s lifelong fascination with the eclipse was inspired by his grandfather, who explained the phenomenon to him when Rao was just 7 years old, using his fist (the sun) and salt shaker (the moon) and pepper grinder (the earth) to show how the moon moves to block the sun. This was in preparation for the 90% partial eclipse of July of 1963; Rao remembers witnessing the crescent image of the sun.
In July of 1972, Joe’s grandfather drove Joe, his grandmother and other family members to a town in Canada called Cap-Chat on the Gaspe Peninsula, to see a total eclipse. Joe was able to see the corona around the moon’s shadow at that eclipse.
He said at that eclipse, “I’ve got to see another one of these.” He says he was “addicted” at that point.
There was a tour in 1977 that he and friend and fellow eclipse fanatic, Glenn Snyder organized to fund their own way to Columbia, South America. Their rickety old tour bus got stuck in mud. All twenty passengers pushed and freed the bus. They backtracked back to the original route and made it in time to see the total eclipse.
In 1979, he and Glenn organized another tour, this time to Lewistown, Montana, and took eighty people. The morning of the eclipse, Joe, now a meteorologist, got word that cloud cover was coming to Lewistown. They all got on the bus, drove an hour to the east, and found a field, free of cloud cover. From there they could view the eclipse.
The year 1990 brought another eclipse. Rao got the idea of viewing it from an airplane. He contacted American Trans Air and asked them if flight 402 from Honolulu to San Francisco could be delayed forty-one minutes in order to intersect with the eclipse. They agreed. A further complication occurred when another plane got in front of them for takeoff. The delay would cost them the view of the eclipse, so the captain lowered the plane to another altitude and sped up. They got to view the eclipse.
In 1991, Rao was hired by a cruise ship to pick the best spot to view the eclipse for an eclipse cruise. The problem this time was that a volcano which had erupted in the Philippines was causing a haze of volcanic ash. They were able to find a hole in the haze and cloud cover forty nautical miles away and the two cruise ships, filled with eclipse seekers, got to it in time.
Joe Rao was hired for another cruise in 1998 to view the eclipse near the island of Monserrat.
An eclipse near the North Pole in 2008 presented the problem of how to get to see it, until his friend Glenn Snyder was hired by the German airline, AirEvents/Deutsche Polarflug. This time it was Snyder who petitioned the airline to intersect the eclipse and got his friend Rao onboard. Rao wrote about the flight for Natural History magazine; “Shades of Glory” later won a prize from the American Astronomical Society.
In 2016, Joe convinced Alaska Airlines to delay a flight for twenty-five minutes to view the eclipse taking place that year seven hundred miles north of Honolulu.
In 2021, he and his wife, Renata journeyed to Antarctica to see the eclipse.
This time, Rao said he might go to Syracuse or Plattsburg for the eclipse of next Monday, April 8. He said this one is “knocking at our back door.” He added, “Get in your car and travel up route I-87 north to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs or Montreal.” He said it should be on “everyone’s bucket list.”
Those who do travel north should be aware there could be heavy traffic and delays.
Rao said for those who stay in this area on April 8, there will not be a total eclipse but about a 91 percent eclipse. The corona around the sun will not be visible. The eclipse will begin around 2:12 in Millerton, with the “maximum effect” around 3:26 and it will be over by 4:37 in the afternoon. He said there will be a “counterfeit twilight and the sky will turn a dusky shade of blue.”
To view the eclipse safely eclipse glasses are needed. Regular sunglasses are not safe and will not keep out ultraviolet and infrared light. The glasses should have a tag with an ISO number and be made of polymer or mylar.
Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, director of the North-East Millerton Library, said area residents could stop in the library for a pair of eclipse glasses.
Please join us for a Celebration of Life to honor Michael R. Tesoro M.D. (May 20, 1941-—Dec. 25, 2024) whose vibrant spirit touched so many. We will gather on May 17 at 11:30 a.,m. at Trinity Lime Rock to remember Michael’s life with love and laughter.
A light fare reception to immediately follow at the church’s Walker Hall.
Trinity Lime Rock, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville. In lieu of flowers please direct donations to: Malta House of Care, Inc.,136 Farmington Avenue,Hartford, CT 06105 www.maltahouseofcare.org
SHARON — Keith Raven Johnson, a long-time resident of Sharon, died on April 26, 2025, a month after his 90th birthday, at Geer Rehabilitation and Long -Term Care facility in Canaan.
He was born on March 21, 1935, in Ithaca, New York, the son of John Raven Johnson and Hope Anderson Johnson.
Keith was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Cornell University where he was editor-in-chief of the Cornell Daily Sun and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
After serving his active duty in the New York National Guard, he joined the New York Herald Tribune as a reporter in 1957. Four years later he moved to Time magazine where he served as a writer and editor in New York and as a correspondent based in Los Angeles, Washington, Paris and London, with temporary assignments in Africa, Germany, and Vietnam. He was executive editor of Money magazine and later of Discover magazine. He retired as a member of the board of editors of Fortune magazine in 1993.
Before his retirement, Keith served on the vestry at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City where he was also chair of the Choir School. He later became a member of the Lime Rock Episcopal Church.
After retirement, Keith served on the executive committee of the Lakeville Journal where he also contributed a column called “Cars” reflecting a life-long interest in performance automobiles. He also served as a trustee and treasurer of the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon and was on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. He was a member of the Cornell University Council and at one time chaired the Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell.
Keith is survived by his brother, Leonard Johnson, and his wife, Patricia, his son, Stephen Main, his niece, Paige Johnson Roth, his nephew, Keith Raven Johnson II, and his niece, Heide Novado Johnson. He was predeceased by his parents and his nephew, Eric Anderson Johnson.
Donations may be made in Keith’s memory to ACLU of Connecticut, 765 Asylum Avenue, Hartford CT 06015, or Keith Johnson ’52 and Leonard Johnson ’56 Scholarship Fund, Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter NH 03833.
A celebration of Keith’s life will be held on Saturday, July 12 at 11 am at the Lime Rock Episcopal Church, followed by a reception in the parish hall.
NORTH CANAAN — Sue Ann Miller Plain, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and sister, passed away on May 4, 2025, after a courageous battle with ALS. Sue Ann faced her illness with incredible strength, grace, and determination, never losing her spirit or her love for those around her.
Sue Ann was born on April 21, 1957, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She lived in North Canaan for 50 years where she built lasting friendships and began a life rooted in community and family.
She was the cherished wife of David W. Plain and devoted mother to Dara Robinson and Shanna Robinson, as well as loving stepmother to Felicia Plain and David K Plain. She was the proud and adoring grandmother to seven grandchildren, Collin Thyberg, Kartel Henry, Owen Henry, Rustin DeJesus, Colter DeJesus, Chayton Pastre and Brynn Pastre who were the light of her life and whom she loved more than anything in the world.
Born to Grace and Robert Miller, Sue Ann was raised with strong family values and a generous spirit. She was predeceased by her father, Robert, in 2008, and is survived by her mother, Grace Miller, and her two brothers, Robert and Rick Miller.
Sue Ann found great joy and purpose in community service, particularly through her involvement with the Women’s Auxiliary at the Couch Pipa V.F.W. Her dedication, warmth, and vibrant presence will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
Sue Ann’s life was defined by love—love for her family, her community, and the many friends she gathered along the way. Though ALS took her from us too soon, Sue Ann’s strength in the face of adversity and the love she gave so freely will never be forgotten.
Her legacy lives on in the hearts of her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing her.
Service details will be shared by the family at a later time. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Sue Ann’s memory to the North Canaan V.F.W.,104 S. Canaan Rd, North Canaan, CT 06018, a cause close to her heart.
SALISBURY — Joan Anderson Turnure, 91, died after a long illness on May 3, 2025, at Noble Horizons in Salisbury. She was the loving widow of Michael DeBurbure Turnure.
Joan was born July 29, 1933, in Mexico City, Mexico, the daughter of the late Lawrence Anderson and Barbara (Ryan) Anderson. She grew up in Mexico and Maryland, later attending the Shipley School in Pennsylvania and earning a Bachelor of Arts in English from Vassar College.
Joan dedicated her life to her family.While the family was living in Venezuela in the 1960s, she taught high school English and founded a preschool. In their two years living in Paris, she took cooking lessons while shuttling four kids to schools and caring for her fifth baby.
In 1971, she and Michael returned to the U.S. and purchased Community Service, the northwestern Connecticut lumber and building materials business where Joan worked alongside her husband.
In Salisbury, Joan was active as a bridge player, a book club member, and a member of the Millbrook Garden Club. Joan won the Garden Club of America Catherine Beattie Medal for horticulture. This medal is awarded for vibrancy, prime condition, and perfection of grooming of a single plant. This was the first time in over 100 years that a Millbrook Garden Club member had received it.
Joan represented the fifth generation of women in her family to be born in Mexico. Fluent in Spanish, she was well-known within the Hispanic community and often advocated for their rights. A devoted dog lover, Joan always had a puppy or two throughout her life. Her last dog, a Chihuahua named Itsy-Bitsy, was, she said, her “best dog.”
She is survived by five children: Lili Bassett (John), John Turnure (Evie), Barbara Turnure, Virginia Morgan, and Richard Turnure (Bethany); twelve grandchildren: Eva, Eliza, Jack, and William Bassett; Nicholas and Henry Morgan; Nicole Halstead, Christine Turnure, David Turnure; Charlotte, Ryan, and Griffin Turnure; and six great-grandchildren: Adaleigh, Kinleigh, and Beckett Halstead; Westyn Turnure; and Christian and Savannah Boulier. She was predeceased by her husband, Michael; her brother, Lawrence Anderson; and her son-in-law, Jeffery B. Morgan.
A memorial service will be held at St. John’s Church in Salisbury on June 1, followed by a reception at The White Hart Inn. The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.