Charles and Maureen Brahney

CANAAN — With heavy hearts, we have lost both Ed (Charles) Brahney & Maureen (Irwin) Brahney, beloved spouses and parents.Ed (Charles) was born on Jan. 3, 1932, and passed away on Feb. 14, 2023, at the age of 91, after a long battle with Parkinsons.Maureen was born on July 19, 1936, and passed on Sept. 30, 2023, at the age of 87.

Their’s was a love story.Together they shared 71 years of love and companionship.They were married in Oct. of 1954(69 years), and together they raised 3 children;Ed Brahney, who unfortunately passed on May 6, 2023, and is survived by his wife Julie Brahney (Braim) Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Jean Williamson, and her husband David Williamson from Parrish, Florida and Chrystene Graboski and her husband Paul Graboski from Parrish, Florida.They are also survived by a grandson, Matthew Butts and Great Granddaughter Ava.Granddaughter Aubrey Hamlin and her husband Dustin (North Carolina) and 3 great grandchildren, Jaxyn, Ryley and Xander.

Ed moved to Canaan, from Jersey City, New Jersey when he was a teenager.He worked for Federated Homes until he helped found Berkshire Construction in Falls Village.He was a volunteer fireman and EMT for Falls Village as well.Maureen, was born in Canaan and after raising 3 children, Maureen worked at Bicron Electronics and then for the local high school, HVRHS.They enjoyed time fishing together on all the local lakes. Ed was a Boy Scout leader and Maureen was a Girl Scout leader and they were active in their community and church.

Ed and Maureen decided to move to Ft Myers Beach Florida in 2004 where they enjoyed the Florida lifestyle until their passing.

The family is having a mass for Ed and Maureen at St Joseph Church in Canaan, CT on August 23, 2025, at 10 a.m.All are welcome to attend.

Latest News

Voters approve wakesurfing ban

The July 31 referendum in Kent, Warren and Washington banned wakesurfing on Lake Waramaug.

Photo by Alec Linden

The sport of wakesurfing is now banned on lake Waramaug as the result of a decisive tri-town vote held on Thursday, July 31.

Voters in Kent, Warren and Washington, the three towns that border Lake Waramaug, approved the ordinance with 1452 residents ultimately voting in favor of banning the sport against 421 opposed to it.

Keep ReadingShow less
2025 Jubilee Luncheon
   We look forward to seeing you!

Ruth Franklin discusses ‘The Many Lives of Anne Frank’ at Beth David

Ruth Franklin and Ileene Smith in conversation at Congregation Beth David in Amenia.

Natalia Zukerman

Congregation Beth David in Amenia hosted a conversation on the enduring legacy of Anne Frank, one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures. Ruth Franklin, award-winning biographer and critic, shared insights from her highly acclaimed book “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” with thought-provoking questions from Ileene Smith, Editorial Director of the Jewish Lives series. This event, held on July 23 — the date Anne Frank would have turned 96 — invited the large audience to reconsider Anne Frank not just as the young writer of a world-famous diary, but as a cultural symbol shaped by decades of representation and misrepresentation.

Franklin and Smith dove right in; Franklin reading a passage from the book that exemplified her approach to Anne’s life. She described her work as both a biography of Anne Frank and a cultural history of the diary itself, a document that has resonated across the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Prokofiev, piano and perfection: Yuja Wang at Tanglewood

Yuja Wang performs with the TMCO and Andris Nelsons.

Hilary Scott

Sunday, July 20 was sunny and warm. Nic Mayorga, son of American concert pianist, the late Lincoln Mayorga, joined me at Tanglewood to hear Yuja Wang play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. I first saw Wang on July 8, 2022, when she filled in for Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the opening night of Tanglewood’s summer season. She virtually blew the shed down with her powerful and dynamic playing of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

Nic was my guest last season on July 13, when Wang wowed us with her delicate interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. We made plans on the spot to return for her next date in Lenox.

Keep ReadingShow less