Harold Posselt

Harold Posselt

KENT — Hal Posselt, 76, passed away in Connecticut on Oct. 1, 2023. Hal was born in Sharon on April 5, 1947, to Oscar and Lisbeth (Griesser) Posselt, who both left Germany in 1930. He leaves his wife, Edith (Edie) Parker Posselt, and many nephews, nieces, cousins and good friends.

Hal grew up in Kent and attended Kent Center School, South Kent School and graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1965. He received a B.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1969. As a senior, Hal participated in UConn’s first Urban Teaching Program in Hartford before student teaching and receiving Masters degrees in Counseling and Education.

Hal met his beloved wife, Edie, in 1977 when they both worked as guidance counselors in North Conway, New Hampshire. They married in 1980 and undertook a partnership of adventure and collaboration for forty-three years, welcoming family, friends and former students into their lives.

As a teacher and guidance counselor in schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Hal was known as a caring and involved educator. Students sought his advice and guidance in planning for college and work and getting through the minefield of teenage life. He was an advocate for students and is remembered as kind and understanding. At the same time, he was direct and uncompromising regarding the need for commitment, hard work and planning. Hal wasn’t judgmental or opinionated but argued for a kinder, more inclusive viewpoint in general. Many of his former students kept in touch with him for more than forty years. After his official retirement, Hal tutored young refugee students in English as a Second Language.

Hal is remembered as having made a difference at Concord High School, Kennett Jr./Sr. High, Bow High School and Broken Ground School in New Hampshire and MacKay School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. During his years as an educator, Hal lived in Fitchburg, and Snowville, Concord, Canterbury and Portsmouth, New Hampshire before moving to Storrs in 2020.

An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Hal loved being active and encouraged others to discover the joy of hiking, skiing, rock-climbing and biking. He loved traveling and enjoyed visiting relatives in Germany and the western U.S., and friends in Australia, Venezuela, Switzerland and elsewhere. Hal was a spirited UConn basketball fan and found pleasure in the music and other offerings of the college campus. He loved cats, Siamese in particular.

In addition to his wife, Edie, Hal is survived by his sister Catherine Posselt Bachrach (Bill) of Kent, their daughters Jaime Bachrach (Tim Clew) and Andrea Bachrach Mata (Keith Morse) as well as by nephews Theo Posselt (Doug Ng), Daniel Posselt and Abram Barker. His sister, Elisabeth Posselt Barker, and brother, Ted Posselt, predeceased him.

Latest News

All are welcome at The Mahaiwe

Paquito D’Rivera performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on April 5.

Geandy Pavon

Natalia Bernal is the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center’s education and community engagement manager and is, in her own words, “the one who makes sure that Mahaiwe events are accessible to all.”

The Mahaiwe’s community engagement program is rooted in the belief that the performing arts should be for everyone. “We are committed to establishing and growing partnerships with neighboring community and arts organizations to develop pathways for overcoming social and practical barriers,” Bernal explained. “Immigrants, people of color, communities with low income, those who have traditionally been underserved in the performing arts, should feel welcomed at the Mahaiwe.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Living with the things you love:
a conversation with Mary Randolph Carter
Mary Randolph Carter teaches us to surround ourselves with what matters to live happily ever after.
Carter Berg

There is magic in a home filled with the things we love, and Mary Randolph Carter, affectionately known as “Carter,” has spent a lifetime embracing that magic. Her latest book, “Live with the Things You Love … and You’ll Live Happily Ever After,” is about storytelling, joy, and honoring life’s poetry through the objects we keep.

“This is my tenth book,” Carter said. “At the root of each is my love of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, and living surrounded by things that conjure up family, friends, and memories.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Beloved classic film ‘The Red Shoes’ comes to the big screen for Triplex benefit
Provided

On Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m., The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and Jacob’s Pillow, the dance festival in Becket, Massachusetts, are presenting a special benefit screening of the cinematic masterpiece, “The Red Shoes,” followed by a discussion and Q&A. Featuring guest speakers Norton Owen, director of preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, and dance historian Lynn Garafola, the event is a fundraiser for The Triplex.

“We’re pitching in, as it were, because we like to help our neighbors,” said Norton. “They (The Triplex) approached us with the idea, wanting some input if they were going to do a dance film. I thought of Lynn as the perfect person also to include in this because of her knowledge of The Ballets Russes and the book that she wrote about Diaghilev. There is so much in this film, even though it’s fictional, that derives from the Ballets Russes.” Garafola, the leading expert on the Ballets Russes under Serge Diaghilev, 1909–1929, the most influential company in twentieth-century theatrical dance, said, “We see glimpses of that Russian émigré tradition, performances we don’t see much of today. The film captures the artifice of ballet, from the behind-the-scenes world of dressers and conductors to the sheer passion of the audience.”

Keep ReadingShow less