William Mahar

William Mahar

AMENIA — William Mahar, 78, a longtime resident of Amenia, passed away peacefully at his home in Amenia on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. Mr. Mahar was a teacher at the Wassaic Developmental Center in Wassaic.

Born on March 13, 1944, in Albany, he was the son of the late James D. and Francis (Kelly) Mahar. Mr. Mahar earned a Master’s Degree with a major in Psychology from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. On Nov. 25, 1967, in Whitesboro, New York, he married Janet Marie Seemann, who predeceased him on May 26, 2018.

Mr. Mahar was a devout Catholic. He was a Eucharistic Minister and longtime parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia. Mr. Mahar was an accomplished Chess Master. He has gone to be with the Lord and his beloved wife, Janet.

Mr. Mahar is survived by his children, Marla Perkins and her husband, Brian, of Craryville, New York, William J. Mahar of Amenia, James M. Mahar and his significant other, Erica Proper, of Amenia, Jennifer M. Mahar of Millerton, and Laura Mahar and her significant other, Jason Quiles, of Millerton. He is also survived by two brothers, Steve and John Mahar and a sister, Mary Hack.

He is also survived by ten grandchildren, Austin and Shane Perkins, Bellah and Landyn Mahar, Leanah and Kearstin Recchia, Henrietta Gaeta and Mia, Cayden and Dante Quiles and several nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents and wife, Mr. Mahar was predeceased by a daughter, Mara Anne in 1973 and a brother, James Mahar.

Calling hours were from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Hufcut Funeral Home, 3159 Route 22, Dover Plains, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Immaculate Conception Church, 4 Lavelle Road, Amenia, NY. Burial will follow at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Amenia. Memorial contributions may be made to Catholic Family News, MPO Box 743, Niagara Falls, NY 14302 or Hudson Valley Hospice, 372 Violet Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. To send the family an online condolence, please visit www.hufcutfuneralhome.com

Latest News

State intervenes in sale of Torrington Transfer Station

The entrance to Torrington Transfer Station.

Photo by Jennifer Almquist

TORRINGTON — Municipalities holding out for a public solid waste solution in the Northwest Corner have new hope.

An amendment to House Bill No. 7287, known as the Implementor Bill, signed by Governor Ned Lamont, has put the $3.25 million sale of the Torrington Transfer Station to USA Waste & Recycling on hold.

Keep ReadingShow less
Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy
Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.
Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less