Ryan James Palmer

SHARON — Ryan James Palmer, 17, died Sept. 5, 2011, at UMass Medical Center from complications of an injury which occurred at the young age of 2.He is survived by his father, Peter B. Palmer and his wife, Geri, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; his mother, Michele (Aldred) Palmer of West Boylston, Mass.; two sisters, Casey and Christi Palmer of West Boylston; two stepsisters, Amy and Mary; two stepbrothers, Jarrod and Daniel; his paternal grandmother, Dorothea Aldred of Tewksbury, Mass.; a special aunt, Cheryl Keefe and her family, of Tewksbury; his godmother, Judy Corbett and her family of Sterling, Mass.; and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Ryan was predeceased by his paternal grandmother, Virginia Palmer; his paternal grandfather, James Palmer of Sharon, who passed away on Aug. 19, 2011; his maternal grandfather, James Aldred; two uncles, James and Ronald Aldred; a cousin, Derek Aldred; and his friend, Christopher Jones. Ryan was born in Sharon on May 20, 1994. He attended school at Seven Hills in Groton, Mass., where he resided for the last several years. Ryan was an avid Boston sports fan who loved swimming, music and spending time with his family. He was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in West Boylston.Ryan’s family would like to thank the special education department in West Boylston and all of his nurses and staff at Seven Hills. A special thank you to Barbara and Missy for the loving and devoted care they gave to Ryan.A funeral Mass was held on Sept. 9 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church with burial following in Mt. Vernon Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ryan’s memory to the Pediatric Center at Seven Hills, 22 Hillside Ave., Groton, MA 01450. Arrangements are under the care of Fay Brothers Funeral Home in West Boylston. To sign the online register, go to www.faybrothers.com.

Latest News

Revisiting ‘The Killing Fields’ with Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

Jennifer Almquist

On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.

The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.

Keep ReadingShow less
The art of place: maps by Scott Reinhard

Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).

obin Roraback

Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.

Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Love letters from Goshen

The marquee at Goshen Players for “A Goodnight Kiss.”

Cinzi Lavin

"A Goodnight Kiss,” premiering June 6 at Goshen Players Playhouse, is a dramatization of real Civil War-era love letters. Written by award-winning playwright Cinzi Lavin and directed by regional theater veteran Kathleen Kelly — both Litchfield County residents — it serves to reminds us that while wars are waged by nations, it is the people who live through them, their lives forever changed.

At the center of “A Goodnight Kiss” is the relationship between Sarah Jane “Jennie” Wadhams, a college student in New Britain, and Sergeant Major Frederick Lucas, a young soldier stationed in Alexandria. Lavin discovered the story of the letters by the couple in a 2002 book by Ernest B. Barker called “Fred and Jennie: A Civil War Story.” Lavin, who holds a certificate in applied history from the University of London and has performed at the White House, read all 90 letters the couple exchanged between 1863 and 1867. “It was like falling into another time,” she recalled. “You hear the dialect, the moral concerns, the humor. Jennie once said someone ‘must think she’s some pumpkins.’ I had to keep that.”

Keep ReadingShow less