Philip Prescott Savory
Philip Prescott Savory, 87, of Goshen, Conn., died March 13 at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Conn.
Savory was editor of the Bennington (Vt.) Banner, and, until 1987, executive editor of The Register-Citizen of Torrington for 20 years.
He leaves his wife, Diana; four children, Jessica, Emily, Benedicta and Randolph; two grandsons; his former wife, Harriet.
Victor Hugo Cuenca Borda
Victor Hugo Cuenca Borda, 51, of North Providence, R.I., died March 10.
After immigrating from Bolivia, Borda settled in Rhode Island and established a weekly Spanish-language newspaper, Providence En Espanol, in 1999. The publication won two Metcalf Journalism Awards and recognition from the National Association of Hispanic Newspapers three times for excellence in journalism.
In 2015, Borda created a public relations and digital marketing company, Victor Cuenca Accent Marketing of Providence.
Borda leaves his wife, Vivian, and three daughters, Samantha, Stephanie and Keila.
Mark C. Merenda
Mark C. Merenda, 66, of Naples, Fla., died March 18.
Merenda was a journalist at the Woburn (Mass.) Daily Times and the Medford (Mass.) Mercury. After relocating to Florida, he was employed as a journalist at the Miami News and several small newspapers owned by the New York Times Co. He briefly was editor and publisher of a former alternative newspaper in Naples, The Express.
After leaving the newspaper industry, Merenda founded Smart Marketing, a marketing company for lawyers, in 1994.
Merenda wrote several books on marketing and co-authored a thriller, “Satan’s Harvest.”
Merenda leaves a son, Maxime; two siblings, Bruce and Constance; his former wife, Anne Dare; his longtime friend and companion, Judy Whittingham.
Ronald Wells Page
Ronald Wells Page, 83, formerly of Dover, N.H., and most recently of Rochester (N.H.) Manor, died March 19 in Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
Page was a third-generation printer who was employed for many years in printing and publishing, including at the Seacoast newspapers group, whose flagship newspaper is the Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald, but mostly at the family business, Page Printing Co. in Belmont, Mass., which he owned and operated.
He also was employed with Atlantic Printing Co. in Needham, Mass., C&K Printing in Rochester, Strawbery Banke Print Shop in Portsmouth, and Odyssey Press in Rochester.
From 1972–1978, he was city editor of Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover.
Page leaves two nieces, Penny and Julie; two nephews, Garry and Scott; great-nieces and great-nephews; a sister-in-law, Faye.
Philip L. Pelletier
Philip L. Pelletier, 76, of Andover, Mass., died<where?> March 28.
Pelletier spent 30 years at the Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass., where he was classified advertising manager.
Pelletier was involved for more than a decade with the New England Newspaper Operations Association, securing sponsorships and ads for conferences and publications.
He leaves his wife, Mary; four children, Marcelle, Philip Jr., Wendy and Allon; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two brothers.
Frances E. ‘Fraffie’ Welch
Frances E. “Fraffie “ Welch, 79, died March 13 after a battle with cancer.
She was a pasteup artist in the real estate advertising department of The Marblehead (Mass.) Reporter. She also was sales manager there.
Welch later established the publication Mass Bay Antiques as part of the former Needham, Mass.-based Community Newspaper Company. She also wrote a column, Dawn Buckets Up for Air, for 30 years for the Marblehead Reporter.
Early in her career, Welch was on the staff of The Newport (R.I.) Navalog during her time in the U.S. Navy when she was stationed in Newport.
After her service, Welch was employed at radio stations, including WTSN-AM of Dover, N.H., and WESX-AM of Marblehead.
She was elected to the Marblehead Parks and Recreation Commission, and was a member of the Marblehead Forever Committee, its Disability Commission, and its Council on Aging
Welch leaves three siblings, Tom, Evan and Annie.
Ruth Brower
Ruth Brower, 94, of Pittsfield, Mass., died March 12 in her home.
For 10 years, Brower was the Lanesboro, Mass., correspondent for the newspaper company that now publishes The Republican of Springfield, Mass., and its sister Sunday newspaper. She was also a reporter and office manager there for 32 years. Brower retired in 1990.
She was on the Lanesboro Finance Committee for 18 years and was a selectman there for nine years.
Brower leaves two daughters, Louise and Marjorie; two sons, Charles and David; 16 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; a sister; two brothers.
Janina S. (Smietana) Bryden
Janina S. (Smietana) Bryden, 88, of New Bedford, Mass., died Feb. 27 at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.
Bryden was a fashion writer for The Standard-Times of New Bedford and later was employed for many years at the Publicity Club of Boston until her retirement.
She leaves three daughters, Kristine, Francesca and Elizabeth; two sons, Barry and Norman; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a brother; three sisters.
Esther L. Shaw
Esther L. Shaw, 92, of Chelsea, Maine, died March 16 at the Alfond Center for Health in Augusta, Maine.
Early in Shaw’s career she was a reporter-photographer for the Kennebec Journal of Augusta.
Shaw was state president of Maine Press and Radio-TV Women, now Maine Media Women.
After Shaw’s time at the Kennebec Journal, she was the first woman in Kennebec County elected to legislative office when she became a state representative for Chelsea, Farmingdale and Randolph.
Shaw remained active in state service until 1985, and had been a social secretary to Maine Gov. John H. Reed and a business manager and administrative secretary for the Maine State Museum. Later, she was a board member of the Maine State Museum Commission and an appointed member of the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board.
Shaw was active on town, county and state committees for the Republican Party in Maine, and was secretary of the Maine Republican Party in 1987. In 1988, she was a member of the College of Electors in the election of George H.W. Bush for president.
Shaw retired in 2000 after serving as town clerk for Chelsea.
She leaves a niece, Sandra; a grandnephew, John; a brother-in-law, Joe.
Susan Ann Keith Nichols
Susan Ann Keith Nichols, 88, died Feb. 12.
Nichols was a newspaper reporter in Old Saybrook, Conn., for the New Haven (Conn.) Register.
She later was executive assistant to the Connecticut commissioner of consumer protection.
She leaves two daughters, Joanna and Aimee, and nieces and nephews.
James R. Marston
James R. Marston, 80, of Cumberland, Maine, died Jan. 6 at Gosnell House in Scarborough, Maine.
Marston was employed with the Portland (Maine) Newspapers for 40 years, which at one time included the Portland Press Herald, the Evening Express and the Maine Sunday Telegram. He began in advertising before he transferred to the composing room, where he did a six-year apprenticeship.
He leaves his wife, Anita; two children, Jennifer and James; two grandchildren; a sister.Jeanne L. Zingale, 90, of Rutland, Vt. died Jan. 14 in Mountain View Center Genesis Nursing Home in Rutland.
For 31 years, Zingale was a classified advertising sales employee for the Rutland Herald. She retired in 1990.
She leaves three children, Nancy, Joseph and Laura; two grandsons, Eric and Alex.
Stephen M. Clooney
Stephen M. Clooney, 60, of Natick, Mass., died March 17 at the Metro West Medical Center in Framingham, Mass.
Clooney was circulation sales coordinator for the MetroWest Daily News of Framingham. Previously, he was a master control operator at WBPX-TV Boston, operations supervisor at New England Cable News of Boston, broadcast operations manager at WUNI-TV in Boston and Needham, Mass., and executive director of Medford (Mass.) Community Cablevision.
He leaves his wife, Lori; a daughter, Katherine; his mother, Doris; two brothers.
Richard J. ‘Dick’ Briand
Richard J. “Dick” Briand, 89, of Arlington, Mass., died March 16 in his home.
Briand was employed for 38 years at The Boston Globe, where he did various jobs, including Linotype machine operator and tradesman printer. He retired in 1994.
Briand leaves his wife, Anne F. “Nancy”; four children, Rosemary, Gail, Richard and Lawrence; nine grandchildren; a sister.
James E. Jacques Sr.
James E. Jacques Sr., 88, of Waterville, Maine, died March 10 at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine.
Jacques was employed for 37 years on a Linotype machine in the composing room alongside his father and two of his brothers at the Morning Sentinel of Waterville. He retired in 1990.
He leaves two sons, James and Allen; two grandsons, Michael and Thomas; a sister; a brother.
Claudia (Rossiter) Peterson
Claudia (Rossiter) Peterson, 81, of Bristol, Conn., died March 20 in Bristol.
She was secretary to the publisher of the Bristol Press for several years before she retired.
She leaves four children, Richard, Jeffrey, Scott and Kristen; 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister.
Arthur C. Barschdorf
Arthur C. Barschdorf, 100, of Duluth, Minn., and formerly of Bennington, Vt., died Feb. 16.
Barschdorf was an editor of newspapers during his five years of service in World War II. In 1940 with the National Guard at Camp Blanding, Fla., he wrote a column, Happy Blandings, about hometown soldiers for the Bennington Banner.
Barschdorf was awarded a Nieman Fellowship for journalism to Harvard University in 1952. He then moved to pursue a career as director of public information for the Minnesota Power and Light Co.
Barschdorf leaves three siblings, Ethel, Jim and Bill, and other immediate family members who live in Minnesota.
George P. Gosselin
George P. Gosselin, 96, of Manchester, N.H., died March 18 after an illness.
Gosselin wrote columns for the Stars & Stripes military newspaper, as well as for the Veterans page of the New Hampshire Union Leader of Manchester as recently as 2011. He also contributed to the senior lifestyle publication Senior Beacon, based in Milford, N.H.
He leaves a daughter, Louise; a son, Robert; five grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; a sister.
Robert R. Guillemette Jr.
Robert R. Guillemette Jr., 46, of Beverly, Mass., and formerly of Lynn. Mass., died March 16 at Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, Mass.
For many years, Guillemette delivered The Daily Item of Lynn, Mass., and The Boston Globe, and, later in his career, The Salem (Mass.) News.
He leaves his wife, Stephanie; his mother, Jacqueline; a daughter, Rebecca.
Ruth A. Messier
Ruth A. Messier, 86, of Alton, N.H., died of ovarian cancer March 12 at Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, N.H., after a brief battle with ovarian cancer
Messier was a newspaper reporter for a few years in Connecticut.
She leaves six children, Gordon Jr., Bill, Marie, Suzanne, Terry and Lynn; 20 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren.
Bernard Clifford Decker Jr.
Bernard Clifford Decker Jr., 86, of Hanover, N.H., died March 16 in hospice care in Hanover.
Decker was a reporter for the then-Springfield (Mass.) Union. He wrote a humor column, On My Mind, for the Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton, Mass.
He later was employed at the Knickerbocker News of Albany, N.Y. until the early 1970s. He then became a journalism professor at Eastern Michigan University. He retired from there in 1995.
He also was employed part-time at the Ypsilanti (Mich.) Press as arts and entertainment editor and as a reporter covering the Ann Arbor, Mich., and Detroit arts scene. He briefly was a copy editor at the Detroit News during the 1980 Republican National Convention.
He leaves two sons, Christopher and Dr. Paul; two daughters, Carolyn and Elizabeth; three stepchildren, Dr. Linda, Christopher and David; five grandchildren; three step-grandchildren.
The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondents Ashleane Alabre, Sophie Cannon, Jenna Ciccotelli, Joseph Dussault, Nico Hall, Bailey Knecht, Joshua Leaston, Peyton Luxford, Michael Mattson, Eloni Porcher, Mohammed Razzaque and Thomas Ward, undergraduate students at Northeastern University.