Obituaries

Henry Frankel

Henry Frankel, 84, of Peabody, Mass., and formerly of Burlington, Vt., died Feb. 6 in Danvers, Mass., of complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Frankel owned community newspapers, which he later consolidated into The Burlington Citizen, which covered politics, local history and community events, and published editorials in Burlington and Chittenden, Vt. The Citizen went out of business in 1986.

He leaves his wife, Helene; three children, Donna, Alan and Steven; two grandchildren.

William Alfred Dempster Jr.

William Alfred Dempster Jr., 85, of Williamsburg, Va., and formerly of Hudson, N.H., and Chelmsford, Mass., died Feb. 9.

Dempster was advertising director for five different newspapers and was northeast director of Multi-Ad Services, based in Peoria, Ill. He also had been employed with the former Minuteman Publications, which covered Lexington, Acton-Boxboro, Concord, and Bedford, Mass.

Before Dempster retired in 1998, he had covered all of New England, New York, and Eastern Canada for Multi-Ad Services.

Dempster also was employed with the Malden Observer and the former Medford (Mass.) Mercury, and had covered the rag market for the former Boston Record American.

The New England Advertising Executives Association awarded him a lifetime membership on his retirement.

Besides his involvement in the newspaper business, he was the parks and recreation commissioner for Chelmsford.

He leaves his wife, Audrey; two sons, Wayne and William III; a daughter, Linda; three grandchildren; a brother; a sister.

Eliot Hallowell

Eliot Hallowell, 94, of Kingsland, Texas, and formerly of Concord, Mass., died Feb. 16 at CelesteCare in Llano, Texas.

Hallowell was a newspaper editor for the Montachusett Review, based in Fitchburg, Mass., and an advertising salesman for The Public Spirit of Ayer, Mass.

He also published a book of his poems titled “Dry Martini & Other Poems.”

Hallowell leaves five children; Jane, Beth, Anne, Joe and Kate; five grandchildren, Joanna, Paul, Koji, Sam and Lily; six great-grandchildren.

Barbara (Butler) Carroll

Barbara (Butler) Carroll, 87, of Southington, Conn., died Feb. 14 after a lengthy illness.

Carroll retired as human resource manager after 45 years with the Southington Step Saver.

She leaves her husband, Richard “Dick”; two sons, Patrick and Michael; four grandchildren.

Bill Beardsley

Bill Beardsley, 85, of Mashpee, Mass., died Feb. 21.

Beardsley was a sales manager for The Wall Street Journal. In 25 years with the Journal’s then-parent company, Beardsley headed its book division, Barron’s, the National Observer and The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly. He also was president of the stateside and international divisions of the Sales Promotion Executive Association.

He was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association and wrote a regular fishing column for the Falmouth (Mass.) Enterprise. He also broadcast fishing reports for WCIB-FM in Falmouth, Mass., and had stories published on various topics in many publications.

He leaves his wife, Marilyn; two sons, Bruce and Brian; four grandchildren.

Anne T. Corcoran

Anne T. Corcoran, 66, of Quincy, Mass., died Jan. 29 at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. Mass.

Corcoran was a supervisor in the editorial department of The Boston Globe for 25 years. She was also a union activist and served 10 years on the executive committee of the Boston Newspaper Guild, formerly The Boston Globe Employees Association. Corcoran was president of the Boston Newspaper Guild in 1987 and 1988.

Corcoran was involved in Quincy politics. She assisted in campaigns for the late Paul Harold, a Democratic state senator in Massachusetts.

She leaves two sisters, Kathleen and Maureen; a brother, Patrick; six nieces and nephews; four great-nieces; a great-nephew.

William Joseph Whitney

William Joseph Whitney, 84, died at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield.

Whitney began his newspaper career on the copy desk of what is now The Republican of Springfield when it was known as the Union News and Sunday Republican. He was employed there for 25 years, and he eventually became city editor before retiring in 2002. He was known for writing the Sunday Drive Column and Just Browsing, both popular because of their humor.

He leaves his wife, Andrea; a brother, Pat; three nephews and nieces; two great-nephews.

Nino S. Secchi

Nino S. Secchi, 91, of Westport, Conn., and formerly of Greenwich, Conn., died Jan. 31.

Secchi joined the Greenwich Time as sports editor, then moved to the Port Chester (N.Y.) Item three years later. He was sports editor and a columnist there, and soon became the suburban editor of the Item.

In 1960, Secchi joined Greenwich-based American Machine & Foundry, where he handled a corporate newsletter, public relations and communications.

After he retired, he was a columnist for the Greenwich Time.

Secchi served with the Greenwich town meeting for 14 years. He was an alternate member of the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission. He was a member and treasurer of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee.

Secchi leaves three children, Lou, Steven and Joseph; three grandchildren, Taryn, Tristen and Taylor; two great-grandchildren.

Willie Wright Jr.

Willie Wright Jr., 82, died Jan. 23 at home in Manchester, Conn.

Before his retirement from The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, he was a circulation supervisor there for many years and a newspaper carrier there for more than 20 years.

He leaves his wife, Hilda; three sons, Willie III, Rickey and Mark; four daughters, Cathy, Helen, Betty and Pennie; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Helen A. (Johnson) Douglas

Helen A. (Johnson) Douglas, 94, of Athol, Mass., and formerly of Orange, Mass., died Jan. 30 at Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol.

Douglas was a reporter a total of 12 years for the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass., for the then-Springfield (Mass.) Union News, and for the former Orange Enterprise and Journal.

Douglas leaves a daughter, Susan; three grandchildren Michael, Gina and Megan; six great-grandchildren; a sister.

Peter Sudarsky

Peter Sudarsky, 88, of New York City, died Jan. 27 in the Mease Dunedin (Fla.) Hospital.

He had been a reporter for The Hartford (Conn.) Courant.

He leaves his wife, Roseanne; four children, Julie, Laura, Jennifer and Noah; six grandchildren; two brothers.

Fruma Dara Efreom

Fruma Dara Efreom, 72, of Warwick, R.I., died Feb. 17 at Kent Hospital in Warwick.

She was a reporter for The Kent County Daily Times, based in Wakefield, R.I.., and wrote for Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, based in Barrington, R.I.

She served on the Lincoln Park Cemetery Board in Warwick.

She leaves three children, Alana, Yael and Avi, and three grandchildren, Leo, Chloe and Jerome.

Horace ‘Rambo’ Bacon Jr.

Horace “Rambo” Bacon Jr., 81, of Springfield, Mass., died Jan. 26. at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Bacon was a machinist for The Republican of Springfield for many years. He retired from there in 2002.

He leaves his wife, Blanche; two sons, Horace and Malvin; a special son, Seymour; two daughters, Sarah and Pauline; a special daughter, Lizan; 15 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; three brothers; seven sisters.

John J. Thompson

John J. Thompson, 66, died Jan. 25 at Twin Oaks Nursing Home in Danvers, Mass., where he had received care for the past seven years after a lifelong battle with a variety of disabilities.

He had been employed on the sports desk at the Boston Herald.

He leaves his life companion, Lori Henry; three brothers, Clifford, Michael and Glenn; five nephews and nieces; several cousins.

Janice (Brennan) Sprogell

Janice (Brennan) Sprogell, 99, formerly of West Hartford, Conn., died Feb. 3 in Needham.

Sprogell was the first female proofreader at the then-Springfield (Mass.) Daily News.

She leaves three daughters, Katherine, Sarah and Mary; four grandchildren, Agostino, Dominic, Sarah and Charles; six great-grandchildren.

Erna Jane ‘E.J.’ Silke

Erna Jane “E.J.” Silke, 73, of Westbrook, Maine, died Feb. 9.

Silke was a local news correspondent for Cape Elizabeth, Maine, for the Portland (Maine) Press Herald,

She leaves her partner, Jeffrey; three children, Christopher, Brendan and Rachel; four grandchildren.

Robert Finley Delaney

Robert Finley Delaney, 92, formerly of Newport, R.I., Venice, Fla., and Washington, D.C., died Jan. 28. He also had lived on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Delaney wrote columns once a month for Newport (R.I.) This Week, a weekly newspaper that covers Newport, Middletown and Jamestown, R.I., and for a Washington-based magazine about defense policy. He also wrote, edited and contributed to a dozen books, including “Your Career in the Foreign Service.” He wrote about 100 articles on international affairs for magazines and professional journals. He often wrote under the pseudonym David Finley.

He leaves five children, Flynn, Nancy, Carrie, Deirdre and Sarah, and seven grandchildren.

Margaret A. Coulombe

Margaret A. (Martin) Coulombe, 67, of Taunton, Mass., died Feb. 19 at Morton Hospital in Taunton.

In the 1980s. Coulombe was a suburban news correspondent for the Taunton (Mass.) Daily Gazette.

She also was an information editor for the F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill in Boston.

She leaves her husband, Tom; three daughters, Bonnie, Mary and Carol; three grandchildren; three sisters.

Jack Apfelbaum

Jack Apfelbaum, 93, formerly of Hamburg, Germany, and of Littleton, Mass., died Feb. 1 in his home.

Apfelbaum wrote a column for the Littleton Independent called Thoughts from the Sweat Lodge.

He also wrote engineering texts and two children’s books.

He leaves his wife, Eva; three daughters, Claudia, Ananda and Maya; a granddaughter.

James Edward Bransfield

James Edward Bransfield, 72, of Middletown, Conn., died at Hartford (Conn.) Hospital Feb. 24 of complications from surgery.

Bransfield wrote for the Middletown Press for 30 years. His last column was published four weeks before his death.

He leaves a son, Chris; two grandchildren, Clara and Henry; two brothers.

William Joseph Newman

William Joseph Newman, 94, of Springfield, Vt., died Feb. 22 at Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Newman wrote a human interest column for the former weekly Springfield Reporter.

He leaves a niece, Catherine; and was predeceased by a brother, Richard.

Rosemarie T. (Buttacavoli) Topor

Rosemarie T. (Buttacavoli) Topor, 83, of North Fort Meyers, Fla., and formerly of Norwich, Conn., died Jan. 29 at the Hope Hospice in Cape Coral, Fla.

Topor had been employed with the Norwich Bulletin before her retirement.

She leaves two daughters, Laurie and Leslie; a son, James; a brother, Thomas.

Francis Gros ‘Lou’ Louis

Francis Gros “Lou” Louis of Leesburg, Va., and formerly of Wilton, N.H., died Jan. 31 after a brief illness.

During his time in Wilton, Louis wrote a weekly column, opinion pieces and editorial content for local and statewide newspapers.

He leaves three children, Cheryl, Melissa and Brian; 10 grandchildren; a great-grandson.

Kristine D. ‘Krissy’ Housel

Kristine D. “Krissy” Housel, 50, died Feb. 15.

For 20 years. Housel delivered newspapers for the Seacoast Media Group, publisher of the Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald, Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H., and four smaller newspapers in New Hampshire and Maine.

She leaves her mother, Lynda; her husband, Duane Sr.; two sons; Duane Jr. and Robert; a grandson; four siblings.

Mary Lou Nason

Mary Lou Nason, 62, of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, died March 5 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine.

She delivered the Portland Press Herald in Old Orchard Beach for several years.

She leaves four sons, Peter, Jerry, Dennis and Daniel; 13 grandchildren; two brothers; a sister.

Muriel Madeline (Whalen) Deck 

Muriel Madeline (Whalen) Deck, 91, of West Hartford, Conn., died Feb. 13.

Deck was employed after her high school graduation with the newspaper company that publishes what is now The Republican of Springfield, Mass., and its sister Sunday newspaper.

She leaves five daughters, Karen, Kathy, Norma, Theresa and Patricia; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.