Monthly Archives: April 2023

Death of Winifred M. Leary Announced, Mother of Martha Quaratella of Old Lyme

Posted on by
Reply
Winifred M. Leary

Winifred M. Leary, 87, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2023. Born on April 5, 1935, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, she was the only child of Margaret (Collins) and Martin Murray. She was the beloved wife of Richard “Dick” Leary. They would have celebrated their 65th anniversary in June.

Winnie’s grace and kindness was evident in everything that she did. Making sure she raised independent, caring and kind people was her number one priority. Winnie extended this care to the wider community through her commitment to volunteerism and leading by example. She had a way of making every person feel appreciated and loved. We will greatly miss her eloquence and wit.

Besides her husband, Dick, she is survived by her 8 children: Kathy Gentilozzi (Mark), Stephen Leary (Mary), Mark Leary, Marty Braun (Peter), Martha Quaratella (Joe), Susan Beaudoin (Rich), Dennis Leary (Kristin) and Jennifer Kelley (Mike).

Winnie was blessed to have 30 grandchildren: Kristina, Andrew, Kati, Sara, Michael, Courtney, Paul, Jack, Nick, Haley, Erin, Sam, Cooper, Catie, Lauren, Jake, Elizabeth, Nathan, Austin, Benjamin, Clayton, Dylan, Hannah, Grace, Luke, Rose, Eli, Kaleigh, Sydney, Colleen, Liam and one great grandchild, Wellie.

Winnie grew up in New Bedford and graduated from Bridgewater State Teachers College in 1956. She taught school for 2 years before meeting the love of her life, Dick. They were married and began their family in Waterbury, CT and then moved to Meriden, Connecticut where they lived for almost 50 years. She was a self-described “homemaker” and “Mommy” for 15 years. Over the next 26 years she held various roles in banking before becoming a financial advisor. Winnie and Dick were devoted parishioners at St. Joseph’s Church. They were awarded the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation in recognition of their service to the Hartford Archdiocese and community. Winnie was a board member of The Meriden United Way, American Association of University Women and St. Joseph’s School. She also volunteered at the Franciscan Life Center, Curtis Home.

Winnie was always up for an adventure, enjoying travel both abroad and across the US visiting her large family. Her favorite thing to do was anything with her favorite guy.

We would like to thank three very special people, Terry Ann, Sue and James, who supported Winnie and her family.

Her family will receive relatives and friends (TODAY) Tuesday, April 4th from 5 to 7 p.m. at Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish, St. Joseph Church, 177 West Main Street, Meriden, CT 06451. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 5th at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Church. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist 269 Finch Avenue Meriden, CT 06451

For online condolences, please visit jferryfh.com.

Letter to the Editor: “Greatly Troubling” That Old Lyme RTC Has Endorsed ‘Parental Rights’ Agenda for LOL Schools, Something to Remember When Voting in November

Posted on by
5

To the Editor:

In March I received the Old Lyme Republican Town Committee’s (RTC) “request for support” letter. I am an unaffiliated voter, and as such I appreciate understanding what the local political parties are offering in terms of policy.  At first, the letter seemed innocuous, opening by noting that among the key values and priorities they would support is “maintaining the excellence of the Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools.” While we all agree that keeping our schools strong is vital for the future of our children, the RTC explicitly noted that they would be “standing up for parents’ rights in the town school system regarding the school’s curricula and student policies.”

It is greatly troubling to me that the Old Lyme RTC has joined in the national narrative being spouted by leaders like Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and Greg Abbott.  In every instance where Republicans have pushed a “parental rights” agenda, what has followed has been book bans, censorship and thought policing. The ill-defined “policy” of letting parents decide what books a school can use, what words teachers can say, and how subjects should be taught, fosters a toxic relationship between educators and parents and encourages the foolish, misguided and sometimes violent clashes we’ve seen playing out at Board of Ed meetings from coast to coast. 

Science is science, math is math, literature is literature, and history is history.  Let’s leave educating to the educators; it’s a policy that has served our school system well for the last 200 years. 

In short, if we want to keep our schools strong, let’s make sure we don’t let them get strong-armed by partisan politicians. I hope that in November we will vote for candidates who understand that restricting information and discouraging freedom of thought undermines one of the primary functions of education: teaching students how to think critically and for themselves.

Sincerely,

Claudia Schmaus,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: The author is a  a member of the Town of Old Lyme’s Ethics Commission.

Letter to the Editor: Negative Outcome of Old Lyme Zoning Commission’s Vote on Halls Rd. Overlay District Raises Many Questions

Posted on by
2

To the Editor:

I am writing as a follow-up to Mark Terwilliger’s Op Ed in LymeLine on the Zoning Commission’s vote against the Halls Road Overlay District proposal.

Elizabeth Regan, who covers Old Lyme for the “New London Day”, also reviewed the action in an article published in that newspaper on March 29th. 

Because the proposal had not been endorsed by our Town’s Planning Commission, approval required a supermajority of the Zoning Commission voting in favor (i.e., four of the five members in attendance); but the proposal only received three. 

Unfortunately, two members of the Commission did not attend this important meeting; and Land Use Coordinator Eric Knapp reported that Mike Miller could not attend because of an injury; and Ms. Tammy Tinnerello was absent and could not vote because she had missed the past two meetings, and not reviewed the audio recordings, which are available via the Town’s website.  Presumably, had she reviewed the recordings, she could have voted by calling in. 

Alternate members Sloan Danenhower and Michael Barnes filled in for the two absent members and voted to oppose the proposed plan.

The “New London Day” reported that “Miller had previously expressed support for the overall concept, pending assurances that the language would be clarified to prevent a ‘Costco-sized building’ from going up on Halls Road”; and such restrictions seemed to have been proposed and passed at the meeting. I could find no guesses on how Ms. Tinnerello was expected to vote. Infrastructure issues were also raised, and I ask the Commission to allow the Town some input to determine whether they should be considered as “insurmountable”.

I am concerned that, after several years of very public effort by Ms. Twining’s “Halls Road Improvement Committee”, which involved regular and frequent updates, and Q&A opportunities for the community; the project was blocked by votes from two alternate members of the Zoning Commission. I am also concerned that the Commission is again out of synch with the Town in their actions (i.e., the Town provided Ms. Twining’s group with $135,000 to support design work.)

Further, these positions are elected, not appointed, and require serious commitment. I do not feel that missing three consecutive meetings reflects strong commitment. 

Finally, the “New London Day” article also reported that horses and elephants came up in the discussion at the meeting. On her way to Oz, Dorothy only had to contend with lions and tigers and bears, but Ms. Twining. got trampled by an alternate who brought in horses and elephants.

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Gotowka,
Old Lyme.