College news
• Paula Merkle of Vernon, an Anthropology major, was named to the Dean's List in Ithaca College”s School of Humanities and Sciences for the fall 2016 semester.
Transitions
• Mark McGee, MD, is the new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Brattleboro Retreat. McGee joined the Retreat in 2012 after completing his residency in Psychiatry at the University of Vermont. Since that time he has served as a staff psychiatrist on the hospital's Adult Intensive Unit and was appointed unit chief of the Adult Inpatient Unit. In 2013, he became board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry. In 2016, he was appointed Medical Director of the Anna Marsh Clinic and later that year as Medical Director of Inpatient Services. McGee takes over the job from Frederick “Fritz” Engstrom, MD, who has retired from his role as CMO but will remain on the Retreat's medical staff as Medical Director of Intensive Care Services.
• Brattleboro Memorial Hospital recently welcomed Maeve Shaughnessy as its new Marketing and Communications Specialist. Shaughnessy was previously employed at ServiceNet, Inc. in Northampton, Mass., where she focused on marketing, community relations, and graphic design. A graduate of Salve Regina University, with a bachelor's of business administration and MBA, Shaughnessy has a background in both healthcare and higher education organizations.
Obituaries
• James Edward “Ed” Hale, 82, of Guilford. Died Feb. 16 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Born in Greenfield, Mass., on July 29, 1934, the son of Ralph and Catherine (Cormie) Hale, he was raised and educated in Greenfield and graduated from Greenfield High School, Class of 1952. He was an accomplished furniture restorer and owned and operated his own furniture restoration business for 20 years, The Strip Shop in Brattleboro. He also had been employed as a general contractor in the Greenfield area. A former resident of Westbrook, Conn., he had been employed by Uarco Printing Company and Monsanto Chemical, both of Deep River, Conn. Previously, he worked for Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. He has lived in Guilford since 1968, and was a member of the F.O. Eagles, Brattleboro Aerie #2445, and held membership in the Greenfield Moose Club. He loved the outdoors and snowmobiling and served as Trail Master for the Guilford Pit Stoppers Snowmobile Club. He also enjoyed both antique and classic cars, many of which he restored. He especially enjoyed restoring old chairs. He was an accomplished artist who enjoyed drawing and painting with watercolors, oils, and acrylics. He loved to hunt and fish, was an avid gardener known for his green thumb and, in recent years, enjoyed bird watching. He also cherished time spent with his family. He was first married to Doris Carter. He later married Dolores Richardson in 1959. Besides his faithful and devoted wife of 57 years, he leaves five children, Jennifer Hale of Ocala, Fla., James Edward “Eddie” Hale of Guilford, Cheryl Pelletier of Springfield, Mass., Debra LeBreque of Granby, Mass., and Charlene Arsenault of Turners Falls, Mass.; three sisters, Louise Spondre, Margaret Cowan and Linda Charest; two brothers, Robert and David Hale; eight grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Additionally, he leaves many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by four brothers, Fred, Charles, Alan and Leon Hale. Memorial information: Graveside committal services in Baker Cemetery in Guilford will be conducted on Saturday, May 20, at 11 a.m., with a celebration of life services to follow at the Hale home on Sweet Pond Road. Memorial contributions to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT 05302. To send messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Edna J. Hunt, 91, of Rockingham. Died Feb. 18 at Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center. Born Sept. 4, 1925 in Virginia City, Mont., the daughter of Eugene J. and Katherine Ann (Thixton) Corriveau, she was a graduate of Twin Bridges School in Montana. She was a rural mail carrier, and later became an arts and crafts teacher at the Brattleboro Retreat. Following her retirement, she worked at the Vermont Country Store. Previously married to Frank H. Wood and George “Pete” Kimball, she was predeceased by her husband, Fred Hunt. She is survived by her sons, Bryan Wood of Bellows Falls and George William Kimball and partner Kim Geoffrey of Newport; two sisters, Audrey Alma Dixon of Wyant, Ore., and Patricia Irene Woosley of South Dakota; stepchildren, Cheryl and Billie Sanders of Washington State, Dorothy and Wesley Lombard of New York State, Betty and David Roberts of New Hampshire, Bill and Hope Hunt of Vermont, Melody Hunt, and Bill Weisensee of New Mexico. She is also survived by 20 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Besides her husband she was predeceased by her parents; her siblings Eugene Carl Smith, Yvonne Lucille Thorpe, Betty Ann Lavelle, Noah Kenneth Dixon, Frank Wayne Dixon, and Acil Albert Dixon; and her daughter-in-law, Deborah Wood. Memorial information: A funeral service was held Feb. 25 at Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home in Bellows Falls, with burial in St. Charles Cemetery.
• Charles P. “Chuck” Roy Jr., 87, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Feb. 15 at Westwood Health Center in Keene, N.H., following a period of declining health. Born in Hinsdale on June 27, 1929, the son of Charles and Helen (Hibbett) Roy, he attended Hinsdale schools and was a graduate of Hinsdale High School, Class of 1947. He went on to attend the New Mode School of Barbering in Manchester, N.H. After graduating from barber school, he apprenticed under his father and eventually joined the family business. Following his father's death, he became owner of Roy's Barber Shop in Hinsdale, which he operated for more than 50 years. He was a member of the Hinsdale Fire Department for 21 years and held membership in the Hinsdale Sportsman's Club. He was also a lifelong communicant of St. Joseph's Parish in Hinsdale. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing and gardening. In 1954, he married Helen Bokum, who predeceased him in 2007. Survivors include one son, Jon Roy of Hinsdale; a daughter, Janice D'Alessio and her husband Stephen of Keene, N.H.; a granddaughter, Amanda Cooke and her husband, Tyler, of Hinsdale; two sisters, Muriel Graveline of Greenfield, Mass., and Harriet Beckwith of Stoddard, N.H.; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a sister, Sylvia Gleason. Memorial information: Services will be held in the springtime at a date and time to be announced by the funeral home with interment in Pine Grove Cemetery. Donations to the Hinsdale Fireman's Association, P.O. Box 13, Hinsdale, N.H. 03451. To send messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.