Virginia “Ginny” Nickerson Cooney, 96, died peacefully on Oct. 22, 2025 after a short illness.

Virginia grew up in Greenville, Maine and graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in education prior to working as a second-grade teacher in Beverly, Mass. She married the love of her life, James Cooney.

They became long-term residents of Falmouth, where they raised their family. Virginia was a loving and devoted wife and mother. Eventually, she moved to Brunswick where she spent her widowhood. She was beautiful inside and out with an endearing, radiant smile. She was the matriarch of our family and was extraordinarily generous with her love.

Virginia had many passions. She was a puzzle master at Thornton Oaks Retirement Community. She was a voracious reader. She loved dogs and bred champion Weimaraner’s. Virginia was intellectually curious, loved to travel, visit new places and meet new people. She always had a garden and was generous with her produce. She insisted good soil, sun and love were key factors to her gardening success. She enjoyed genealogy and tracing the family history back to their crossing on the Mayflower. She was a proud member of the Mayflower Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Virginia was a collector of almost anything: stamps, coins, glassware, antiques, jewelry, string, etc. She was an incredible seamstress and enjoyed cross-stitch projects. She made her own clothes and was always available to complete sewing projects for her extended family. Virginia was fiercely independent. She continued to drive until she was 94. Asked what her secret was to longevity she would respond “never stop moving.” Virginia was frugal and thrifty, yet incredibly generous to her family and many charitable organizations.

Virginia was predeceased by her husband, James Cooney; son James “Jay” Cooney, DMD; a grandson, Matthew Cooney; and her brother, Hiram Nickerson.

She is survived by her children Robert Cooney, MD and spouse Lorrie, Syracuse, N.Y., Janet Kole, Topsham, John Cooney, Rangeley; her grandchildren, Meagan Cooney and spouse Jon David Sumega, Portland, Ore., Jenn Kole and spouse Paul Fuller, Portland, Erin Cooney Fitzgerald and spouse Chris, Plantation, Fla., Jason Cooney and spouse Alisha, Topsham, Lynne and spouse Chris Halligan, South Berwick, Hannah Kole and spouse Matt Grifferty, Pasadena, Calif., Mitchell Cooney and fiancé Amelia, Brighton, Mass., Jeffrey Cooney, Manchester, N.H., Charlotte Cooney, New York, N.Y.; five great-grandchildren (one pre-deceased); her sister, Ellen Poole, Bedford, N.H.; and several nieces, nephews and friends.

Virginia was a giving person but did not like accepting gifts. She would ask for nothing at this time, except for us to be kind to one another.

A graveside service for her with family will be held June 20, 2026.

Jane Frances Carlson passed away peacefully with her family and pastor at her side on July 21, 2025. She had been a resident at Frasier Meadows for more than four years.

Jane was born in Colorado Springs to Roy and Dele Waters on February 26, 1929. She grew up in a yellow house, loved books and playing house with girls on the block. Her parents were sturdy and loving. Jane loved mischief and mounted a revolt in high school, encouraging fellow students to stay on the bus instead of going to class. She attended Northampton School for Girls for her senior year and thrived academically. Jane studied English and Education at the University of Colorado where she was President of her Delta Gamma sorority and met her husband, Bob Carlson who was newly back from World War II. They had five children (Tina, Bob, Doug, Glenn and Jim).

In order to support her children after Bob left the family, Jane taught English and established a center for students who had difficulty with reading at Boulder High for twenty-two years, supplemented by doing scoring and timing at various high school sports events. On the side, she completed a Masters in Adult Literacy from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. She later taught at Ames Community College, Regis University, and her alma mater CU. Jane volunteered for hospice when the movement was just gaining acceptance and stayed with them for 43 years. She worked doing children’s bereavement groups, respite, home visiting, thank-you card writing and the thrift store, among other jobs for the organization. In recognition of this and other work, she was awarded the annual Boulder County Community Foundation’s Pat on the Back Award in 2006.

Jane was an avid dog lover, walker, weaver, reader and gardener. Her gardens flourished with vegetables and bright flowers. She was a lifelong Episcopalian and participated in the creation of two churches: St. Mary Magdalene in Boulder and St. Brigit’s in Frederick, Colorado. She taught Sunday school and was on the discernment committee for new ministers.

Jane loved her family and stayed close with all five of her children, as well as their spouses: Tres (Tina), Beth (Doug) and Joanna (Jim). She found great joy in her close involvement with her grandchildren: Caitlyn, Betsy, Mia, Jimmy and Jane. She had three great grandchildren, Elton, Luca and Daphne, and loved to see videos and photos of them. She was also very close to the daughters of her late sister Rita Grace, Heather and Janet. She remained close to all her surviving sorority sisters.

Jane was gifted with a strong sense of curiosity about the world and was able to travel widely including to: Vietnam, China, Tibet, Armenia, Russia, Burkina Faso, Italy, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, and New Zealand, as well as exploring many parts of the US. She read voraciously and never stopped wanting to learn and grow. We will miss her strong determination, her great humor and laugh, her fierceness, her kindness, her wit, and the giving and unconditional love she offered.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 30, 2025 in the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene Church, 4775 Cambridge Street, Boulder.

Rosemary “Rosie” Adams Thurber, 94, ever in search of a peaceable kingdom, died in the company of her loving family at Laurel Oaks of South Haven, Michigan, on June 8, 2026. She was a lifelong advocate for the common good of creatures great and small.

Rosie was born in New York City on October 7, 1931, to James Grover Thurber and Althea Adams Thurber. She grew up in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and Cambridge and Amherst, Massachusetts, graduating from the Northampton School for Girls in 1949 and from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 with a liberal arts degree. At age seventeen she dreamed of being an actor, and it was as a member of the Pennsylvania Players college theater group that she met her future husband, Frederick W. Sauers. They married in Philadelphia and settled in Chicagoland, raised three children, and were married for twenty years. Rosie was active onstage at the Theatre of Western Springs and co-founded a theater troupe that performed for children. She returned to school in her forties, earned a master’s degree in social work at Washington University in St. Louis, then moved to South Haven to live alongside her treasured Lake Michigan.

Rosie worked in support of peace, social justice, the environment, and the arts, often through her associations with the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany and the South Haven Center for the Arts, where she was board president and for years shepherded the July South Haven Art Fair. She was a longtime member of the church, served on the vestry, and found a great source of strength and wisdom in God’s way and through healing prayer. Rosie loved visits from her family, partying with friends, her evening Manhattan, good conversation, and making her point-you wanted her on your side.

As the only child of a celebrated writer and cartoonist, Rosie found her life touched in exceptional ways. Working with publishers, authors, performers, and literary organizations, she guided her father’s literary estate and legacy as a humorist with care and a keen editorial sense. She was a supporting founder of the Thurber House literary center and museum in Columbus, Ohio. Her father dedicated The Last Flower to her in 1939, writing, “For Rosemary, in the wistful hope that her world will be better than mine.” She will now hold that hope for all of us.

Rosie’s survivors include her children, Sara Thurber Sauers (Mike Lewis-Beck) and Greg Thurber Sauers (Mary); her grandchildren, Adam G. Sauers (Olivia Dellios) and Elizabeth A. Valtman (Chris); two great-grandchildren, Adeline and Zoey Valtman; her sister, Linda A. Gilmore; and a nephew and niece, Tim and Zoë Fothergill. She was preceded in death by her son Mark Thurber Sauers; her parents; her stepmother, Helen W. Thurber; and her fondly remembered childhood stepfather, Francis B. Comstock.

A celebration of life is planned for the early fall. Memorial donations may be made to the Church of the Epiphany, Al-Van Humane Society, or the South Haven Center for the Arts.

Mary C. Clark, age 94, Baptized into the Hope of Christ’s Resurrection, Tuesday, August 5, 2025.

Mary was born in Northampton, Massachusetts to Joseph and Mary Panzica. Mary is preceded in death by her dear husband Gerald W. Clark, her parents and her brother Joseph (Phyllis) Panzica.

Mary is survived by her children Wayne (Cindy) Clark, Richard (Virginia) Clark, Vincent (Sharon) Clark, Geralyn (Mathew) Harnisch, Maria (Greg) Jeffery, Thomas (Debi) Clark; her grandchildren Andrew, Kevin, Scott, Alycia (Jason), Erika (Ben), Jason, Harrison (Morgan), Marissa (Mikel), Nicole (Isaiah), Elaina, David, Shayla (Nick), Brenna (Kenny), Ciera and Keegan; her great-grandchildren Taylin, Dakota, Rosie, Harlow, Lorraine, Ethan, Charlie, Juliette, Kira, Knox, Kyia, Knyt, and Steely. Dear aunt, great-aunt, cousin and friend to many.

Mary was a member of St. Sabina Church where she quilted and was a member of the choir. She loved cooking, entertaining and feeding her flock. Above all else, she loved time with her family and friends.

Visitation from 4:00pm until 8:00pm on Tuesday, August 12th at Hutchens Mortuary, Florissant, Missouri. Funeral Mass at 9:00am on Wednesday August 13th at St. Sabina Church.

Interment at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to:

American Heart Association or American Cancer Society

Sheila Budnick died on February 5, 2026 in Jupiter, FL at the age of 94.

Born Sheila May Popkin in Springfield, MA, the daughter of Gertrude and Jacob Popkin, she resided in Longmeadow, MA until 1993 when she and her husband Alan Budnick moved to Juno Beach, FL. They also had a residence in New London, CT.

She was a graduate of Northampton School for Girls and attended Wells College and Brandeis University. She and her husband Alan were fundraisers and construction coordinators for the former Heritage Academy building in Longmeadow. They were both heavily committed to many philanthropic endeavors in the local Jewish community as well as national and international causes. She was an active fundraiser for former Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson who was a family friend. From 1970-1980 she was personally involved in extricating emigrants out of the Soviet Union and integrating them into American society, working closely with Senator Ted Kennedy’s office. She served as PTA president at Heritage Academy and was chairperson of the United Jewish Welfare Fund Women’s Division in 1971 and 1973. For 10 years she also managed her father’s thoroughbred racing stable. An avid gardener, she was responsible for landscaping at her FL condo in addition to being secretary of the Board of Directors and liaison to the town of Juno Beach.

In her spare time she indulged in painting, composing rhymes, power walking, cooking and enjoying time with her grandchildren.

She is predeceased by Alan, her beloved husband of 50 years, and her daughter Susan Budnick. She leaves her son Adam and his wife Heather of New Canaan, CT, grandchildren Alexandra and Maxwell and beloved cousins descended from the Popkin families.

To honor Sheila’s dedication to Jewish causes, the family welcomes donations to the Popkin and Budnick Family Philanthropic Fund at the Jewish Endowment Foundation and Rachel’s Table.

Constance (Connie) Duane Donahue, 93, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, passed away on October 22, 2025. Born November 30, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of the late Marshall and Madeline Duane.

Connie became a Roman Catholic at the age of seven while attending The Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. She graduated high school from Northampton School for Girls in 1949 and earned her degree in Early Childhood Education from Connecticut College for Women in 1953. She obtained her Master of Arts in Theology from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado in May 1988.

After college graduation, Connie moved to Providence, Rhode Island to teach kindergarten, where she met her husband, Edward Thomas Donahue (deceased 2020), in January 1954. They married later that year and went on to have eight children: Mary, James, John, Ann, Edward, Michael (deceased 2023), Stephen, and David (deceased 2017). Connie was blessed with 21 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Connie and Ed lived in many places during their marriage – Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, Michigan, California, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Throughout her life, Connie made a significant impact on her community. She founded the Great Books Club in Denver and later taught CCD to middle and high school students in St. Joseph, Michigan. In 1988, Connie and her family moved to Arizona, where she served as a docent at the Heard Museum in Phoenix for 12 years. She was a Eucharistic minister and lector at St. Thomas of Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale, Arizona.

Her faith and dedication to family and others touched many lives. Her favorite saint was St. Clare of Assisi, and her Catholic faith was greatly influenced by philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who said “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Her funeral Mass will be on Thursday, October 30th, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Thomas of Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale, with a private family-only inurnment following the Mass. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to St. John Paul II Catholic High School in Avondale, Arizona (https://www.jp2catholic.org/apps/pages/make-a-gift). Connie will be deeply missed by her family and all who knew her.

With heartfelt grief, we announce the passing of Elizabeth Anne Stevens Winship on May 24, 2024, at the age of 94.

Elizabeth was born October 20, 1929 in Worcester, MA to John Howard and Annie Betsy Cameron Stevens. She grew up in North Brookfield, MA where she witnessed a bank robbery among other adventures.

She attended Bryn Mawr and then Stanford University where she met the love of her life, Emory Winship V. They married on August 12, 1950, in North Brookfield. She and Emory returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and welcomed their first three children: Tannis Anne, Emory Stevens, and John Duncan Cameron. After an appropriate introduction to South Georgia by being left waiting, sweltering, at the train station, she and Emory settled on St Simons Island where they produced their final child, Douglas Alexander Beauregard.

Having largely raised her children, she resumed her educational career, earned a Master’s in Library Science from Georgia Southern University, and pursued a career in education. Her educational pursuits were emblematic of her lifelong thirst for intellectual enrichment, both of herself and of anyone she encountered. She had a special love for a good book, the Wall Street Journal, and a good bourbon… and a special loathing of aircraft. She would have enjoyed correcting any minor errors in this announcement.

In her final decades, she enjoyed looking over the marshes on Amelia Island, FL and escaping the heat by spending time in Stratham, NH.

She is preceded in death by her husband Emory (1994) and outlived her brothers (John and Duncan), their wives (Betty and Victoria), and two daughters-in-law (Gloria and Vicky). To her amazement there are still people on the planet that survived her and will miss her: her children Tannis Parker (William W), Emory Winship (Johanna), Cameron (Julie), and Douglas (Margaret); eleven grand children; and eleven great grandchildren and counting.

The funeral will be a private service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to either the Brunswick-Glynn County Library or the Nassau County Public Library System.