It is with overwhelming sorrow that we announce the passing of Meg (Ciak) Papalegis, who died suddenly and unexpectedly while touring British Columbia, Canada on October 15th, 2023. Born March 1st, 1963 in Springfield, Mass., the daughter of Frank and Elaine Ciak of Easthampton, Mass. Meg was a graduate of the Williston Northampton School, class of 1980. After losing her beloved mom Elaine in 2001, and with the grit and determination she was well known for, Meg re-entered school and earned her degree in Nursing at Southern Maine Community College, South Portland Maine at age 42. As a registered nurse, she worked tirelessly in the substance-abuse treatment field, providing care for thousands of patients in the NH Seacoast area. She was a beacon of light that shined brightly in so many lives. Meg loved and enjoyed the tranquility of nature, so much so the she and her husband retired to their cabin in the woods of northwestern Maine. Meg loved walks in the woods or the beach, rides in the country, travelling to Nova Scotia, searching for heart-shaped stones, music and her local library. She was an expert cribbage player, and a fiercely loyal fan of the Boston Bruins. Meg is survived by her loving husband, Todd Papalegis of Weld, her brother, David Ciak ’79 of Boston, Mass., her aunt Marilyn Gorski of Chicopee, Mass., and countless cousins, extended family, and friends including a very special group of friends from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebration of life is being planned, the date TBD.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Meg’s name can be made to the Weld Public Library, P.O. Box 120, Weld, Maine 04285.

“There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path”.

Raymond O. Bernard, 65, entered Eternal Life on October 5, 2023, with his family at his side after a brief illness. He was born April 19, 1958, in Holyoke to the late Raymond O. and Rita (Guertin) Bernard. Ray (known as Rusty in his younger years due to his red hair) grew up in Chicopee and attended Williston Academy. He then earned a Bachelor of Science Business Administration Degree in Finance from Northeastern University in 1982. Ray worked for Bank of Boston, Ann & Hope and the Toyota Corporation. Always having an interest in health care, he became a registered nurse with an Associate Degree in Nursing from Springfield Technical Community College in 1993. Ray worked briefly at Baystate Medical Center before his 20-year career working as a correctional head nurse for the State of Connecticut Department of Corrections where he retired in 2013. He was awarded several Gubernatorial Citations for Preservation of Life in 1995, 2003, 2004, and 2005 and Circle of Merit in 2004 and 2005.
He was predeceased by his infant daughter Elizabeth M. Bernard in 1994 and his sister Michele R. (Bernard) Asselin in 2021. He is survived by his devoted wife of 31 years Margaret E. (Kelleher) Bernard and his loving son Nicholas R. Bernard. Also saddened by his loss are his sister’s children Mathieu R. Asselin of Somers, CT and Margaux R. Lamirande of South Hadley and his brothers-in-law Richard W. Asselin and Timothy J. Kelleher of South Hadley and Patrick J. Kelleher of Marshfield MA and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Ray was immensely proud of his family and their achievements. He was very sociable with a generous heart and had a way of making others feel special. He had wonderful memories and experiences with sports and scouting and passed on his enthusiasm and knowledge to many by his involvement with coaching youth sports and scout leadership. In his retirement Ray enjoyed travel and cruises with his family and a treasured trip to Ireland where he had hoped to return.
An uncle introduced “Rusty” to fishing as a young boy, and this developed into a passion that only grew through the years. He became an avid fisherman and enjoyed many vacations in Maine where fishing rarely disappointed. Locally he treasured Quabbin Reservoir in his retirement. Great Pond in Maine was truly his happy place and he had returned from a month at Bear Spring Camps just two weeks prior to his illness. He was proud to recently have a trophy fish (with a story to match) mounted and displayed there securing his legacy.
Calling hours will be Wednesday October 11th from 4:00 to 7:00pm at the O’Brien Family Funeral Home, 33 Lamb St., South Hadley. Funeral Mass will be Thursday October 12th at 11:00 am in St. Patrick’s Church. For more information or to make online condolences please go to obrienfamilyfh.com. In lieu of flowers Ray would be happy to have any contributions go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With great sorrow, the family and friends of Carol Ann Steinheimer announce her peaceful passing on April 24, 2023 at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 65.
She was born on December 5, 1957 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia to David and Dorothy Steinheimer. Growing up in Dhahran and later Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia Carol lived life to the fullest and developed close ties with many friends. In 1975, she graduated from high school at Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Mass. She kept many close relationships from Williston as well. Carol went on to receive her bachelors and MBA degrees from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
While advancing her successful career in software management, Carol moved to Denver for her dream job with EDS and lastly to Charlotte with Time Warner and Spectrum. In both places she enjoyed many of her friends from Saudi as well as making new ones. Carol always developed close ties with people and will be sorely missed by many.
Carol had enormous love for her mischievous huskies. Those huskies kept her busy on adventurous hikes in the mountains and chasing them down after their many escape antics.
Traveling was something that Carol enjoyed. She loved France and Italy particularly.
Ultimately, Carol found love in Denver when she met her boyfriend, Greg Bell. They eventually moved to Charlotte, NC and enjoyed the adventure of living in a new state. They decided to adopt a sweet greyhound, named Lucy resulting in no more running after huskies!
Carol is loved and remembered by her sister Jane, her brother Richard and her partner of 29 years, Greg.
Funeral service will not occur by request of the deceased.

Leon J. Pernice Jr. passed away at his home in Fort Pierce, Florida on February 28, 2023 with his loving family at his side. Lee grew up in West Springfield Massachusetts and graduated High School from Williston Northampton School in Easthampton MA., where he played Football and Hockey. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida, studied at the University of Miami and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the Boston Architectural Center in Boston, MA. He was a licensed Architect in Massachusetts and Florida and worked for more than 40 years at the family-owned Architectural firm, Leon Pernice and Associates, Inc. At the time of his passing he was Vice-President of the firm. Lee was an avid golfer in his younger days. He competed at a high level in many local tournaments, charity events and qualified for the Massachusetts State Amateur Championship. He also loved mountain biking and spent many hours riding through numerous Western Massachusetts trails and Florida parks. Anyone who knew Lee knew his passion was being on his boat and on the water. Fishing was his favorite pastime which took him on adventures all the way up and down the East coast from Rockport, Maine to Islamorada, Florida Keys. He spent his final years living in Fort Pierce, Florida and fished offshore the Fort Pierce Treasure coast, the place he loved most. If he wasn’t offshore trolling blue water for Mahi, you could find him cruising the Intercoastal Waterways and the Fort Pierce Inlet, chasing down Snook, Grouper and Mangrove Snapper for a fresh fish dinner. He was always saying he needed warmer waters and his boat, the “SushiD’Lux” took him there. Lee was also a certified deep-water scuba diver. If he wasn’t fishing, he would spend his time diving and snorkeling reefs, mangrove flats and boat wrecks in and around Fort Pierce and the Florida Keys. Alligator Reef – “The Light House” off Islamorada Key was his favorite dive. Lee had an old saying – “Never leave fish to find fish” but he did it anyway. That’s just the kind of guy he was. He couldn’t stay in one spot for any length of time. There was always better fish to find and more live bait to catch – just over there by the shipping buoy or over the next reef. Lee leaves to cherish his memory his loving father, Leon J. Pernice, Sr., his brother and best friend, David, his sister, Lisa Pernice-Gomes (and husband, David), his sister, Nina Cunningham (and husband, Robert) of Bradenton, Florida, “Uncle Lee’s” nieces and nephews-Andrea, his godson-Greg, Mark, Allie, John, Anna and Sharlotte, several aunts and uncles, cousins and friends too numerous to count. He was pre-deceased by his beloved mother, Yolande Pernice. Lee lived his life on his terms and his sudden illness took him from us way too soon. He was a generous soul who loved God, his family and his friends and was always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need. He will be greatly missed. Calling hours for Leon will be held Thursday, March 23, 2023 from 4-7 pm at Toomey-O’Brien Funeral Home, 1043 Westfield Street, West Springfield, and a funeral Mass will be held on Friday, March 24, 2023, 10:00am at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 47 Pine Street, West Springfield. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600.

William L. Van Alen III passed away Sunday, January 29, 2023. Will was born to Sydney Purviance Van Alen and William L. Van Alen, Jr. on October 22, 1959. He graduated from Montgomery Country Day School and the Williston Northampton School. Will was an excellent athlete; the captain and high scorer of his lacrosse team at Williston. During the summers of his college years at the University of Vermont, Will taught windsurfing at 3rd Beach in Middletown RI. He came in second place in the Worlds and was featured as the centerfold of Windsurfing Magazine. Early in his life Will’s sheer joy of doing things directly involved with nature and the great outdoors was well established. Lured by the compelling beauty of the lakes, Will moved to Minnesota in the early 1990s and never left. There he found a new extreme sport, namely Sky Skiing. Will loved it and through endless practice, attained a high degree of proficiency. Loving the mountains as well as the oceans and lakes, Will enjoyed going out with friends four-wheeling. He often came home covered in mud with a big smile on his face. In the winter months, Will loved snowmobiling and skiing. Going fast and facing somewhat risky challenges definitely appealed to Will. During those years, Will married, later divorced, and started and ran a successful roofing and siding business. He also loved spending time with his family in Northeast Harbor, ME. He is survived by his mother Sydney Blynn Toland, three siblings, Alexandra Van Alen Frazier, Dina Gibson, and Luke Van Alen, seven nieces and nephews, and two great nieces and one great nephew. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Wounded Warrior Project or Tee it up for the Troops. Services will be held at St. David’s Church on May 6th, 2023 at 11:00 A.M.

Benjamin Lambert Liang, 36, of Salt Lake City, UT, beloved husband, son and brother, died unexpectedly on February 4th, 2023 due to complications from a skiing accident.

Benjamin, called Ben by everyone he ever met, was born at NYU Hospital in Manhattan to Paula and Jim Liang on May 23, 1986, and made his entire family laugh from that day until the day he died. Ben was an only child for three years until the birth of his younger sister Katherine (Kate), whom he strongly disapproved of at the time due to her lack of eyebrows, and Margaret (Maggie) two years later, whom he largely ignored at the time, since she was a baby and he was more into sharks and raccoons.

As a teenager, Ben developed an unquenchable love for the outdoors and adventure sports, which eventually brought him to Middlebury College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 2009. While at school, Ben met the woman of his dreams, Melina Ward, and, though there is some debate as to when they actually had their first date, the couple began dating in their sophomore year. Ben and Melina married in October 2015 at the groom’s family home in Londonderry, VT.

After college, Ben worked briefly in investment banking and then moved to advertising technology, for which he was featured on the cover of AdWeek magazine in 2013. He went on to found his own company, Cliques Ads, and served most recently as Group Product Manager at Klaviyo, a marketing automation platform based in Boston, where he and Melina lived from 2013 until relocating to Salt Lake City in April 2022.

Ben was intelligent, persistent and fearless, showing little self-doubt, even when perhaps he should have. Throughout his life these qualities would result in one broken femur, many apologies to then-Vice President Al Gore after slapping him (as a toddler), a grandmother with a broken arm, a flying squirrel thrown out his bedroom window, countless instances of road rash, an overflowing dishwasher full of dish soap, a misunderstanding at Chilean border control, and 15 tires acquired for one car. He was endlessly curious, had obsessive amounts of focus, and always gravitated towards any hobby or sport that would inevitably become quite expensive: fencing, skiing, cycling, fly fishing, etc. Ben had the biggest booming laugh you’ve ever heard, and we’ll miss hearing it dearly.

Ben is survived by his wife of seven years, Melina Ward, his parents Paula and Jim Liang (of Jacksonville, FL and Londonderry, VT), younger sisters Kate Liang and Maggie Liang Marbley, and brother-in-law Aaron Marbley (all of NYC), Finley, his very loyal mini Australian shepherd, and Charlie, a generally grumpy bird who really only loved Ben and blueberries.

A memorial service will be held on February 18th at 1:00 pm at First Church Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138. Interment will take place in the Spring in a family ceremony in Manchester, VT.

Those who would like to honor Ben with a memorial contribution are requested to do so through either Community Servings at 179 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (617-522-7777) or the MSPCA-Angell, attn: Donations, 350 South Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02130 (617-541-5046).