"Fresh Start As a Husky: UConn freshmen move into res halls" and "couple doesn't let diagnoses steal their lives," page 4, 08/27/16, The Chronicle.

1. 4 the Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn., Saturday, August 27, 2016
Advertisement Advertisement
Obituaries
To place an obituary: Classified Dept. at 860.423.8466, ext. 3363, or 860.423.8466, ext. 3337 after 5 p.m. on Fridays
Melinda Gaye Ross
FLORIDA
Mindy Ross of Coconut
Creek, FL, sister of Larry
Ross of Willington, CT and
Winston-Salem, NC and
Steven Ross of Salt Lake
City, UT died on Thursday,
August 24, 2016.
Mindy was born on March
12, 1954 into a in Cambridge,
UK to Jack and Marion Ross,
both deceased, and grew
up in Orange, CT attending
Amity High School, class of
1972 and Sarah Lawrence
College, class of 1976.
She lived most of her adult
life in Manhattan, NY and
worked as a commodities
trader in the World Trade
Center and later as family
therapist, MSW before mov-
ing to Florida five years ago
to help with her mother’s
failing health.
Besides her brothers, she
leaves her companion of
many years, Sal Canale, many
nieces, nephews and cousins,
as well as a large collection
of blended family members,
all of whom mourn her pass-
ing.
There will be a memo-
rial service at the Beth
Israel Cemetery in Orange,
Connecticut at a time to be
determined at a later date.
Donald Howard Chase
WILLIMANTIC
Donald Howard Chase, 86,
of Willimantic, CT passed
away, August 25, 2016. He
was born July 23, 1930 in
Boston, Massachusetts, the
son of LeRoy and Lura
Chase. Donald graduated from
Watertown High School in
Watertown, Massachusetts. He
then attended and received a
degree in business administra-
tion from Bryant and Straton
Business College in Boston,
Massachusetts. After work-
ing for an accounting firm
in Boston for two years, he
enlisted in the navy, serving
for four years aboard the
destroyer USS Abbott. He
was very proud of his time
spent serving his country dur-
ing the Korean War. Upon
being discharged from the
navy, he and his wife settled
in Mansfield, Connecticut. He
was employed for over 30
years in the Timekeeping and
Accounting offices of Pratt
and Whitney Aircraft in East
Hartford.
Donald and his wife,
Winifred spent their 65 years
together caring for their fam-
ily, serving the Lord and
others. Donald was an avid
fan of the Boston Red Sox,
Uconn Huskies teams, and the
basketball teams at Eastern
Connecticut State University.
Donald is survived by his
wife, Winifred; his sons,
Timothy, Donald and his wife
Robin; his daughter, Catherine
Brunt and her husband Steve;
four grandchildren: Timothy
Jr. and his wife Sarah, Susan,
Peter Chase, Benjamin Brunt
and his wife Sarah; one great
grandchild, Elena Brunt. He
was predeceased by his adop-
tive parents Lura and LeRoy
Chase, his mother, Evelyn
Chase, and his twin brother,
Leland.
The family will receive
friends and relatives, Sunday,
August 28, 2016 from 2:00
— 4:00 p.m. at Potter Funeral
Home, 456 Jackson St. (Rte.
195). A Funeral Service will
be held, Monday, August 29,
2016 at 10:00 a.m., Christian
Life Assembly of God, 143
Windham Rd., Willimantic,
CT 06226 with interment to
follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery
in Hebron, CT. To sign the
online memorial book, please
visit, www.potterfuneralhome.
com.
In Loving Memory of
Angelo J. Tambornini
June 8, 1934 to August 28, 2014
Husband, Father, Grandfather, a.k.a. “Grumpy”
AFTERGLOW
I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when day is done.
Always in our hearts, your spirit lives on within us all.
Love, Your Family
In Loving Memory Of Our Mother
Annabelle Durkin
August 28, 1925 — February 19, 2009
Happy 91st Birthday
We are sending a dove to Heaven with a parcel on its
wings, be careful when you open it, It’s full of beautiful
things wrapped up in a million hugs, To say how much we
miss you and to send you all our love. We hold you close
within our hearts and there you will remain, To walk with
us throughout our lives, Until we meet again.
Love your children,
Jan, Patty, Cindy, Melissa & Ken; grandchildren; great-
grandchildren; sister; extended family and friends
town have been working togeth-
er to help improve playscapes
in town, including not only the
playground at the school but the
outdated wooden structure at Rec
Park as well.
Fearon said he is excited for the
kids to try out the new playscape,
which will hopefully be complet-
ed by the first week of school.
He said once the school play-
ground is completed, the contrac-
tors for the work will then start
work at Rec Park.
Fearon said the school’s play-
ground had been damaged and
needed to be replaced. Once the
playground installation is com-
plete, the parent-teacher organi-
zation will contribute money for
rubberized ground cover.
Headed to their classrooms, stu-
dents won’t see too many changes
inside the building. However,
there are some staffing changes
and there will be a few new faces
— including a new part-time
computer education teacher.
Fearon said some staff members
will be teaching different grade
levels, since the district reduced
the fifth- and sixth-grade team
down to five teachers instead of
six.
He said the district has also
been consolidating all of its stu-
dents into one of the wings of the
school.
Fearon said teachers have been
in the school the last couple of
weeks setting up their class-
rooms. Then all teachers are back
Monday and Tuesday for pro-
fessional development days just
before kids start school.
But the school year will not be
all fun and games, especially for
school administrators and offi-
cials.
“The board of education will be
looking at some options to meet
the challenge of declining enroll-
ment and budget constrictions,”
Fearon said.
He said administrators will pres-
ent some options to the board of
education to review and consider.
Fearon said as the school board
starts to look at options, the com-
munity will be involved as the
year unfolds.
“I think we’re looking for a real-
ly good, productive school year,”
said board of education Chairman
Christopher Lent. “A few chal-
lenges I know that we’re looking
at is the declining enrollment,
which I think a lot of towns are
facing. How are we going to face
that as a district and the reduced
state funding seems to always be
a concern for us.”
Lent said this is a problem many
schools are facing. However, he
said the district would like to look
at this for both short- and long-
term planning.
The school board typically
meets the first Monday of every
month. However, the September
meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept.
6, at 7:30 p.m. at the school due to
the Labor Day holiday.
(Continued from Page 1)
New playscape installed for Columbia students
the heat and humidity that made it feel more
like the middle of summer than the beginning
of the fall semester.
Yet, everyone seemed to be in good spirits
and, while it got a bit cloudy during the move-
in, it did not rain.
At the Tower Residence Hall complex along
Route 195, which has 16 buildings, freshmen
and their families were moving belongings
into the buildings Friday afternoon.
Garry and Ana Parzych were helping their
daughter, Sarah Parzych, move filled plas-
tic boxes into the complex that will soon
be her home at UConn. The family is from
Southington.
“I’m moving into Vinton, and it’s going
pretty smoothly,” said Sarah Parzych. “It’s not
as hectic as I thought it would be
Her mom, Ana Parzych, commented “it’s so
humid. … We live 45 minutes away. I’m glad
to see her here. It will be an adjustment for us
at home.”
Sarah Parzych has not declared a major yet
but said she is “thinking something in the
medical field or taking the fine arts route …
I’m excited.”
Parents and students were assisted by staff
with the move-in process, whether it was
physical help, providing directions or just a
friendly smile.
Marco Aurelien, of Hartford, who serves
as the assistant hall director at the new Next
Generation Connecticut Hall, was outside the
Towers Friday afternoon guiding parents and
freshmen with the move in.
He is a graduate student who is working to
get a mater’s degree in higher education and
student affairs.
As for move-in day, he said “it is going pret-
ty good. I like to see the first-year students.
They are wide-eyed and energetic. I’m here to
help calm their nerves and welcome them to
the Husky Family,” Aurelien said.
Old Saybrook native Ellis Welsh, a sopho-
more resident assistant, was standing outside
the Lafayette Residence Hall Friday afternoon,
near where freshmen were checking in to the
Towers complex.
He said that as of 1:30 p.m. “over 50 percent
of the residents (of Towers) had moved in.
It’s going smoothly, we only have over 200
more to move in out of 1,000. Parking is the
only issue today but that’s really out of our
control.”
As for physical help, Welsh said more than
250 student volunteers participated in the
Husky Haulers program, helping freshmen
move in, with 60 working exclusively in the
Towers complex area.
While freshmen will be living in buildings
throughout the Storrs campus, the biggest
concentration will be housed at Towers, said
university spokesman Stephanie Reitz.
Aurelien said “(Husky Haulers) really makes
the process a lot easier.”
Three Husky Haulers, from UConn’s soror-
ity Kappa Alpha Theta, were standing inside
the Keller House next to the stairwell.
They included junior Jess Crawford, from
Sayville, N.Y., sophomore Bridget Corsi, of
Colts Neck, N.J., and sophomore Eve Lenson,
from Natick, Mass.
The Keller House, part of the Towers com-
plex, is named after Helen Keller, the first
blind and deaf person to earn a bachelor of arts
degree, and was depicted in the play and film
called “The Miracle Worker.”
Crawford said she found it interesting to
see students moving in with “packed clothes
on hangers with a bag around it” and was
surprised she did not see many televisions but
admitted she saw a few students who brought
their Xbox’s with them.
“People have been super grateful,” Corsi
said, with Crawford adding, “everyone tries to
tip us but we have to deny it.”
Lenson said one of the most unusual items
she saw being moved in was a Dell desktop
computer, citing the popularity of laptop com-
puters, but agreed with the other two that “all
the freshmen seem very nice.”
Outside the Keller House, Ted Shafer was
seen making one last trip with his freshman
son, Ethan Shafer, who was almost settled in.
The family is from Burlington.
“It’s a little warm today but it’s going great.
I want to thank the university and the volun-
teer students that helped with the move in,
they were amazing,” Ted Shafer said, adding
he is also thankful to the facilities department
and residential life staff with their hard work
in making the move-in process easy.
Ethan Shafer, who is majoring in business,
said “I’m definitely excited. It was a little
hectic at first, but it’s going to be fun, there is
nothing to worry about.”
Parked in a loading zone with only 15
minutes to spare, the Golembeski’s of New
Milford were busy unloading their SUV as
they assisted their daughter, Karli Golembeski,
move in.
Karli Golembeski said she couldn’t believe
she was finally attending college, saying “I
don’t feel like I’m actually staying here and
going to college, there are a lot of nerves and
excitement.”
Her father, Kevin Golembeski, said it’s been
“stressful but going well. We are excited
for her. We were able to fit everything into
one vehicle. That’s a good thing,” adding
he was initially afraid that hauling Karli’s
many belongings to campus would require
two vehicles.
He said that he and his wife Colleen only live
about an hour and a half away from UConn.
“It’s far enough for her independence but
close enough for us,” he said.
UConn freshmen move into residence halls
(Continued from Page 1)
Roxanne Pandolfi
Nicole DiLoreto, of Wethersfield, and Kayla King, of Nashua, N.H., are UConn
sorority sisters helping students move in as part of the ‘Husky Haulers’ team of
volunteers.
34 years and enjoy camping in
their RV at Water’s Edge Family
Campground in Lebanon.
They also enjoy riding their
motorcycle and exploring differ-
ent places.
This is the second marriage for
both of them and they also have
both been diagnosed with cancer
twice.
They believe the cancer is a
result of being smokers for much
of their lives and possibly from
working in a factory with chemi-
cals for 33 years.
They both stopped smoking and
no longer work at the factory.
They remain positive as they
have proven they can beat the
odds, thanks to their attitude
and the medical expertise of Dr.
James Flaherty, who works at the
Hospital of Central Connecticut
in New Britain and is part of the
St. Francis Medical Group.
Ned Squire was diagnosed in
2009 with stage 4 esophageal
cancer after going to the doctor
because he was unable to keep
food down.
While he underwent 21 days of
radiation and six doses of che-
motherapy, doctors said he would
have to have surgery.
“The first time, they cut out
three-quarters of my esophagus
and a quarter of my stomach and
repositioned it under my breast,”
Ned Squire said, adding the doc-
tor said he only had a 27 percent
chance of living.
“We didn’t expect him to get off
the surgery table,” Bonnie Squire
said.
After his first win against can-
cer, last December a test revealed
he had lung cancer.
“The second time, they removed
the middle of my lung, it was sup-
posed to be a two-and-a-half-hour
operation, it wound up being six
and a half hours,” he said.
He said at one point he was on a
feeding tube and oxygen.
Cancer has taken away his abil-
ity to enjoy some of his old favor-
ite foods and sleeping in a bed.
Now, Ned Squire said he buys
chicken noodle soup in bulk and
also eats Jell-O and pasta with
gravy.
“It sure cut the grocery bill way
down,” he said, adding he has lost
140 pounds since first being diag-
nosed with cancer.
Ned Squire explained when he
goes to a restaurant, he asks to be
seated near the restroom in case
he gets sick, though he admits he
doesn’t go out to eat at restaurants
that often.
“My hardest part is sleeping.
I can’t lay down flat because of
the acid, so I have been sleeping
in a chair for the past six years,”
he said. “If I lean too far back, I
get sick.”
However, Flaherty said his
desire to stay busy is what kept
him alive.
“The doctor said keep doing
what you’re doing,” Ned Squire
said, adding he works part-time at
Hydrofera LLC of Willimantic, a
medical wound-care company.
At a routine follow-up appoint-
ment last week, he said he got
a CT scan and is awaiting a call
from the doctor to determine
whether his cancer has come back
again.
As for Bonnie Squire, she was
first diagnosed with lung cancer
in May 2014 and the cancer came
back again in April 2016.
“I went in for a knee replace-
ment and I came out with a blood
clot and cancer. They found can-
cer in a CT scan but they found it
at an early stage and it was treated
with radiation,” Bonnie Squire
said of the first diagnosis.
While she was given oxygen
after being diagnosed the first
time, she said one of her lungs
collapsed and she did not use oxy-
gen during her second diagnosis
with cancer.
“I was having a lot of diffi-
culty breathing because of getting
emphysema,” Bonnie Squire said.
Emphysema gradually decreases
the air in the lungs due to lung tis-
sue damage, making the patient
short of breath. “It slows life
down and I can’t do a lot. I used
to have my oxygen delivered to
my campground.”
She said she completed radia-
tion treatment last month and she
and her husband get checkups
every six months.
“The radiation was only able to
shrink my cancer,” Bonnie Squire
said. “My lung was too bad to get
surgery done.”
In the end, she said “you always
have to be positive,” with Ned
Squire adding he joked with his
doctor about making a movie with
the various photos from his biop-
sies, which he has collected in a
folder.
The Squires give back to the
American Cancer Society through
two fundraisers they participate
in.
The first is a tag sale which they
host at Richard Garrison General
Contractors on Route 6 in North
Windham.
“A lot of people contribute stuff,
we got two trailers filled,” Bonnie
Squire said, adding last year’s
success allowed them to donate
$1,200. It will be held today from
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Squires also run a unique
event on Halloween at Water’s
Edge where they pass out adult
beverages. All donations are sent
to the American Cancer Society.
“We raised $600 last year and
we’ve been doing it for about
three to four years. Now the
neighbors help us make the bev-
erages,” Bonnie Squire said.
For more information about the
Windham Relay for Life, contact
event coordinator Julie Kessler at
julie.kessler@cancer.org or (203)
379-4881.
TheRelayforLifefortheGreater
Windham Region takes place Oct.
15 starting at noon. Folks who
want to participate, donate or get
more information can visit the
American Cancer Society website
at www.cancer.org.
(Continued from Page 1)
Couple doesn’t let diagnoses steal their lives
‘I went in for a knee replacement and I
came out with a blood clot and cancer.
They found cancer in a CT scan but they
found it at an early stage and it was
treated with radiation.’
Bonnie Squire
Five individuals involved in
Friday morning accident
WILLIMANTIC — Five in-
dividuals were transported to
Windham Community Memorial
Hospital with non life-threatening
injuries Friday morning after an
accident at Ash Street and Foster
Drive.
Willimantic Police Cpl. Stanley
Parizo Jr. said Friday that the call
came in at about 10 a.m.
He said five individuals were
transported to Windham Hospital
with injuries that were not life
threatening.
According to a scanner report, at
least one individual was entrapped
in a motor vehicle during the acci-
dent.
Nofurtherinformationwasavail-
able Friday evening.
nant woman can pass the virus to
her unborn child, putting the baby
at risk for microcephaly and other
brain-related birth defects.
Donor blood can be another im-
portant source of Zika transmis-
sion. During a Zika outbreak in
French Polynesia in 2013 and
2014, nearly 3 percent of blood
samples from people with no sign
of infection were found to contain
the virus, which could have been
spread to others through routine
infusions.
And in Puerto Rico, where
screening has been recommended
since February, nearly 1 percent
of blood samples from donors
with no symptoms of Zika turned
up positive for the virus, accord-
ing to the FDA.
The FDA’s new guidance calls
for testing all donated blood using
a so-called nucleic acid test.These
tests search for specific genetic
sequences in certain viruses, such
as HIV or hepatitis. Versions that
look for Zika are still undergoing
final FDA review.
If any blood is found to be in-
fected, any other blood given by
the same donor in the past 120
days should be quarantined,
according to the new guidelines
If some of that blood has already
been used to treat another patient,
the recipient’s doctor should be
notified.
If no screening test is available,
blood collection agencies can
purify blood platelets or plasma
using one of the FDA’s approved
methods.
Distributed by Tribune Content
Agency.
FDA: All donated blood
should be tested for Zika
(Continued from Page 1)