Obituaries
• Bonnie Lynn Childs, 72, of Brattleboro. Died Dec. 1, 2018, with her loving sister, Kathy, holding her hand and clutching her bunny. Her niece, Kim, and grandniece, Jessica, stayed close during the last days. Born March 4, 1946 in Chicago, to Richard and Marion (Armitage) Childs, she and her family later settled in Tucson, Ariz.. Bonnie cared for the family horses and loved riding and showing. In 2006, Bonnie came to live in Guilford with her sister Kathy and husband, Peter, and her nephew Charley, who helped care for her. Bonnie had a membership at the Colonial Spa in Brattleboro and swam daily. She loved butterflies, going to Magic Wings in Deerfield, Mass., frequently. She raised the pupa, setting the emerging butterflies free. She also loved going out to dinner and eating hot fudge sundaes. For the past five years, Bonnie was a resident of Pine Heights in Brattleboro. She loved crafts, watching old movies, and having her hair and nails done. She is survived by Kathy Wilde Clark, and husband, Dick; her brother, Allen, and wife, Galene; her niece, Kim Wilde, and husband, Stan; Kathy's adoptive family, Tom and Nancy Ragle; grandnieces Jessica, Jennalee, and Angela Idamtton, Jaclyn Bristol, and Stephanie Wilde, who over the years were her caregivers while Kathy worked. Bonnie also leaves many cousins, nieces, and nephews here and on the Hawaiian Islands. Memorial information: In accordance with her final wishes, there will be no formal services. Contributions in her memory may be made to Pine Heights Nursing Home Activities Fund, 187 Oak Grove Ave., Brattleboro, VT 05301. To sign an online guestbook with messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Ruth “Ann” Hale, 73, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Dec. 3, 2018 at her home after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born on Oct. 15, 1945 in Stamford, Conn., the daughter of Sara E. Higgins and Clarence E. Jennings. She retired from Clear Solutions as a fabricator, a workplace where she made many lasting friendships. She loved spending time with her friends and family, gardening, crafting and cooking. She was a huge Elvis fan and enjoyed trips to Atlantic City and Foxwoods with her sisters, daughter, and daughter-in-law. Surviving family members include her children: William Hadden and his wife, Debbie, of Springfield, Mass., Deborah Hrabovsky and her husband, Paul, of Brattleboro, James Hadden and his wife, Susan, of Spofford, N.H., Carolyn Hadden and her partner, Kevin, of Wilmington, and Brian Hale and his partner, Lillian, of Greenfield, Mass; and siblings Donald Gunnip, Clarence Jennings and his wife, Barbara, Charles Jennings, Martha LaBarge and her husband, Terry, and Susan Delaney and her husband Gordon. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Neil Hale; her brothers James, Theodore, and Robert Gunnip; and her sister, Dora Rooney. Memorial information: A celebration of her life will be held at the VFW in Hinsdale on Saturday, Dec. 15, at noon. Donations to the BMH Oncology Dept, in care of Agnes Mikijaniec, 17 Belmont Ave, Brattleboro, VT 05301. To send messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Nicholas R. Junjulas, 79, of Guilford. Died Dec. 3, 2018 at his home. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., on Jan. 11, 1939, the son of Perry and Helen (Pulkowski) Junjulas, he was raised and educated in the Bronx and was a graduate of Immaculate Conception High School, Class of 1957. In 1961, he married Dena Zambri. She predeceased him in 1992. Mr. Junjulas worked most of his career in the footwear industry, retiring as vice president of Intershoe on Long Island in 2003. Previously, he had been employed at Marx & Newman Shoe Company in New York City and the Famolare Shoe Company in Brattleboro where he was vice president. In his earlier years, he worked for the Uniroyal Company, based in New York City. Additionally, he served as president of the Credit Association of New York for many years. Steadfast in his walk of faith, he was a devout Catholic and a longtime communicant of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church. He was an active volunteer at Brigid's Kitchen and also volunteered at American Legion Post 5, helping with the weekly Friday night suppers. He enjoyed the outdoors, gardening, and cooking evening meals. He was a loyal New York Yankees and Giants fan. He also cherished time spent with his family, especially with his grandchildren. Survivors include two sons, Nicholas Junjulas and his wife, Nicole, of Williston, and James Junjulas of Orlando, Fla.; a daughter, Janet Derosia and her husband, Scott, of Brattleboro; three grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by siblings George, James, and Linda Junjulas. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held on Dec. 7 at St. Michaels' Catholic Church, with committal rites and burial in St. Michaels' Parish Cemetery. Donations to St. Michael's School, 48 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 in care of Elaine Beam, principal, or to the Brigid's Kitchen Renovation Fund, 47 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT 05301. To sign an online register book or send messages of condolence to the family, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Francis Dennis McMurray, 75, formerly of Athens. Died Nov. 11, 2018 in Williamstown, Mass. He was born June 20, 1943 in New Canaan, Conn., the son of the late Francis J. and Veronica D. McMurrray. He is survived by his two sisters, Louise Wishneski of Monroe, Conn., and Meg McLean (Tom) of Columbia, S.C.; his former wife Pamela Roberts (Bob); and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his younger brother, Charles McMurray. Dennis graduated from New Canaan High School in 1961, attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Marlboro College, and served in the U.S. Army in Panama, working in radio electronics. He lived in Athens while working at Omega Optical in Brattleboro for more than 20 years as a machine mechanic. He married Pamela Roberts at a ceremony in the woods of Vermont. Though the marriage ended in divorce, the two remained close friends for the rest of his life. As his health declined, Pamela and her second husband, Bob, were a mainstay to Dennis for many years in so many ways. Dennis marched to a different drummer. He was a spiritual man, though not religious and fervently believed in reincarnation. He initiated many deep conversations about the universe. He loved nature, hiking, and his numerous cats, having volunteered at an animal shelter for several years. He was witty, quick to smile, and a kind and gentle soul who was well-liked wherever he found himself in life. Memorial information: None provided.
• William “Bill” Menezes, 80, of Dummerston, Died Nov. 23, 2018. Born on Oct. 20, 1938 in Gilroy, Calif., he was the only child of Manuel S. Menezes and Louise C. Noya. He graduated from Salesian Junior Seminary in 1956, earned a B.A. from St. Mary's College in 1961, then enlisted in the Army in 1962 and completed Army Language School in Russian in 1963 and served for three years as a cryptographer in Germany. Bill moved from California to Turners Falls, Mass., in 1969. He worked for 12 years in the theater department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he also completed the MFA program in 1973. In 1986, he moved to Dummerston where he remained until 2015 when he moved to San Pedro, Belize. There he spent his remaining years enjoying the warmth of the tropics and the companionship of the island community. Theater was one of Bill's great passions. His devotion to the stage began during Army service in Europe, where he and his buddies produced versions of the classics. Later, Bill returned to San Francisco where he founded the New Stage. After moving to Massachusetts, he became manager of the Brattleboro Center for Performing Arts in 1973 and also wrote theater reviews for the Brattleboro Reformer. The final 24 years of Bill's rich career was devoted to Keene State College where he served as the director of the Redfern Arts Center for 13 years. Bill was deeply devoted to his parents and proud of his Azorean Portuguese roots. One of his more memorable trips abroad was to the island of Pico, the birthplace of his father. He often spoke affectionately of his parents and extended family members. Bill was also a sports aficionado and played basketball well into his 70s. He loved gardening at his home by the river on Camp Arden Road, where he would host wonderful barbecues. Quietly and in countless ways, Bill contributed to the needs of the communities in which he lived. If the measure of a person's life is how much good and kindness he brings to the world, then his life was an unqualified success. Memorial information: A celebration of his life will be held in the spring. Bill was a cat lover and provided homes to many, so donations in his name can be made to the Windham County Humane Society (802-254-2232).
• Susan Ellen (Conrad) Schuman, 74, of Buckland, Mass. Died Nov. 10, 2018 at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Mass., following a long period of declining health. She was born in Hartford, Conn., on March 19, 1944 to Carolyn (Tank) and James Conrad. Susan was a citizen of the world, living, working and traveling to many parts of the world, particularly Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. She spoke fluent French and had a working knowledge of several other languages. Her adventurous spirit even took her on a four-day road trip with a friend to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's “Falling Water” in southwestern Pennsylvania - a trip from which she returned only a week before she died. She died with the same grace with which she lived her life. Susan was very appreciative of art and culture with a special love of dance and many musical genres. But perhaps nature was her number one passion. She was on a first name basis with plants, trees and mushrooms and loved gardening and walking through the woods which surround her rural home “Les Beau Bois” she helped build in Buckland. She lived in a number of places with her parents and two sisters growing up, including Harvard, Mass., and summering in the Berkshires at her grandparents' cottage on Queechy Lake near Chatham, N.Y. The family ultimately settled in Ashfield, Mass. Susan attended Northfield School for Girls, bringing her sense of adventure and fun to her classmates. Graduating high school in 1962, she attended Wheaton College with a Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship, transferring later to Boston University where she earned a Masters in Urban Planning and was a “Freedom Rider” during the Civil Rights Movement. She was a lifelong activist for civil rights and other causes, including Bring Them Home Now, a group of parents who worked around 2003-04 against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In 1964, Susan married Steve Schuman, and after grad school, the couple went to live in a rural community near Grenoble, France from 1968 to 1977. During that period, their son, Justin Conrad Schuman, was born in 1971. After returning to the U.S., Susan went to work in the Foreign Language Office at the School for International Training in Brattleboro. She began as a French teacher and later became Language Coordinator, serving various programs including Study Abroad. She also taught French in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and supervised student teachers during their internships in the U.S. and abroad. Susan later earned a Masters in Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She had completed coursework for a doctorate when she decided to focus her efforts on field work, improving educational systems worldwide including French Guiana, Paraguay with longer sojourns in Haiti, Djibouti, and Senegal. Susan maintained ongoing contact with many friends around the world. She also had many close friends locally and in her very rural neighborhood. She served on the boards of the Mary Lyons Foundation and The Literacy Project, where she also volunteered. She leaves her son, Justin; her sister, Anne Judson; a niece, Alexandra Brown and her son, Matthew; and a cousin, Carl Darrow. She was predeceased by her sister, Sarah Parke Conrad, in 1966. Memorial information: She was buried at Plain Cemetery in Ashfield, Mass. There will be a memorial gathering in the near future. Donations to the Mary Lyon Foundation, P.O. Box 184, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370.