Peter  Michael  Czerwonka – 74, of Belmont, NH and formerly of Reading, MA, passed away peacefully at his home with his wife and daughter at his side on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

He was born in Boston, MA on February 6, 1949.  He was the son of the late John F. and Celia (Perron) Czerwonka.

Since 1970, Peter has worked in the trucking industry. Peter was a Diesel Truck Mechanic at Malone’s Trucking, Spear Trucking, AMI Leasing, Penske, and was a Truck Driver at Ross Express wherein he retired in 2010.

Peter’s love for his family and friends is what made him so special. Peter resided for over 50 years in Reading, MA and grew up spending time at his family cottage on Lake Winnisquam. In 2000 Peter and his loving wife, Barbara, permanently moved to Belmont, NH on Lake Winnisquam where Peter said, “coming home after work was like being on vacation.”

Peter enjoyed his life on the lake and spent time sitting by the campfire, snowmobiling, fishing, and boating on his cherished 1992 Four Winns that he kept in pristine condition. Peter loved cooking on his Wolf stove, grilling in the summer or even during snowstorms, camping in the Kancamangus, and tending to his vegetable garden. Peter was a meticulous and patient man and would find joy spending hours on end watering his grass which was well-maintained and made him proud.

You could always find Peter tinkering in his garage rebuilding motors, tuning up his John Deere lawn mower and working on his antique Aries snowblower (nicknamed “the monster” by his neighbors).
Peter enjoyed spending time with his devoted wife, Barbara and his daughter, Lori, whom he affectionately called darlin’. Peter always looked forward to their father & daughter annual trips to the Nascar Race at Louden Speedway and Bike Weekend at Weirs Beach. He also enjoyed going to antique car shows with his best friend, George Lewis.

Peter always looked forward to going out with his wife and daughter whether it was to drive around on a scooter while shopping, going out to eat, or taking a ride along the Kancamangus Highway to reminisce. As Peter’s health issues progressed, he found comfort enjoying the warmth of the sunshine outside, sanding and refinishing his collection of canes, and coloring.
Some of Peter’s proudest moments over the past couple of years were passing down his vast knowledge to his soulmate Barbara and their daughter as he taught them how to “properly” mow and fertilize the lawn and how use his weed whacker. Peter loved teaching Lori how to change the lawn mower and boat batteries, jump start the truck, boat, and lawn mower, and how to use a drill and air compressor. These teaching moments were Peter’s gift to help Lori and Barbara prepare for when he was not well enough to do these things, and in order for them to be able to.
Peter was a genuinely witty and happy man, and never complained about his medical issues, doctor visits, and repeated stays at the hospital.  During his most recent admission at Concord Hospital, prior to Peter’s discharge, he was visited by many Nurses, Doctors and Specialists and received lots of hugs and well wishes from the hospital staff which is a testament of the impression Peter had on people.

Family members include his loving wife Barbara Mary (Sobocinski) Czerwonka; his daughter  Lori Ann Czerwonka and her partner Lisa Mazzone of Billerica, MA; sisters, Mary (Czerwonka) Smith and her husband Kenneth of Tewksbury, MA and Cheryl (Czerwonka) Andrews of Northfield, VT; his late brothers Paul and Michael Czerwonka; two grandchildren Alannah and Cody Biancuzzo; also survived by his son Michael John Czerwonka, many nieces, nephews, and fur babies, his dog Bella, and his cats Reese and Petey.

In lieu of flowers, kindly donate to Granite VNA, 30 Pillsbury Street, Concord, NH 03301.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, November 17 from 3 to 6 PM at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading.

We would like to give heartful thanks to the Doctors, Nurses, Specialists, and Staff at Concord Hospital, and Granite VNA & Hospice who always took amazing care of Peter during his health journey.

“I will never stop missing you, I will never stop loving you. Therefore, I most certainly will never stop remembering, speaking of, and honoring you. You are more than a memory.”

Ann C. (Carlin) Connors – 90, of North Reading and formerly of Somerville, passed away on Monday, November 6, 2023 at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center. She was the beloved wife of the late William V. Connors.

Born in Boston, MA on July 28, 1933, she was the daughter of the late Francis J. and Mary M. (McLaughlin) Carlin. Ann was raised and attended school in Somerville. She was a graduate of Somerville High School, Class of 1955.

Ann worked for many years as a Keyboard Operator. She was a vibrant personality, that left a mark on everyone she touched. She loved traveling and spending time in Florida in the winter.  She always gave the most amazing gifts out of the goodness of her heart.

Ann loved going shopping to find deals and going to the Casino. Ann enjoyed her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She also loved to dress up for all occasions.

She has been a resident of North Reading for the past 45 years. Ann was a member of St. Theresa’s Church in North Reading, the Auto-Inflammatory Alliance and St. Jude Research Hospital.

Family members include her loving son, William J. Connors and his wife Erna and  her daughter, Sheila Twohig and her husband Kenneth; her late daughter Mary Connors; her brother, Robert Carlin and her late sister, Ruth Carlin; 5 loving grandchildren, Erin Henning, Jillian Cerqueira, Alison Babineau, Jessica Wong and Alicia Oliver; 11 great grandchildren, Tatum, Victoria, Aayden, Bella, Austin, Gus, Conor, Eloise, Samuel, Kennedy and Dylan.

Her funeral will be held from the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading on Wednesday, November 15 at 9:15 AM, followed by a 10:30 AM Funeral Mass at St. Theresa’s Church, 63 Winter Street, North Reading. Calling hours on Tuesday, November 14 from 4 to 8 PM. In lieu of flowers Ann would like memorial donations to be sent to the Auto-Inflammatory Alliance in honor of her grandson Samuel. (autoinflammatory.org)

Gary P. Robichaud – formerly of Wilmington, MA now residing in Hickory, NC, aged 63, passed peacefully on Thursday November 2, 2023, with loving family by his side. Gary was born February 13, 1960, in Chelsea, MA, into a family with 4 siblings. Gary married, had two daughters, and retired after 30 years as a Lieutenant in the Wilmington Fire Department before deciding to relocate his roots. Gary moved to North Carolina to be with his then girlfriend, now wife, Debbie in February of 2014. They were married in August 2020, and have enjoyed living in Hickory, NC with their three cats.

A jack of all trades, Gary spent his youth exploring and building his many hobbies. While he loved being outdoors fishing and camping, he also loved working on his cars. He and his brother often had their childhood yard filled with classic American muscle cars to work on. This love for refurbishing vehicles carried on to refurbishing his collection of fire engines.

Gary spent 30 years in the Wilmington Fire Department fueled by two donuts a day, M&Ms, and countless pots of coffee. He also spent time working for the numerous funeral homes around the area. He always liked to keep busy, so even retired he enjoyed making deliveries for Lowes Home Improvement while he worked diligently on his family tree and building his workshop.

Throughout this time, Gary discovered the beauty of forging his own path while exploring unique destinations in North America. Tasting the food, meeting the people, taking pictures, and collecting stories – he enjoyed it all.

Gary is pre-deceased by his parents, Arthur and Dorothy Robichaud, and his sister Diane Mills.

Gary lives on through his spouse, Debbie Robichaud, daughter Amanda Robichaud, and daughter and son-in-law Rebecca and Tom Pearce. Additionally, he is survived by siblings Eddie and his wife Elaine Robichaud, Linda and her husband Wayne Vachon, Scott and his wife Sheila Robichaud; nephews Eric and his wife Anne Marie Vachon, Mark and his wife Frances Vachon, niece Stacy Robichaud; and his great nieces and nephews Kate, Adam, Kyle, and Emily Vachon.

Gary was a kind, generous, and honorable soul who was always there for those who needed him, whether they knew it or not, and his presence will be missed by many. He will likely be remembered most for his storytelling, his passion for good food and his love for those around him. He was deeply rooted in his communities and loved spending time around dining tables with his friends and family.

Family and friends are invited to gather to celebrate and remember his life at Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow St., North Reading, MA 01864, on Monday, November 13, 2023 from 4 – 7PM. There will be a graveside service on Friday, November 17, 2023 at 11 AM, Guests will be meeting at Wildwood Cemetery in Wilmington, MA. To leave an online message of condolence please visit Https://www.croswellfuneralhome.com  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Shriners Burn Hospital of Boston and the Toys for Tots.

www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/locations/boston

www.toysfortots.org/a/donatetoday

Michael Phillips Callahan, Sr., 79, of North Reading, MA passed away at his home on Tuesday October 24, 2023.

A quiet, discerning, and caring man, Michael will be missed not only by family, but also by many long-term friends and colleagues. It is likely his quick wit and wry sense of humor that will be particularly missed. Michael considered many lifelong friends as extensions of his family.  He was generous with his time and was quick to respond to any request, artistic, personal, and the many “can you help me figure out how to make this work”.

Michael was an artist at heart, working primarily in the design and construction of interactive, multimedia installations, products, and events. His work has been shown in a variety of venues, primarily throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He is listed, by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, as well as other places, as an American Artist.

Self-taught in electronics, in his late teens Michael became the Technical Director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, a collective of classically trained composers exploring the options and effects of electronic manipulations on audio recordings and live performances. The Tape Center became a gathering place for other musicians and  notable figures of the 1960s San Francisco “scene.” The Tape Center group continues to meet weekly on Zoom.

In 1963 Michael  collaborated with the poet Gerd Stern to present Who R U? and What’s Happening at the San Francisco Museum of Art. The performance, considered to be one of the first multimedia live art events, featured a mix of recorded sound and slide projections with live audio and closed-circuit television capturing conversations with four chosen panels of local politicians, journalists, and other “known” San Francisco-ites. The partnership with Stern would become a lifelong collaboration.

Michael made the move  to New York in 1964 to become one of the founding members of the visionary multimedia art collective, USCO (Us Company or Company of Us). His position was to oversee the technical aspects of the group’s work. Much of their work was based on an attempt to demonstrate the effects of media and the changes to come

in societal communication. USCO’s prescient artworks demonstrated early concepts such as instantaneous mass messaging, or multiple messages and images sharing the same space and time such as we are now accustomed to seeing today on CNN and MSNBC. A number of these ideas were derived from the writings of media theorist Marshall McLuhan. The USCO community is credited as having had a major impact on the development of multimedia, intermedia, installation, and immersive/environmental art, as well as the internet. Their work site was an old church in Rockland County, New York. Based on USCO’s presence, the church is now listed on the National Register of Historical Places. USCO’s artistic contributions have been featured in numerous exhibitions and countless publications like Life magazine. Their artwork is in several museum collections including the National Gallery of Art.

In 1967, Michael and several other members of USCO joined together with a group from the Harvard Business School to form Intermedia Systems Corporation. The company’s intent was to use new media to present and expand management training concepts, such as those related to “organizational climate.” They worked with large government and business clients as well as entertainment venues, such as the Woodstock Festival.

In the early 1970s, Michael branched out to form his own company, Callahan Associates, Inc., which focused primarily on technical products employed in new-media performances and exhibits. In 1976 he accepted an appointment at Harvard University as Supervisor of Film Studies and Electrical Engineer at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. He remained at Harvard for 17 years, leaving in 1993 to expand his previous company to focus on the design and manufacturing of audio-visual equipment to meet the specialized needs of museums and other institutions offering electronic media in public spaces. Clients of Museum Technology Source, Inc. range from larger organizations such as the National Park Service and Sony Corporation of America to smaller venues such as museums and historical sites.

Michael leaves his loving family; his wife of 51 years, Adrienne (Siebrecht); his son Michael Phillips Callahan, Jr., and his wife Katherine (Remelt); his daughter Sierra Edith Callahan and her husband Aaron Michael Abrams; his grandson Otis William Abrams; and his sister Jessie Patricia Callahan Wood.

Donations in memory of Michael would be greatly appreciated and can be sent to either: The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, 2041 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 or Rosie’s Place 889 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118. www.croswellfuneralhome.com

Jeffrey Richard Powell, 65, of Claremore, Oklahoma passed away suddenly on Tuesday, October 24^th, 2023. Jeff was born April 11^th, 1958 to Richard Hugh Powell and Betty Jean (Marino) Powell in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He graduated from Boxboro High School and enlisted in the Air Force in 1976, ending his four years as a Sergeant, serving in Guam then North Dakota. When he returned to civilian life in Massachusetts in 1980, he joined the up-and-coming computer industry and became a self-taught software engineer. He married the love of his life, Laurie Ann (Crowe) in 1985. They met through music, cowriting songs and recorded several albums together. Their five children grew up participating in their music as well as the adventures they found in life.

A problem-solver always interested in improving processes, Jeff proved himself invaluable to the companies he worked for, including in a move to Yonezawa, Japan with NEC. After four years of exploring the country as well as serving with Kojo Church, he settled with his family in Oklahoma. His heart for the less fortunate showed up in both family hospitality and working trips like helping rebuild earthquake-struck Nepal.

Losing his wife Laurie Ann to cancer in February of 2023 after two years of prioritizing her care broke his heart. He was a staunch supporter of his loved ones in all their passion projects as well as building improvements for the world around him, and is already dearly missed.

He is survived by his sister Janice Baldrate; his children Bethany, Daniel, Rebecca, Benjamin and Elijah Powell, in addition to their partners; his cousins and extended family. His memorial was held on November 4^th at Croswell Funeral Home in North Reading.