Obituaries

Richard Wacht
B: 1944-09-20
D: 2023-09-27
View Details
Wacht, Richard
Pauline Ouellette
D: 2023-09-27
View Details
Ouellette, Pauline
Wanda Karpo
D: 2023-09-27
View Details
Karpo, Wanda
Richard Newell
B: 1928-08-29
D: 2023-09-22
View Details
Newell, Richard
John Mackay
D: 2023-09-18
View Details
Mackay, John
Judith Lockwood
D: 2023-09-17
View Details
Lockwood, Judith
Mary Douglass
B: 1925-09-01
D: 2023-09-08
View Details
Douglass, Mary
Maureen Wallison
D: 2023-09-08
View Details
Wallison, Maureen
Mary Beaudoin
B: 1939-01-04
D: 2023-09-07
View Details
Beaudoin, Mary
Laureen Basta
B: 1954-05-14
D: 2023-09-07
View Details
Basta, Laureen
Cheryl McGraw
B: 1964-05-22
D: 2023-09-04
View Details
McGraw, Cheryl
John Sellitto
B: 1940-03-02
D: 2023-09-02
View Details
Sellitto, John
Lucy Temperilli
B: 1932-12-14
D: 2023-09-01
View Details
Temperilli, Lucy
Shirley Brighenti
B: 1922-06-15
D: 2023-08-29
View Details
Brighenti, Shirley
Steven Pantano
B: 1948-03-21
D: 2023-08-27
View Details
Pantano, Steven
Judith Raymond
B: 1942-07-24
D: 2023-08-26
View Details
Raymond, Judith
Stella Korpusik Teller
B: 1957-04-29
D: 2023-08-26
View Details
Korpusik Teller, Stella
Gordon Wilder
B: 1944-12-30
D: 2023-08-26
View Details
Wilder, Gordon
Kenneth King
B: 1929-07-23
D: 2023-08-17
View Details
King, Kenneth
Sandra Ryan
D: 2023-08-16
View Details
Ryan, Sandra
John Pickett
B: 1949-06-02
D: 2023-08-15
View Details
Pickett, John

Search

Use the form above to find your loved one. You can search using the name of your loved one, or any family name for current or past services entrusted to our firm.

Click here to view all obituaries
Search Obituaries
880 Hopmeadow Street
P.O. Box 335
Simsbury, CT 06070
Phone: 860-658-7613
Fax: 860-651-0476

Immediate Need

If you have immediate need of our services, we're available for you 24 hours a day.

Obituaries & Tributes

It is not always possible to pay respects in person, so we hope that this small token will help.

Order Flowers

Offer a gift of comfort and beauty to a family suffering from loss.

Pre-Arrangement

A gift to your family, sparing them hard decisions at an emotional time.

How to Tell Family Members

When the death is unexpected, the news will surely have been a shock to you – so you need to expect that reaction in those you tell. Even when the death is expected, as in a long illness, or when a loved one is in hospice care, the news may be difficult to deliver.

Before you go any further, the overriding question to ask, no matter the situation, is this one:

What Do You Want this Experience to be Like for Your Family?

Think about it. This will be a time in their life they will always remember. Just how do you want them to look back on it?  

We’re confident you’d say you want them to remember it as a time of loving compassion; where the news of their loved one’s death was delivered with kindness and understanding. And that takes forethought. One aspect of thinking ahead includes avoiding the Internet channels of communication during the first hours after a loved one dies.

You want to be very careful that this information is not broadcasted through Facebook or Twitter (or any other social media site), or via Instant Messaging, before you’ve had the opportunity to connect with family members personally.

Stop, Think…and then Speak

You know your family members, and chances are you can predict how each one of them needs to be cared for during this difficult time. Our best advice is that you walk into this situation with your “eyes wide open”, and set the stage accordingly.

Should you call them in the middle of the night, or while they are at work, or school? Only you know the answer. But, when you tell them is an important consideration, and your family member deserves your clearest thinking on the matter of when you tell them the news.

Then, you need to think about how you will break the news. It’s preferable to deliver such news in person, but if that’s not possible, a phone call will have to do. In either case, we have some valuable suggestions:

  • Protect them by asking them to sit down. After all, such news can often make someone’s knees buckle, and send them crashing to the floor.
     
  • Choose your words carefully. You know the right words for the person you’re speaking to hear. If using a phrase like “passed on”, “passed away”, or “gone to a better place” makes sense, then use it. If you think they would they would rather hear their loved one has died, then that word is appropriate.
  • Give them as many of the details involved in the death as you feel they need to hear right now.
  • When you’re done, ask them if there’s anything they would like to know, and if there is, answer their questions as best as you can.
  • Let them know they can continue to ask questions during the days ahead, and that they can openly express any emotions they are feeling now – and in the future – such as fear, guilt, sadness, depression, or anger.

After the call is made, or the news shared in person, keep the lines of communication open. And in the days to come, help your family member (to the best of your ability, considering your own grief) work through these emotions by encouraging them and reassuring them. Naturally, family members should support one another; so don’t neglect to turn to them for support as well.

Death, no matter the circumstance, is hard for us to handle. Keep in mind that the best thing that you can do for anyone when informing them of a death is to deliver the news thoughtfully. Let them know that you are there for them and that you love them. That too is an essential truth they need to know.

365 Days of Healing

Grieving doesn't always end with the funeral: subscribe to our free daily grief support email program, designed to help you a little bit every day, by filling out the form below.

52 Weeks of Support

It's hard to know what to say when someone experiences loss. Our free weekly newsletter provides insights, quotes and messages on how to help during the first year.