Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Walter Axel Pearson

Walter Axel Pearson

Walter Axel Pearson

Photo provided

SHARON — Walter Axel Pearson of Sharon, passed away suddenly on Jan. 15, 2025 at his winter residence in Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico at the age of 93.

Walter grew up in Huntington, New York, where he attended Huntington High School. He went on to earn a degree in business management from SUNY. Walter had a lengthy and distinguished career in the US Military, serving 8 years as an air traffic controller at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and 24 years as Captain of the Port in the Coast Guard Reserves at New London, Connecticut. He was a member of the PGA, playing on the tour from 1949 through 1953 prior to his Naval service. He was also the teaching professional at the Huntington Crescent Club for many years after he was discharged.

Walter was an extraordinary salesperson, primarily for the Connecticut Natural Gas Company and the Culligan Water Conditioning Company, and was also a plumbing and heating contractor for many years in Lakeville.

Walter is survived by his loving wife, Elizabeth (Betsy), his son, Robert, and Robert’s wife Nikki, and his daughter Lora. He was a devoted husband, father and proud grandfather to Robert and Nikki’s daughter, Hayden.

He was predeceased by his parents, Nils and Julia Pearson of Huntington, New York, and his brother, Hugo Pearson, of Jacksonville, Florida.

Walter had a passion for golf and not only played whenever he had free time but traveled extensively to play golf courses most people only see on TV. He was also a member of the Rotary Club in Salisbury, where he served as an officer in the capacity of secretary for many years. His friends and family remember him as a quiet gentleman with integrity and warmth. His sense of humor was subtle and often disarmed those around him.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Palmas Del Mar in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on March 16, 2025 from 4 to 7 p.m., and another in Sharon, at a date in April to be determined. Donations can be made to the PLCC Scholarship in memory of Walter Pearson at https://givebutter.com/Vr7AQg or to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069.

Latest News

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

D.H. Callahan

On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

As a member of the seventh generation of his family to master the art of pottery, Malikzada had done things the way his family had for over a century. Istalif, the village where his family has lived for generations, was known throughout Afghanistan for its pottery, with wares sent across the country for use as everyday cups, bowls, plates and other vessels. The pottery-making families of Istalif gathered clay from the same mountain, about 30 to 45 minutes away by donkey. Every July, they would head north toward the Uzbekistan border to gather ishkar, a plant they processed by hand to make their signature glazes.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.

L. Tomaino

When Meg Sher came to Falls Village in 2006 from Old Lyme, Connecticut, where she grew up, she never imagined she’d someday be the executive director of the David M. Hunt Library.

Although, in hindsight, perhaps it makes sense.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

Steve Potter

For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music’s 35th season opens with “Saluting the Clarinet” featuring clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Provided

For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

This year, Close Encounters celebrates its 35th season with “Celebration & Discovery,” a seven-concert series that opens Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.