William Joseph Washburn

EAST CANAAN — William Joseph Washburn, 74, of 121 Lower Road, died at his home surrounded by his loving family on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 11, 2025. He was the husband of Anna (Ostrander) Washburn. Bill was born Sept. 2, 1950 in Southington, Connecticut, son of the late Benjamin and Marie (Roy) Washburn.

Bill worked at Becton and Dickinson Company in Canaan. He was an engineer with the company and retired after 31 years of employment. He served for four years in the Air Force Reserve. His hobbies. included music, guitars, camping and going to races. His most precious time was spent at his home along with his family. A close second was time spent in Billville, his garage, where he spent hours working on his 1970 Roadrunner.

In addition to his wife, Bill is survived by his children; daughters Katherine Andrews and her husband Stanley, Ashley Washburn and her fiance’ Keith Tyler, and son Tyler Washburn and his wife Shelby all of East Canaan. Bill is also survived by his sister Lynn Perotti of Bristol, and his three grandchildren; Morgan and Megan Andrews and Casey William Washburn, all of East Canaan, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Calling hours were held on Saturday Feb. 15, 2025, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018. A service of Remembrance was held at 3:00 p.m.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be sent to the American School for the Deaf 139 North Main St. West Hartford, CT 06107.

Latest News

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.

Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less
In the company of artists

Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute

Aida Laleian

For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.

Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”

Keep ReadingShow less