REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
5B
TODAYS OBITUARIES
Cosmo W. DePalma
James E. Stewart
Retired from AT&T
BETHLEHEM James E. Stewart, 68, of Bethlehem, Conn., passed away after a long, courageous battle with melanoma cancer on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. He died at home surrounded by his family. Jim, affectionately known as Peepa, was born Jan. 14, 1943, in San Francisco, Calif. He was the son of the late Edward J. Stewart and Rita Moore Stewart. He is survived by his wife, Helen Eseppi Stewart of Bethlehem; his blended family of seven children, Cheryl A. Malloy and her husband, Dwayne, of Bethlehem, James E. Stewart and his wife, Jessica, of Harwinton, Michael J. Stewart and his wife, Erin, of Torrington, Brian E. Stewart and his wife, Kerry, of Litchfield, Jonathan T. Stewart and his wife, Heather, of Harwinton, Susan P. Smith and her husband, Gerard, of Litchfield, and Marcena P. Sass and her husband, Leo, of Litchfield. He is also survived by two brothers, Edward J. Stewart of Rohnert Park, Calif., William G. Stewart and his wife, Nancy, of Novato, Calif.; 21 grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and many nieces and nephews. Jim was raised in both California and New York before eventually settling in Bethlehem, Conn. He enjoyed a long career as a communications specialist with AT&T. After retiring from AT&T in 1996, he worked as a consultant, giving him the opportunity to travel throughout the United States, South America, China and Australia, oftentimes with his wife. When he ended his consulting career, Jim and Helen enjoyed their retirement in both Bethlehem, Conn., and Waikoloa, Hawaii. Jim was a sports enthusiast, an avid, skilled golfer, and a member of the Torrington Country Club in Torrington, Conn., as well as the Kings Club in Waikoloa, Hawaii. He enjoyed fishing, reading, spending time with his grandchildren, and playing with his muchloved dog, Sydney. He was a communicant of St. Anthonys Church in Litchfield as well as Church of the Annunciation in Waimea, Hawaii, where he established many lasting friendships. Jims family wishes to express their sincere appreciation to the Rollins family of Atlanta, Ga., and the doctors and staff at both Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Ga., and NYU Cancer Institute in New York. They also wish to extend their deepest gratitude to the hospice caregivers who provided loving care and support to both Jim and his family. A celebration of his life and memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 49 South St., Litchfield, Conn. Memorial contributions may be made to Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), 1411 K Street, NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005; or The Connecticut Hospice, Inc., 100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405. To leave an expression of comfort to Jims family, please visit www.rowefuneralhome.net.
WOODBURY Cosmo W. DePalma entered peacefully into eternal life after a brief illness on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011, surrounded by his loving family at Waterbury Hospital. He was the devoted husband to the late Edith (Del Principe) DePalma. Cosmo was born in Waterbury, the son of the late Pasquale and Lucia (DAmato) DePalma. He was a graduate of Driggs Grammar School, Leavenworth High School, the University of Connecticut and the University of Vermont. He was a proud World War II Army veteran having served in the 40th Infantry. He was the owner/pharmacist of Woodbury Drug for more than 30 years. For a short time, he also owned Village Apothecary in Southbury while owning Woodbury Drug. Prior to those, he owned Kingsbury Drug in Waterbury for more than 20 years. He was a parishioner of St. Teresa of Avila Church where he was a member of the St. Teresas Mens Club. He was awarded the St. Teresa Christian Neighbor Award. He was a beloved friend of the Abbey Regina Laudis. He was a member of the CT Pharmacy Association, the Kiwanis Club and the VFW Post No. 7330. He was honored with the State of CT World War II Veterans Public Service Award in 2009. He loved sports, especially the New York Mets, New York Giants and UConn Huskies. He was an avid bowler for more than 70 years in the Automotive Bowling League in
They are great teams, and we will miss them, but well do our best as we look toward more expansion.
Are you reserving the right to move to another conference if an invitation is extended?
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Graduation rates are one benchmark of success. Are you satisfied with UConns 81 percent graduation for sixyear students?
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How can UConn contribute to keeping its graduates working in state and not defecting to better job markets?
Were putting a big empha sis on completion and reaching out more to students who are only a few credits away. We would like to see it in the low 90s. How do you think the public both in-state and outof-state regards UConn from an academic standpoint?
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We have to be job creators. The Bioscience Connecticut (project at the UConn Health Center) is a good example, not only creating jobs for physicians, clinicians and engineers. When you bring in federal or corporate grants, it has a huge multiplier effect on the states economy and provides money to hire people of varied skills.
Thats too hypothetical. We will always do the best thing for the university, but UConn is a charter member of the Big East. I and other presidents have worked hard with the commissioner to keep the Big East together and make the expansion work. So. we feel really good about it.
Spring weekends are pretty wild up there. Are you contemplating more control over the drinking and carousing?
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Our applications are through the roof, up 30 percent over two years, and thats the best indicator.
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UConn sports are a campus and state passion. Will the Big East realignment work to keep the league in the BCS lineup?
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On the tuition and fee increases, what do you say to prospective students, especially from in state, who say they cannot afford a UConn eduction? Nationally, our increases are comparatively low, but theres been too much focus
That was the goal of our expansion. That being said, the landscape is really crazy, and keeps changing. But we control what we can control.
Its been a project here for a decade now, from what I can tell. Spring weekend was better last year, but the real focus should be on underage drinking. Its the root of the problem and happens all year around. The spring weekend situation is across the country. UConn is part of a national problem. A magic bullet solution is naive.
BETHLEHEM Laurel Sears, 73, died Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011, at Waterbury Hospital. She was the widow of Roger Sears. Mrs. Sears was born March 12, 1938, daughter of the late George E. and Marjorie Haines Weed. She had worked at the Southbury Training School for many years as a nurses aide. She was always physically fit and a hard working person all her life. Mrs. Sears was an active member of the First Church of Bethlehem UCC. She is survived by three sons, Richard Sears of Bethlehem, Roger and Robert Sears of Naugatuck; a daughter, Cynthia Roshon of Pennsylvania; a sister, Myrtle Bartolotto of Ansonia; 13
Does the impending loss of Syracuse and Pittsburgh (to the ACC conference) seri-
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I miss the weather, but I think the people here are just as friendly.
Lauren Taylor, 20, of Watertown, created a video called 100 Reasons To Stay for a project at Quinnipiac University, then posted it on Vimeo where it has gotten more than 76,000 hits. Taylor is seen working at her home in Watertown on Monday. posted it on his website. The response was swift and voluminous. Anonymous people began sending Taylor stories of their troubles, writing that the video helped them. Others sent photos of themselves holding note cards with more reasons to stay. It helped someone in the end, so it achieved the goal of the project, Taylor said. Taylor and Brandow continue updating the blog and Twitter account with inspirational quotes and messages. Film majors at Quinnipiac have offered to continue the video project with viewer submissions. It is all new to Taylor, who said she had no prior experience with suicide. We did it so last-minute, Taylor said. We never actual-
ly expected anyone to watch it but our class. The video follows the format of another viral clip, in which gay teen Jonah Mowry holds up note cards to tell his story of being bullied, cutting himself and contemplating suicide, while mournful music plays in the background. The last card reads, I have a million reasons to be here. Taylor said her roommate might have been inspired by the clip, which was featured on Good Morning America and touted by celebrities, but Taylor never saw it until their video got famous and people mentioned Mowrys in the same breath. We didnt have that in mind when we were making it, Taylor said. I didnt think this would be anything.
Donovan, D-Meriden. So far, Rorabacks website shows he has received endorsements mostly from fellow GOP state legislators, but earlier this month he earned the support of Republican leaders in Torrington, Litchfield Countys largest municipality. Roraback is less known in the southern part of the 5th District, including most of Waterbury, where Justin Bernier of Plainville has received a unanimous nod from Republican aldermen.
WOODBURY Childrens yoga, Foundations of Meditation and Yoga 101 will begin Jan. 2 at the Woodbury Yoga Center. For information, call (203) 263-2254.
CAMPERSHIP FUND