Obituaries « WaylandeNews

Waltham Police Officer Charlie Gryska Passes Away

Waltham Patch 12/7/19: Waltham Police Officer Charlie Gryska Passes Away. A Waltham Police officer [and Wayland resident] diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year passed away Friday, the police department confirmed. He was the father of three young children.

Lew Russell, May 1, 1931 – Nov 29, 2019

Lewis Russell, passed away November 29, 2019 at the age of 88 surrounded by his family. Together they sang his favorite songs – Kumbaya, Edelweiss and Amazing Grace, shared their memories and notes from Russell’s employees and said their goodbyes. He heard them all, then passed away peacefully.

Lewis was born and raised on the land where he lived and worked, forging his ground in the rich soil of the Sudbury River region of Wayland. He dedicated his life to growing plants and expanding Russell’s Garden Center, a business his grandfather started in 1876. Lewis grew Russell’s from a wholesale plant business into the retail store that we know and love today, serving the community. He was a proud Harvard graduate who attended all the football games and reunions. He loved the Red Sox and Patriots and enjoyed singing and chanting impromptu rhymes about the cow he grew up with on the farm and his beloved Brown Bear. When he passed at Emerson Hospital, he had his World Series blanket and stuffed animal Bear.

Lew proudly served his country during the Korean Conflict as an SP3 with the United States Army. He was an active member of the Wayland Community and was a regular participant at Town Meeting. He served the Town of Wayland in several capacities over the years including Board of Road Commissioners (1975), CNA/ Raytheon Committee (1997-1998), Town Center Committee (2000-2002), Measurer of Wood and Bark (2003 – 2011), MBTA Advisory Board Alternate member (1988 – 1990) and member of the Board of Selectmen (1982 – 1991).
Lew leaves behind his wife of 62 years, Charlotte (Bergmann) Russell of Wayland who he loved dearly. He was the father of three cherished daughters and their attentive husbands; Karen Vachon and her husband Peter Vachon, Elizabeth Russell-Skehan and her husband Timothy Skehan and Louisa Gorrill and her husband Steve Gorrill. He also leaves his treasured grandchildren; Dan. Jay, Genna. Sam, Robert, Carly and her fiance Tom, Allie and Thomas. His entire family has been inspired by his unique, free personality.

A Celebration of the Life of Lewis Russell will be held at First Parish in Wayland, 225 Boston Post Road, Wayland Center on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 4pm.

Lewis Russell was no stranger to making donations to our community and beyond, so if you would like to make a donation in memory of Lew, feel free to donate to either Sudbury Valley Trustees, 18 Wolbach Road, Sudbury, MA 01776 (www.svtweb.org/donate) or First Parish in Wayland, PO BOX 397, Wayland, MA 01778 (www.uuwayland.org/donate-to-first-parish).

Arrangements entrusted to the care of the John C. Bryant Funeral Home of Wayland. For condolences please visit www.johncbryantfuneralhome.com.

Peter Gossels, who escaped the Holocaust and became a beacon of hope and optimism, dies at 89

Boston Globe 11/14/19: Peter Gossels, who escaped the Holocaust and became a beacon of hope and optimism, dies at 89. Peter Gossels was a few weeks shy of turning 9 when his mother placed him and his 5-year-old brother on a train to flee Germany for France on July 3, 1939. For two years she wrote letters to her sons as they hid in France from the Nazis and after they traveled to Massachusetts, where families in Brookline provided new homes. She had hoped to follow but, along with most of the boys’ relatives, she was killed in the Holocaust.

Long-time Wayland resident Jack Finlay dies at 90

Boston Globe 11/5/2019: JOHN PRENTISS “JACK” FINLAY 1928 – 2019. FINLAY, John Prentiss “Jack” Age 90, of Ipswich, MA, died Sunday, April 28, at the Kaplan Family Hospicein Danvers, MA, due to complications from a recent fall. He was surrounded with love by four generations of family. For complete obituary, click here.

There will be a Celebration of Life for family and close friends and a date yet to be determined. Donations in memory of Jack may be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice/Danvers Mass., or the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/MSPCA. Arrangements by John C. Bryant Funeral Home of WAYLAND. For condolences visit http://johncbryantfuneralhome.com/current-funeral-arrangement.html

Member of Wayland Board of Public Works remembered for his generosity

Wayland Town Crier 1/28/18: Member of Wayland Board of Public Works remembered for his generosity. Prescott “Woody” Baston Jr. was always willing to lend a hand, whether helping a neighbor whose snowblower died in a storm or mowing the lawn at Wayland Depot. “Selfless is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of my father,” said his son, Scott. Baston, a 44-year resident of Wayland who was elected in 2015 to the Board of Public Works and was recently its chairman, died Jan. 11. He was 72.

Obituary: Stephen “Stubby” Kadlik

Boston Globe 12/11/16: Obituary: Stephen “Stubby” Kadlik. “Stubby” 60, of Medway formerly of Cochituate died peacefully and comfortably at his home on December 9, 2016 with his loving wife Gail at his side following a valiant and courageous battle with cancer.

Kathy Sherry, 60, former chair of Wayland High School special education department. Funeral service August 11.

Sarah “Kathy” Powers Sherry, the loving mother of four children and former chair of Wayland High School’s special education department, passed away peacefully at home on August 4, 2016, surrounded by her family.

The 60-year-old native of Connecticut, a Wayland resident since 1996, died after a seven-year struggle with metastatic breast cancer. Kathy is survived by Jay, her husband of 38 years, and her daughter Jackie Cody and husband Joe, son Brennan, daughter Meghan Leavitt and husband Jack, son Ben and his fiancée Alex Lee. She is the devoted sister of Rich Powers, Beth Powers and her husband Jorge Navarro and her late brother Terry Powers. She is also survived by her parents-in-law Hope and Jack Sherry, eleven brothers- and sisters-in-law, 22 nieces and nephews, four great-nephews and five great-nieces.

Sarah Kathleen Powers was born on October 16, 1955, to the late Richard M. Powers and Evelyn (Schaeffer) Powers. Her father was a well-known science fiction illustrator and artist. She grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, attending St. Mary’s School and graduating from Ridgefield High School. She was a 1977 graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in history. She began her career as a paralegal before starting her family. She received a master’s degree in bilingual special education from Fairfield University while the family lived in Newtown, Connecticut.

At Wayland High School, Kathy was a special education teacher from 1999 to 2014, serving for several years as department chair. She was co-coach of the School’s Mock Trial team for nine years through June 2016. She was active in the Wayland Boosters Association and in Good Shepherd Parish, serving as a Eucharistic minister, a member of the parish council, and a leader of the Cornerstone Retreat group for women of the parish.

The position Kathy took most seriously and perfected was being a loving mother. She cheered for her kids at their sporting competitions, sold sports apparel for Boosters, and was an accomplished tailgater and “captain’s mom” at football games. A gourmet cook, her Golden Triangles, Pizza Dip, Imperial Potatoes and Spanish Tortillas will be sorely missed by her kids. She loved to travel to see her far-flung extended family in California, Colorado and Spain, and she helped orchestrate biennial Sherry Family Reunions. She rejoiced in the role of Mother of the Bride twice in 2014, for daughters Meghan and Jackie. She delighted in her Christmas cookie swaps, her book group, her “birthday group” and her visits to Martha’s Vineyard. She made her friendships linger.

Visiting hours will be Wednesday, August 10, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at George F. Doherty and Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St. (Route 16), Wellesley. Special remembrances will be at 7:30 that evening. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place 10:00 AM Thursday, August 11, at St. Zepherin Church of Good Shepherd Parish, 99 Main St., Wayland. Interment will follow at Lakeview Cemetery in Wayland, near her brother Terry. Relatives, friends and former students are invited to a reception at Kathy and Jay’s Wayland home following the burial.

At Kathy’s request, donations in her memory may be made to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center at https://giving.massgeneral.org/cancer/. Her Wayland High School colleagues also request donations to the Wayland High School Scholarship Committee c/o the Kathy Sherry Memorial Scholarship Fund, PO Box 36, Wayland, MA 01778.