A Lisbon writer who grew up in New Bedford pens a poem, inspired by The Light, called “For Every Lighthouse There is a Watchman.”
Category: Community Voices
Essay: Remembering Kevin, Megan and Hank
Kevin Harrington and Megan Tench died alone and unexpectedly. Hank Seaman spent months of his last year in isolation from his friends and loved ones.
ANTONE ‘TONKA TOI’ FORTES, 73, ‘LOVED THE KIDS’ HE TRAINED IN GYMNASTICS
Fortes contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of this year. He was hospitalized on Jan. 4, and never returned home.
CLARA DASILVA, 84, WORKED AS A STITCHER OF FINE MEN’S SUITS
Her son believes she contracted the novel coronavirus at her husband’s funeral in mid-March; she died of COVID-19 on April 5, 2020.
TARBY RICHARDS, 72, ‘THE ONE TO BRING JOY’
Tarby was a fun-loving guy who people liked to be around. He would just go up and talk to total strangers.
VIRGILIO DUARTE, 86, LOVED SOCCER, FARMING AND FISHING
In September of 2020, both Virgilio and his wife, Maria, contracted COVID-19 from a friend. Maria survived, but Virgilio succumbed to the virus after a week-and-a-half at St. Luke’s Hospital.
VALERIE J. LEGER, 79, CAME TO U.S. ON QUEEN MARY
In the 1970s, she worked with physically disabled people, bringing them to parks, the YMCA and other recreational spots.
STEPHEN SEARS, 69, NEW BEDFORD ACCOUNTANT AND FATHER FIGURE
He was the truck-driving father figure who helped people move from house to house. He was the handyman with a magic touch for electrical work.
BOBBY ROSE, 87, HARD-WORKING TEAMSTER AND WATERFRONT LEGEND
Robert John Rose, a New Bedford native who fought with valor in the Korean War, died of COVID-19 on July 17, 2020.
ROBERT HARRISON, 76, LOVED HIS MOTHER, BROTHER AND BINGO
In the last few years of his life, he was in and out of nursing homes, and was admitted to the geriatric psychiatric unit at St. Anne’s Hospital.

