Kevin J. Collins (1960 -2022)
NEW LEBANON—Kevin J. Collins passed away at home Saturday evening, October 15, 2022.
Born in Albany May 9, 1960, he was the son of Allan and Shirley Collins.
He leaves behind his wife, partner and friend, Shari Eames Collins; his daughter, Ashlee Collins; his three granddaughters, Emily Poulter, Anastacia Meyer and Bella Meyer; his three grandsons, Llayton, Llewellyn and Lluxe Scott; his sister, Tammy Bouck; brothers, Daniel (Rebecca), Allan and Ronald; two stepchildren, Russell and Staci Meyer; several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Howard Haberkern.
Services for will be held privately and have been entrusted to the Hall and Higgins Funeral Home, Stephentown.
John R. Springstead (1930 – 2022)
HUDSON—John Raymond Springstead, 91, of Claverack died Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at Columbia Memorial Hospital.
Born December 13, 1930 in Brooklyn, he was the son of the late John F. and Penelope Gallup Springstead. He served in the U.S. Army with the 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment from 1949 to 1951. He was owner/operator of RSC Inc. Tool & Die Mfg of Mt. Vernon and later was owner/operator of the Celeron Motel in Hillsdale. He was an avid skier and ski instructor at Hunter and Catamount also assisting with the Special Olympics. He is survived by a daughter, and several grandchildren. There are no services scheduled. Arrangements are with the Sacco Funeral Home, Greenport.
Philip Lewis (1927 – 2022)
NEW PALTZ—Philip Lewis, an award-winning broadcast journalist for CBS and ABC News, died peacefully October 20, 2022 at Woodland Pond, a retirement community in New Paltz, at the age of 95.
He was born in Brooklyn to Louis and Jennie Lewis, the former a tailor, the latter a homemaker. He was their second child, after his brother, Stanley. Before his first birthday they moved to the Bronx, where he grew up until the family moved to suburban New Jersey, where he helped his father run a candy store.
“Phil” joined the Merchant Marines at 17, conveying supplies to troops fighting WWII; as soon as he was old enough, he joined the Army and then the Air Force, serving in post-war Japan during the occupation. Upon his discharge, he came home to study journalism at Syracuse University on the GI Bill. After graduating, he went to work as reporter for the Mount Vernon Daily Argus (the same newspaper where his son David worked, some 30 years later). Soon he was working for the Associated Press in Boise, Idaho. In 1953, he was hired by CBS to write for their Morning News, which was then a half-hour news program. There he met Marjorie Schwartz, who was also working for the network. They were married in 1954. In 1960, he became the news director of the CBS affiliate in Cleveland. In 1963, he returned to New York and the network, first as producer, and then as executive producer, of the Morning News. By then, the Lewis family had grown to six and moved to Montclair, New Jersey, with children Victoria, Laura, David and Jim. For eight years, Mr. Lewis woke at 3 a.m., drove to work, produced his show, came home and slept for four hours, got up to participate in family matters, and then slept another four hours, before waking to do it all again. As a special treat he would occasionally bring one child or another with him into New York City in the middle of the night to watch him at work.
In 1971 he was promoted to CBS News Bureau Chief in London, where he oversaw coverage of Europe and the Middle East. In 1974 he was hired away by ABC and moved back to New York to work with CloseUp, the network’s new prime time, one hour documentary series. There, he produced a number of groundbreaking films on many topics that remain relevant today: asbestos and mesothelioma, head injuries in high school football, the rights of institutionalized mental patients, the oil industry, and nuclear proliferation. In 1979, he became the first Western broadcast journalist to interview Pol Pot, the man who ordered the Cambodian genocide. Along the way, he collected a Columbia-DuPont award and an Emmy. He retired in 1986, and he and Marjorie eventually settled in Canaan, Columbia County, until their move to Woodland Pond in 2017.
He is survived by: his children, Laura, David (Anne Ackerley), and Jim, and his grandchildren, Jacob, Lukas, Lydia and Juliet. He was predeceased by his wife, Marjorie; his oldest child, Victoria, and his brother, Stanley. At the family’s request, services for Mr. Lewis will be private.
Lori J. Parsons (1959 – 2022)
VALHALLA—Lori Jean Parsons, 63, a lifelong Pine Plains area resident, died Thursday October 27, 2022 at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
Lori worked for ARC in Wassaic for more than 23 years before retiring in 2018.
Born September 15, 1959 in Sharon, CT, she was the daughter of the late William Parsons, Sr., and Elizabeth Ann (Milton) Swartz.
She was a graduate of Webutuck High School and furthered her education at Bard College in Red Hook and Marist College in Poughkeepsie. She adored her three cats and enjoyed gambling and playing cards in her spare time. She will be dearly missed by her loving family.
She is survived by: three brothers, William Parsons and his wife Rosie of Pine Plains, Dennis Parsons of Ancram and David Parsons of Ancramdale; two sisters, Kathleen Sigler and her longtime companion Don Bird of Stanfordville and Pamela Miles and her husband Michael of Ancramdale; several nieces, nephews and many friends. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister, Donna DeWitt of Millerton.
There are no calling hours. Graveside services will be private. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton. To send an online condolence to the family visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
