My best friend of all time and space, Benjamin Joseph Perron, 42, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, April 23, in Plattsburgh, New York, and of natural causes. 

Born in Carthage, New York, on Feb. 9, 1984, Ben came into this existence full of curiosity and mischief, something that never left his heart, soul and antics throughout his life.

On Monday, Aug. 11, J. Dan Pittillo died. The world has lost an amazing person, a gifted and kind educator, a dedicated father and husband, and one of the top botanists in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and the Southeastern United States. 

On Sunday, May 4 with the cooperation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will host decorations at Woody and Hoyle Cemeteries. 

We folks over 70 often make mistakes — forgetting and confusing names, places, dates. So when Joe Biden mistook President Sisi of Egypt as the president of Mexico I didn’t worry too much about it. Woops! 

“No matter where we grew up, we have all had to adapt in order to survive and be accepted, conforming to the expectations of our families, religious traditions, and culture. Depending on our innate temperament and the level of repression to which we were subjected, we behave according to our own unique adaptations and defenses. Many of our idiosyncratic defense mechanisms may have originally served as brilliant survival tactics, particularly if we overcame traumatic events or circumstances. However, in most cases, these adaptations are now obsolete. They contribute to our sense of separation from ourselves and our world and now function as impediments to our happiness.”

-Suzanne Scurlock-Durana