Rhode Island
Obituary: Mary Patricia Faerber (1950-2024) – Newport Buzz
February 14, 1950 – April 9, 2024
Mary Patricia Faerber,74, of Middletown, RI died April 9, 2024 at home surrounded by her loving family after a lengthy illness. She was predeceased by her husband Peter J. Faerber, her husband of 33 years. She was the daughter of the late Austin F. Grady and Genevieve N. (Edmonds) of Valley Falls, RI.
Born in Valley Falls and raised in Providence, Mary attended St. Xavier and graduated from Hope High School in 1968.
Mary’s parents, Austin, and Genevive Grady owned and operated Austin’s Snack Shop on Smith Street in Providence where she worked alongside family as a teenager and young adult. While working at the shop, she also would meet her future husband, Peter, who was a regular customer. The shop was just blocks from Providence College and the family befriended many of the aspiring student athletes and coaches. Mary always remembered fondly regarding sharing meals with John Thompson (then a basketball player for the Friars, who would go on to play for the Celtics, as well as coach for Georgetown) when he couldn’t travel home during school breaks.
After getting married, Mary worked as a clerk at Peerless Department Store in Providence. Mary and Peter would move to Middletown after the birth of their first child, Jennifer, and would remain there until their passings.
During the 1980s and 1990s she worked at St Mary’s Church as a religious education teacher, coordinator, and principal. In 1995, Fr. George B. McCarthy recruited her to work as St Mary’s Church Parish Secretary, where she stayed for over 20 years, retiring in 2018.
Mary enjoyed art in its many forms and loved painting various landscapes of New England, which family and friends enjoyed as framed gifts and on cards.
Mary was famous for her baking skills, desserts, and dozens of varieties of Christmas cookies which were also favored annual gifts for family, close friends, and the local fire department. But her biggest love in life was for her family, and she will forever be remembered and missed for her faith, love, and generosity to others.
Mary is survived by her children, Jennifer, and Peter (Alison), grandson Broden, sister Maureen Shoren (Hank), and many beloved nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband, Peter, Mary was predeceased by her sisters Jeanne M. Chadwick (Ed) of Foster, Margaret E. Reposa (Ernie) of Smithfield, and Genevieve A. Lavoie (Bob) of North Providence.
Visiting hours will be held Friday, April 12 from 4-7 pm at the O’Neill-Hayes Funeral Home, 465 Spring St, Newport. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Saturday, April 13 at 10 am, St. Mary’s Church, corner of Spring St & Memorial Blvd, Newport. Burial will follow at St. Columba Cemetery, 465 Brown’s Ln, Middletown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Mary’s Church Building Fund, PO Box 547, Newport, RI 02840, www.stmarynewportri.org/How-to-Donate or to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd, Newport, RI 02840, https://mlkccenter.org/donate/.
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Rhode Island
Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets
Forget limos, Taylor Swift will need buses for her wedding guests
Airline Express Limousine Owner Chuck O’Koomian tells us why.
As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce eye possibly getting married at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, The Providence Journal is surveying various wedding vendors about what it would take for the Ocean State to host a wedding befitting the most popular woman in the world.
Imagine a crowd of A-list celebrities descending on the village of Watch Hill in Westerly this summer to attend the wedding of mega celebrity Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce.
To Chuck O’Koomian, who owns Airline Express Limousine and Car Service with his wife Ginny Cauley, it’s like a scene out of a horror movie.
“It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare,” O’Koomian told The Providence Journal.
How will guests arrive at Taylor Swift’s wedding in Westerly?
While Swift has not announced when or where her wedding will be, O’Koomian talked about what would be involved in getting a large celebrity crowd to the wedding, if it were held at her Bluff Avenue mansion, the nearby Ocean House resort or the Watch Hill Chapel, where Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo tied the know with football player Christian McCaffrey in 2024.
O’Koomian, who has provided transportation for comedian Jay Leno, who has a home in Newport, said there would be three distinct phases of ground transportation:
- Getting people from airports to their hotels
- Getting people from their hotels to the wedding activities
- Getting them back to the airports
The middle phase, delivering people to wedding activities, very well may not be just a one-day affair. Many say Swift won’t have a wedding day; they’re expecting a wedding week.
While some guests, especially those in New York or Connecticut, would probably just have their drivers bring them to Westerly, others would fly in by private jets, probably landing at Westerly State Airport or Quonset State Airport, whose military runway is long enough to handle larger jets. From there, guests would need a ride to where they are staying.
What Westerly residents have to say
Folks in Westerly have surmised that, even if it’s not the site of the ceremony or reception, the Ocean House, along with its sister property the Weekapaug Inn, plus several rented, private mansions would be needed to accommodate guests.
O’Koomian expects that a large limousine company – such as Boston Corporate Coach or Carey Limousine, in Massachusetts, or Hy’s Limousine, in Connecticut – with more than 120 cars each, would get the contract to serve Taylor Swift’s wedding. “There’s not even 120 cars in Rhode Island, all the companies combined,” he said, adding that, as a subcontractor, he would hope to get a piece of the business.
Could a fleet of private cars filled with stars snarl traffic in Westerly?
This first phase of local transportation would involve many trips of smaller parties. “They may come in two, three, four at a time,” he said.
While that is suitable for limousine service, getting from hotels to the ceremony, reception and other events, would require a different strategy for that second phase. “It’s like they’re transporting a football team,” he said.
That would mean “coaches,” the upscale version of buses. They would ease the traffic burden that would be created by limousines ferrying some 300 wedding guests around the tiny village of Watch Hill.
“It’s gonna take a lot of coordination if it’s Westerly,” O’Koomian said. “They’re going to have to shut down half the city. Police would have to shut down streets.”
Rhode Island
Rhode Island man crashes into house in Raynham after apparent medical episode
A car crashed into a home in Raynham Tuesday afternoon.
Police said they responded to a report for a vehicle that crashed into a home shortly before 1 p.m. on Broadway Street.
Officers at the scene said they found a sedan that had crashed into the lower brick portion of the home.
Investigators said a man from Rhode Island appeared to suffer from a medical episode before leaving the roadway and crashing into the home.
Police said the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton.
Officers said the home was empty at the time of the crash.
The Raynham Building Department responded to assess the home for structural damage.
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The crash is under investigation.
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