Category Archives: SEMARA Announcements

Wayne Kingsley, WA1CCM died in Plymouth, MA: April 19, 1934 – February 28, 2021. Wayne was originally licensed as KL7BFY. According to the “History of the Association, 1932 – 1999,” by Bill Miller, K1IBR, Wayne became a member of SEMARA in 1965.

He served as a club officer in 1971, first as Vice President and then as Secretary.
In 1977, he participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the new club house that was attached to the Quonset hut.

In the 1980s, Wayne worked at Commonwealth Electric, He was in the radio shop, Mike Ponte, W1BXJ was next door in the relay shop. They both worked for Bill Miller, K1IBR.

All the members send their condolences to his friends and family.

Nancy Smith, N1VOA, of Wareham, MA died at age 76 in her home on January 13, 2021. A lifelong resident of eastern Massachusetts, she was the mother of SEMARA member, Scott Smith, KE1CN. Nancy always supported his amateur activities, driving him to meetings and had joined him at the last SEMARA club dinner.

She made her way toward becoming licensed as N1VOA by first being a CB operator and assisting those in need. Until the end of her life, she remained active in several ham radio clubs and contributed to communications at charity events.

She nurtured her spirituality and celebrated her love of music through the Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center Circle of Music Program. A celebration of her life will be held at Ferry Beach in August 2021.

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made to a scholarship set up in her name, The Nancy Smith Ferry Beach Circle of Music Scholarship at www.ferrybeach.org/NancySmithScholarship

Our sincere sympathy to Scott and his family for their loss.

Brad Paiva, W1BEP (SK) was a long-time member of SEMARA. Brad enjoyed operating amateur radio, especially as a weekly net control operator on 10m.

He was 73 when he passed away at home on June 16, 2020, after a brief illness. He was married for nearly 45 years to Christine R. (Rebello) Paiva.

Brad served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a Police Officer in New Bedford for twenty-eight years, retiring in 1997.
Brad was the owner/operator of Brad’s RV Repair (started in 2006). He was also a member of the Freetown Gun Club.

In addition to his wife Christine, Brad is survived by four daughters, three grandchildren and a sister, as well as several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either the East Freetown Congregational Church, 2 Washburn Road, East Freetown, MA 02717 or Community Nurse and Home Care, P.O. Box 751, Fairhaven, MA 02719.

Our condolences to Brad’s family in this time of sorrow.

K1USW (SK), Herbert “Sonny” P. Eddleston, Jr., 65, of New Bedford, formerly of Fairhaven, passed away on Friday, February 21, 2020, at Saint Luke’s Hospital. He was the husband of the late Debra (Crumley) Eddleston.

Sonny was a member of the SEMARA and served on the Scholarship committee for several years. He was also recently on the board of directors at PACE.

Sonny graduated from Fairhaven High School. He worked for the United Steelworkers Local 1357 at ATI New Bedford, formerly Rodney Metals, and was very active with the Union for many years and volunteered at the Fort Taber Military Museum.

He is survived by two daughters: Rachael L. Eddleston of New Bedford, Sarah A. Eddleston of New Bedford and a son, Aaron J. Eddleston of Dover, one grandson, two sisters, Robin Eddleston of Fairhaven and Kristine Brunette of Fairhaven, three brothers: Eddie Eddleston of Wareham; Arthur Eddleston of Rochester and Richard Eddleston of New Bedford, along with several nieces and nephews.

Our condolences to Sonny’s family in this time of sorrow.

W1GYL(SK), Henry R. Blanchett Jr. age 83 years, of New Bedford, died Sunday Feb 23, 2020 at Brandon Woods of Dartmouth.

He was a long time member of SEMARA, serving as secretary and treasurer throughout the years. He made many life long friends through the radio club. He enjoyed Sunday morning coffee at the club and the Thursday night fox hunt.

Henry was born in Boston and lived in this area much of his life. Drafted into the U.S. Army he served in Alaska from 1959-1961. He spent 33 years as a cross country truck driver,

In addition to his wife Joan, he is survived by three daughters Nadine Blanchett (Michael Pendergast), Betty Lopes (Fred), Renee Furtado (Tim), a sister Joanne Grinnell of Falmouth, and several nieces and nephews.

Our condolences to Henry’s family in this time of sorrow.