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A Significant Loss

The Branford community lost a special person recently. Indeed several special people—young, old, and somewhere between—were lost this year. Everyone is special and when the end of life comes, we reflect on those special qualities that are gone forever.

Joanie Callahan’s passing marked a significant loss to the town of Branford. Although she taught in Branford for 35 years and will be remembered as a remarkable teacher and coach by hundreds of students and colleagues, her contributions, as considerable as they were in education alone, did not stop there.

Those who attended or heard about one of Branford High School’s excellent school plays, have seen her hours of labor painting props and scenery for months after school before the plays opened. Those who have been on a trip to Europe with the Branford High School students may have met her there doing chaperone duties (even though her children weren’t on the trip). Those whose children have been at Sports Camp at Murphy School during summer vacation would have recognized her organizational skills and hours of dedicated work to promote the wonderful experiences for kids of Branford and elsewhere, and, of course, her working there to setup, cleanup, and serve the kids’ needs each day of camp. If someone she knew needed help—cleaning their house, preparing meals, or buying clothing, toys, and necessities for needy children—she was there.

Where that energy, desire, and motivation to do so much for so many and ask nothing in return comes from is a mystery. And it is rare. Really rare. But there are people of that caliber out there, and she was one of them and more—a very, very special person.

Tom Salvin

Branford