In Memoriam
It is with profound sadness that we report the death of the following members of the NESEA community. Please note that this information is only that which has been provided to us by colleagues, friends, and family.
We invite members of the community to share memories and honor the deceased by leaving comments. If you know of someone else who should be included, please contact Katie Schendel, kschendel@nesea.org.
Joel Gordes
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Joel Gordes on June 16, 2024. Joel was a NESEA Board and longtime Member and the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Service Award for his work with the NESEA Board of Directors. Joel authored numerous papers, studies and articles on distributed generation, including how decentralized energy can be used to provide power for mission-critical, high-value applications for energy security.
Richard Renner
The NESEA community deeply mourns the passing of Rick Renner on February 19, 2025. A dedicated NESEA Board Member, Lifetime Member, and recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Service Award, Rick’s contributions to our community were immeasurable. His commitment to collaboration within the design community fostered many lasting friendships that he cherished.
Laura Fitch
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Laura Fitch on January 1, 2023. Laura was a long time NESEA Member who was dedicated to designing community-friendly projects.
Carol Levin
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Carol Levin on December 26, 2020. Carol was a NESEA Lifetime Member and the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Service Award.
W. Kent Gano
The NESEA community mourns the passing of W. Kent Gano on August 23, 2010. Kent was a NESEA Lifetime Member.
Richard Gottlieb
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Richard Gottlieb on February 22, 2012. Richard received the NESEA Distinguished Service Award in 2002. Richard was the founder of Sunnyside Solar, Inc. designing, installing and teaching people about photovoltaic systems for over 30 years.
Robert Smith
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Robert Smith on November 20, 2012. Robert received the NESEA Distinguished Service Award in 2006.
Susan Hazard
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Susan Hazard on October 30, 2012. Susan was a NESEA Lifetime Member.
Kate Goldstein
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Kate Goldstein on June 22, 2014. Kate was a NESEA Board and Lifetime Member and a 2015 recipient of the NESEA Distinguished Service Award. Kate passed away in India at the age of 28. She was a Building Technology PhD student at MIT.
Marilyn Strong
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Marilyn Strong on June 23, 2015. Marilyn was a NESEA Lifetime Member and was honored in 2016 with the NESEA Shining Star award. She was a nurse, healer, environmentalist, and vice-president of Solar Design Associates in Harvard, MA.
Edmund Hazzard
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Edmund Hazzard on March 16, 2016. Edmund was a long time NESEA Member. He served on the Grafton Historic Commission, Energy Committee, and the Hassanamesit Woods Committee.
Doug Holmes
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Doug Holmes on December 27, 2016. Doug was a NESEA Lifetime Member and lifelong learner. Doug worked for Polaroid for many years as a chemical engineer. In the second chapter of his professional life, he founded Minergy Associates, and worked as an independent consultant on a variety of renewable energy projects including hydrogen fuel cells, lithium batteries and solar photovoltaic products.
Joe Bosworth
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Joe Bosworth on August 10, 2017. Joe was a longtime NESEA Member and chaired the 2013-14 NESEA Student Design Competition. Joe was the Managing Partner for Westbrook Farm and Team Lead for Cascade Woods.
Bill Stillinger
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Bill Stillinger on December 3, 2019. Bill was a NESEA Board and Lifetime Member and the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award for his work with the NESEA Board of Directors. Most recently, he was the External Affairs Manager of PV Squared, a worker-owned solar energy cooperative in Greenfield, MA.
Peter Talmage
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Peter Talmage on Febuary 8, 2019. Peter was a longtime and active NESEA Member. He was a faculty member at Greenfield Community College where he taught in the Renewable Energy Department and a former member of the Northfield Energy Committee.
Jeff Skelskie
The NESEA community mourns the passing of Jeff Skelskie on Febuary 17, 2019. Jeff was a longtime NESEA Member and a recipient of the 2009 NESEA Distinguished Service Award for his leadership in the Tour de Sol and Junior Solar Sprint. Jeff was on the board of SolarFest, active in the Granby Preservation Society and the Granby Energy Committee.