Obituaries

Ann was an exemplar of the perfect gamine.

She presented in a way that revealed childlike innocence: boyish, short hair, petite, very attractive, and with exquisite taste in what she wore and how she wore it.

The first thing to be said about Ann Arensberg straight away was that she was crush material. She had a kind of classic 20th-century beauty about her … the girl next door — but with a dazzling quality of fun and spirit. She was full of girlishness with a kind of prankster spirit about her. She was not a receded beauty.

I can still hear Ann’s raucous laugh. She was always laughing at something and making you laugh, too.

Ann Arensberg and Dick Grossman were a dazzling couple, consummate hosts and guests. (Dick was publisher of books my husband, Donald, wrote with Ralph Nader.)

To her many devoted friends in Salisbury and the Tri-state area, in New York City and around the globe, Ann Arensberg, who died at age 84 at the Sharon Health Care Center last week was a uniquely enchanting person.

The first time a representative of the New York publishing world paid me the slightest bit of attention was when Ann Arensberg, an actual editor at the actual Viking Press, invited me to lunch at Luchow’s,  that cavernous German restaurant near Union Square.

SHARON — Richard L. Ridge, one of the country’s leading interior decorators, who was known for his color and comfort, died on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. He was 93.

His sudden and unexpected death was confirmed by his husband and business partner of 40 years, Roderick Denault.

NORTH CANAAN — Louis Brodeur, 89, of North Canaan, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Jan. 16, 2022.

SALISBURY — George Reid Jr., 91, passed away peacefully on Jan. 3, 2022.

Born on Dec. 10, 1930, in New York City, he is the youngest and last of four siblings who preceded him in death. 

George went to Taft School (’49), and Oberlin College (’53), embracing history and jazz as well as becoming an All-American soccer player.