When someone in a community dies, it’s not unusual to see members of that community mourn their loss in different ways. This holds true in the modern world of online community, even if it’s not visible in the same sorts of ways. Last weekend Tom Standish of Waterville died after a long and difficult struggle with a mysterious heart condition. While active in the local community as a photographer and roles like that of publisher of the Townships Sun Magazine, one would be hard pressed to find a more striking example of the impact he had on people than the messages on the wall of the “People of the Eastern Townships of Quebec II” Facebook page over the last few days. Debbie Martin, who inherited the role of page administrator from Standish, explained that he created the group after a previous “people from the eastern townships” page went off the rails.
“Tom was extremely good at following up on all of the posts,” she said. “Being a photographer himself it sort of evolved into a lot of beautiful pictures and stories about the townships.” Past posts on the page include reflections from local photographers alongside pastoral local scenes, as well as the memories and questions of Townships expats looking to reconnect with their roots. In recent days, however, the comments are almost all memorials to a lost friend. See full story in the Friday, Nov. 1 edition of The Record.
