Day: June 8, 2020

I’m sad to read about Ray Lamont’s passing, though I know he was sick. Lamont wrote about causes big or small that were dear to anyone in Gloucester. That coverage mattered. He was a fast and clever writer who could turn a phrase to tug at heartstrings and make you smile. I’ve been thinking about all the time he spent lifting our community stories. I did not know him well but was fortunate to speak with him about art, history, and various local drives. Sometimes the subjects and causes he featured were at odds which made clear to me how opinions stressing bias were incomplete or unfounded.

Joey posted some of his GMG conversations with Lamont here

Gail McCarthy wrote about the death of her colleague and local journalist, A Man Dedicated to Work, Community: Ray Lamont Chronicled Gloucester Stories for Times, published in the Gloucester Daily Times print edition June 8, 2020, with quotes and stories from Mayor Romeo Theken, former Mayor Bell, Dick Wilson, Julie Lafontaine, Open Door, and other officials.

Howard Herman beautiful remembrance was published in the Berkshire Eagle. Lamont, a Pittsfield native, had worked there prior to the GDT.

I have been honored to work with a great many outstanding journalists during my three decades at The Berkshire Eagle. But when I joined the band in the 1980s, I was the Fifth Beatle. That’s because the sports staff was made up of rock stars. Unfortunately, we lost one of those rock stars last week, when word filtered down that Ray Lamont had passed away. Lamont was 67 when he passed on Thursday…

…Among Ray Lamont’s many talents was a dead-on impression of New York Yankees broadcaster, and Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto. The Scooter had a way to describe things, and Ray nailed the impression…”

– Howard Herman | Designated Hitter Some Thoughts on the Late Ray Lamont, Berkshire Eagle

Right when I was photographing the paper and thinking about Ray Lamont, I had a special visitor.

Start of the formal obituary

Gloucester – Raymond Joseph Lamont of Gloucester died Thursday at the North Shore Medical Center in Salem. He was born and raised in Pittsfield, the only child of the late Raymond P. and Kathleen T. Sheerin Lamont. Ray’s formative years at the city’s St. Joseph’s grammar and high schools undoubtedly had a deep impact on his life. He continued his education at Berkshire Community College and graduated from North Adams State College, which is now known as Mass. College of Liberal Arts.

Ray began his lifelong career in journalism as a sports writer at the Berkshire Eagle, casting a large presence on the local athletic scene for years to come.

The formal obituary is here