David Plamondon, just 20 years old, was a 2008 Oakmont graduate and a junior at the University of Connecticut. He was preparing to take his MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) before he died on March 22, after he was hit by a shuttle bus on the UCONN campus. The morning after I heard about the death of David, who was my 21 year old son’s elementary school classmate, I wasn’t quite ready for a full story and interviews in a regional newspaper. How was this possible? I hadn’t even had time to digest the whole situation. As an active member of our community, I can’t imagine a situation where I could even consider asking an affected a family to sit down and talk about a tragedy so fresh. This is a tough balancing act, since I’m supposed to be ‘covering’ stories. But there’s more to every story because in a small town, it’s so easy to find connections between people.

No matter who you are, this story would be extremely sad news, and I understand that other papers cover this as news. But here’s where it gets personally troubling for me. I’ve known David’s family since he was 9. I first met the Plamondon family when David was on my son Maxwell’s 9 year old All Stars baseball team.  

Front row: David Plamondon, Mark Roy, Josh Gikis, Maxwell Shenk, Mitchell White, Seth Knihtila

Middle row: Michael Donovan, Brian Cotton, Joey Delorey, Blake Sheldon, Jesse Iacobone

Back row: Coaches Dave Iacobone, Bob Cotton and Tony Gikis

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A year later I met up with David’s mother Linda when she worked at UMASS Medical Center, where my husband was having brain surgery, and I had no idea if he would live or die. Linda came in to his room because she recognized our name and town. She sat with me, cried with me, and provided an immeasurable amount of comfort and support to us during an incredibly uncertain time. I have always considered Linda Plamondon a friend, and always will. It’s situations like that which help build a community.

It is because of this type of connection that I will never be a reporter. I love connecting with people and gaining their trust, finding what we have in common and talking about it--it's a great way to create the fabric that makes up a community.

I always fret about how fragile life is. When I was at David Plamondon’s funeral I thought about our six children. Looking back a week or so after that day I realized that I hadn’t thought ‘what if this happened to one of my kids?’ My thoughts were different than I would have expected.  I visualized the people around me and in the sanctuary as threads in the fabric of this incredible community. The entire sanctuary was filled with people who knew David in different ways…from St. Edward’s, Westminster Elementary School, Overlook Middle School, Oakmont, UCONN, the A Minor a capella group, various sports teams, and family as well as childhood and college friends. Everyone had different memories from various times in David’s life.

Some people take life and good health for granted. For those of you who need a little reminder, I suggest you watch this video of David Plamondon and his a capella group (who also sang at his funeral), singing Coldplay’s Fix You, just three days before he died.

From UCONN's news: Students remember David Plamondon

Jennifer Shenk Jen has combined her love of writing, connecting with people in the community, technology, helping in local classrooms and the community (as well as working from home) to publish Community Vine, an electronic magazine for and about Westminster, MA and the surrounding area. Community Vine empowers members of our community to get involved with local efforts to help others. Jen grew up in Templeton, MA and graduated from Monty Tech and Franklin Pierce College with a BA in graphic design and sociology. She previously worked for Little, Brown and Company Publishers in Waltham, MA but has spent the past 13 years raising 6 kids, living in Westminster and volunteering in town and in Westminster's schools. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Ashburnham Westminster Foundation for Academic Excellence.

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