Terry Talent, remembered

More than 200 people spilled out of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Milford to attend a mass honoring Terry Arthur Talent Jr. of Dingmans Ferry, who died last July at age 84.

The ceremony included a military honor guard and the presentation of a flag to Talent’s husband, Doug Cosh. The Rev. Van Alan Bankston delivered a moving homily about Talent’s hospitality to a diverse population at the home he shared with Cosh at the former Dutch Reformed Church in Dingmans Ferry.

Speakers included old friends and family members, among them Sally (Sadie) Zelhof, Jack Cowling, Amy Ferris, Julia Healy, Wendy Stuart Kaplan, and Debbie Fischer. Afterward, a celebration of Talent’s life was held at the Dingmans Ferry house featuring appetizers, dinner, entertainment, and dancing.

Handmade fans sporting a photo of Talent’s face were placed at each table and used not only for cooling but for photo ops as well. As a parting gesture, each guest was gifted one of Talent’s ubiquitous Hawaiian shirts in his memory.

Talent’s community involvement, in addition to his popular Phoenix shops, was noted in his obituary: “A pillar of the Milford area community, he and his husband supported many local groups by hosting fundraisers, exhibits and parties as well as donating auction prizes for non-profits such as the Black Bear Film Festival, Safe Haven, the Ecumenical Food Pantry, The Milford Readers & Writers Festival, TriVersity, PALS, The Marie Zimmerman House, and other charities. Every five years Talent and Cosh have hosted dinner and an overnight for the Lenape Indians who canoe down the Delaware to Philadelphia in honor of signing a treaty there.”