Adam Henry Agnello

1978 - 2024

Adam Henry Agnello

February 25, 1978 -

November 16, 2024

A creative wood craftsman, Adam Henry Agnello died November 16, 2024 in Putnam, Connecticut at age 46.

A college friend wrote, "Adam possessed a rare serenity and grace that left a significant impact on those around him. His empathy and compassion went beyond mere kindness, they inspired people to reciprocate that same tranquility. I'd like to think I'm a better person for having known him all those years ago."

Another wrote, "A deeply generous man, he held in great esteem Eastern spiritualism, which influenced his life. Adam harbored a distinct stillness within. Those who knew him well remember him as patient, gentle, forgiving, and with a deep respect for nature. I will honor him by extending to all I meet the same warm light he extended to me."

High school art teachers at White Mountain School in Littleton, New Hampshire, remembered his "calm, kind presence. He was a tremendous artist and a very creative photographer." Adam graduated from White Mountain in 1996 and moved to Providence, Rhode Island. In 2000, he earned a degree in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design.

After college, he completed several commissioned projects and a table of his was displayed at a Boston art gallery. He studied Tai Chi, Medical Qigong and Taoist Qigong before moving to Putnam where he fulfilled his dream of buying a home with a basement woodshop. In recent years he restored antique hand planes, blades, and sharpening stones. This led him to become a founding member of an online Vintage Tool Auction and Sales Group, now with 20,000 members.

Adam was born in Forest Grove, Oregon to Evonne and John Agnello. He attended school in Aitkin, Minnesota and Tacoma, Washington. As a young boy, Adam spent hours at the Seward, Nebraska swimming pool, during visits with his grandparents, Henry and Evelyn Mead. He attended Mt. Bachelor Academy, in central Oregon where he became a wilderness aficionado and later honed these skills at Tom Brown's Wilderness School in New Jersey.

In recent years, Adam became increasingly disabled by untreated health problems. Unable to work and enjoy life, he chose suicide by an overdose of pills.

He is survived by his parents, Evonne (Mead) Agnello of Tacoma, Washington and John Agnello of Brainerd, Minnesota, publishers of the Seward County Independent from 1972-1975. A friend has made a photo collage of Adam set to music and can be viewed with this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5xhj0pvmjqk539srkl342/YouCut_20250127_194308328.mp4?rlkey=deu5pfmgjncio0krn1pdwrsz4&st=c3uqqj9o&dl=0

Another friend established an online tribute where people have and may post remembrances. https://app.bluebutterfly.com/memorial/v2/adam-agnello A celebration of his life by Putnam friends will be held Feb. 19, 2025 with a memorial service later this year.

To access these links visit Adam's obituary at www.zabkafuneralhome.com