Carol Ann Weil Santosus, a resident of New Canaan for nearly 50 years, died Sunday morning, May 9, at her home, having lost her second battle with cancer. She was 86.
Carol Santosus, 86, died May 9. Her wake and funeral will be on May 18.
Carol was born June 24, 1934, in Yonkers New York, the first daughter, and second child of the late Edward John and Dorothy O’Rourke Weil.
Priced out of purchasing a home in Westchester, her parents chose to build a new home in Lake Success on Long Island, which was a burgeoning, but still affordable suburb.
Carol attended and graduated from Great Neck High School in 1952. She felt lucky and blessed to be part of a cohort that benefited from the temporary relocation of the headquarters of the United Nations to Lake Success from 1947 through 1952, which filled the school with many international students, enriching the educational experience during that time.
Following high school, Carol enrolled in Connecticut College, but terribly homesick, she left after completing her first year. She then attended Katherine Gibbs and had a brief career at NBC in Manhattan.
While she remained intellectually curious and engaged throughout her life, Carol felt her life calling was family and home making. She had always wanted a big family, and at the end of her life she was certain it was what she was built to do.
She was right. She married Anthony C. Santosus in 1957, and with her parents’ help, they built a home in the Bay Hills village in Huntington, New York. Within a year, the newlyweds had twin boys, and within two years they welcomed a daughter. Altogether they had seven children and 13 grandchildren.
When her children grew older, Carol resumed her college education, and in 1982 received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
She had many interests and led a very active life in addition to raising her family. She was an avid cook and gardener. She loved the beach, the sea, the ocean, and came to appreciate her backyard pool for daily summer dips in lieu of more natural bodies of water.
She loved to travel, especially to and around Europe, and she often visited Vermont for hiking and biking. She enjoyed attending live theatre and musical events. She was a film buff, and had a love of classic films.
She was a long-time member of the Country Club of Darien, where she played tennis and paddle tennis regularly for decades. She could complete a New York Times crossword puzzle, and was a bad ass card player. But she loved being with her family most of all.
She was married to her husband for 49 years until his death in 2006. She was also predeceased by an infant son, John Santosus.
She is survived by her sister, Diane Allen of Huntington, NY; two sons, Francis Santosus of Northampton, Massachusetts, and Anthony Santosus and his wife, Julie of Marblehead, Massachusetts; four daughters, Dorothy Rizzo and her husband, Jeffrey, of Belmont, Massachusetts, Cathleen Santosus of Northampton, Lisa Rogers and her husband, Thomas, of East Hampton, and Megan Santosus of Natick; 13 grandchildren, Gregory Santosus, Christopher and Daniel Rizzo, Edward, Mary, John, and Colin Ferrara, Brendan Rogers, Matthew Rogers and his fiancee Claire, Kathryn Varhol and her husband Michael, Isaac, Talia, and Rachel Bastian; two nephews, six neices, and several grand nephews and grand nieces.
Her children are forever grateful to her caregiver, Mary, who made it possible for Carol to return home and live out her final months surrounded by people and things she loved.
Friends may greet the family on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road in Darien. A service will be held in the funeral home at 11:30 a.m.
— an obituary from Lawrence Funeral Home, where online condolences may be left