Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/obituaries)
Death notices for Darienites, immediate relatives and others of interest to town residents
Victor F. “Butch” Domikis, Jr.of New Britain, passed away Tuesday Oct. 12, at Autumn Lake Health Center in New Britain. He was 70. Born on July 23, 1951 in New Britain, he was a former Darien resident, moving back to New Britain 28 years ago. Butch was a veterinary tech at two veterinarian locations — in Norwalk and Stamford.
John Hill White Jr. (Chip) of Greenwich and Douglas, Michigan, passed way on Saturday, Sept. 18. He was 71. Chip was born in St. Louis on May 31, 1950, to John Hill White and Eleanor Ring White.
Gerald “Jerry” Joseph Guthrie, a longtime resident of Poughkeepsie, New York and recently of Darien, passed away peacefully on Oct. 8, 2021 at Stamford Hospital. He was born on Nov. 3, 1936 in Yonkers, New York, to Harold Guthrie and Mary Smith Guthrie. He graduated from Gorton High School in Yonkers, and in 1959 married the late Carol O’Connell.
Carole Hanks Ponichtera daughter of the late Lynn and Shirley Hanks passed away Sept. 23 from a long bout of cancer at her home in Mesa, Arizona. She was 68 and a former resident, graduating from Darien High School in 1972. Carole is survived by her three daughters: Verity Ponichtera of Arizona, Jesse (and Matt) Duran of Arizona, Rebecca Ponichtera of Oregon, and her granddaughter Zowie Ponichtera of Arizona and grandson Benny Duran. Also, surviving is her siblings Sharon Hanks Bixler of South Carolina, Margie Hanks of Norwalk, John Hanks of Norwalk, Bill Hanks of Arizona, and her aunt, Betty Richter from Darien.
William “Bill” Smith of Shelton passed away on Oct. 5. He was 53. Born July 5, 1968, in Darien, Bill graduated from Darien High School, Class of 1986, and was an oil technician at Petro Home Services for over 20 years. He was a member of the National Association for Amateur Radio (call sign KB1NCP) and a member and drummer in the The Port Chester American Legion Band.
Ruth Richardson Montgomery of Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford, Massachusetts, passed away on Sept. 28, after a short illness. She was 91. A graduate of Adelphi Academy (1948) and Mount Holyoke College (1952), Ruth and her former husband, Robert, and their children lived in Nassau, Bahamas, from 1955 to 1964, in New Canaan from 1964 to 1975, and in Houston from 1975 to 1982. Thereafter, she lived in Darien with her late husband Sigmund John Montgomery, who predeceased her in 2017.
Dick Morrill, a long-time resident of Darien and Southbury, passed away on Aug. 13. He was 99. He will be lovingly remembered for his quick wit, his infectious laugh, his encyclopedic knowledge on almost any subject, his unique aptitude for enlightening conversation, and his rich appreciation of humanity. Dick was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 8, 1922 and graduated from Williams College, Class of ‘45.
Jean H. Thomas passed away the morning of Sept. 16, just shy of her 91st birthday at Meadow Ridge in Redding. She was born in 1930 in New London to Anna Fletcher and Harry R. Hewitt and grew up in Groton. Jean met the love of her life while at Fitch High School when she attended a ring dance at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. When the music stopped, Ensign Richard (Dick) M. Thomas was standing in front of her and that was the beginning of their 52-year romance.
Elizabeth Sisson Dolphin passed away peacefully after a hard-fought battle with metastatic breast cancer on Aug.15, 2021. She was 61. Elizabeth was born on May 25, 1959 and raised in Darien and Wilmington, Delaware. An expert in environmental and land use planning, for 28 years she was responsible for comprehensive planning and community development for Farmington. She continued her dedication to the preservation and interpretation of open space and natural resources as the executive director of the Farmington Land Trust.
Bridget Theresa Cusack (née Kinney) passed away peacefully in her home Sept. 19, 2021. She was 78, passing away a day before her 79th birthday. Born Sept. 20, 1943, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants Ann and James Kinney and grew up in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.
Sidney McLellan Olson of Allentown, Pennsylvania passed away Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2021 peacefully at Merwick Care & Rehabilitation Center. He was 87. Born March 11, 1934 in Stamford, he graduated from Darien High School in 1952 and attended Trinity-Pawling School in New York. He graduated from Bucknell University in 1957 with a B.S. in commerce and finance.
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news that my husband, Anthony Conetta, passed away peacefully in his Darien home on Monday, Sept. 27, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 71. Just as he dealt with all experiences in life, Tony managed his illness with strength, grace, and humor. He lived by the motto, “Time spent with family is life’s greatest gift,” and in his final days, he was surrounded by his loving wife, children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, brothers, sisters-in-law, and extended family and friends, whom he adored more than anything in the world.
Lois Dugdale, 91, died peacefully on Sept. 7. She was a long-time resident of Darien and Nantucket, Massachusetts. Born Lois A. Lincoln in New London, she was the oldest daughter of Jack and Grace Lincoln. She attended Darien schools, graduating high school, Class of 1948, and then from Lasell College, formerly Lasell Junior College.
Virginia Passavant Henderson, a longtime resident of Darien, died at The Residence at Selleck’s Woods on Sept. 23, 2021. She was 99. She was originally named Lillian Virginia but was best known as Passy or Sis. Born on July 14, 1922 in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, a town founded by her ancestors in 1802, Sis attended school in Zelienople and at Hathaway Brown in Cleveland, graduating from Connecticut College in 1944 with a degree in chemistry.
Matthew Raymond Zachowski, 68, of Rockingham, Vermont and formerly of New Canaan and Darien, passed away Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, surrounded by family. A private memorial will be held. Matt was an executive and founding partner of Intermarket Communications, a New York City-based public relations and marketing firm, which he led for over 35 years. A devoted husband and father, he adored his children and grandchildren and took immense satisfaction in their accomplishments.
What is the question to which your Life is the answer …? Who was loved more than he knew? George Lombardo, songwriter and singer, took his final bow and entered Eternal Life on August 31, 2021 at age 64. His wife and soulmate, Sally, held his hand; at his feet sat his dogs, Simon and Illy; on his stomach lay his cat, Maggie, who touched noses with him the moment after he was gone. I long and I wish that he could now be here to whisper ‘I love you’ in my ear
— lyrics from the musical “The Good Lie” by George Lombardo
George was born in Stamford on May 8, 1957 to Patsy and Grace (Tarzia) Lombardo; the second of five children.