Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/obituaries/page/54)
Death notices for Darienites, immediate relatives and others of interest to town residents
Faye C. Gage, longtime resident of Darien, passed away on Dec. 27. She was 82 years old. Born in Hartford, she was the daughter of Mary and Paul Cauley. She graduated from Connecticut College and Yale University.
Dorothy Wilson Kamin passed away peacefully at home on Dec. 19, 2019. She was 91. She was born Nov. 10, 1928 in Evanston, Illinois to Marjory Biggar Wilson and Herbert Durand Willson.
Vyerl Shea’s soul left her body on Aug. 23. Her husband, Frank Shea, followed on Dec. 16, 2019. She was 94; he was 97.
Philomena Leo, a resident of Palm Coast, Florida and a former resident of Darien, passed away on Monday, Dec. 16, in Palm Coast. She was 94. Born on July 24, 1925 in Darien, she was the daughter of the late Dominick and Angelina Toscano. Philomena graduated from Darien High School and worked in banking.
Susan “Suzi” Allen Wertz, 81, passed away Dec. 9, 2019, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital from complications as a result of pneumonia. Suzi was born in Chicago on May 21, 1938. She is predeceased by her mother, Kathleen Allen; her father, John C. Allen; and a brother, John C. Allen Jr.
She received her bachelor of science degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio and a master of science degree from the University of Bridgeport. She was a caring and insightful psychotherapist with a practice in Stamford and later, Mystic.
Victor J. DeVivo a resident of Darien, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 15, in Milford. He was 100. Born on Aug. 2, 1919 in Detroit, he was the son of the late Vincenzo and Lina Ferria DeVivo.
Marc E. Thorne, recently a Darien selectman, passed away peacefully in the presence of his wife and sons on Monday, Dec. 16 at Stamford Hospital. Born on Dec. 14, 1938 in Rochester, New York, he was the son of the late David and Harriet Thorne. Marc received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.
Charles J. Nizolek, a longtime resident of Darien, passed away peacefully on Nov. 22. He was 92. Born July 24, 1927 in Stamford to the late Mary and Stanley Nizolek, Charlie served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. He worked for Olivetti and Pitney Bowes, where he met his wife of 57 years, Diana, on a blind date.
Eric Joseph Bergwall of Darien lost his battle against cancer at New York- Presbyterian, Columbia Hospital on Dec. 13. He was 58. He was born in Summit, New Jersey on June 19, 1961, to Joseph Baird Bergwall and Mary Eleanor Emmitt Bergwall who predeceased him. Eric grew up in Short Hills and Cumberland Foreside, Maine.
Marc Thorne, who just ended his term as a member of the Board of Selectmen, passed away Monday morning, a day after suffering a severe stroke. His obituary: Marc Thorne, 81, Selectman, Volunteer, Brought ‘Enthusiasm, Kindness and a Gentle Spirit’ (Dec. 17)
“We are all still shocked at the news of Marc’s passing,” First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said. “There are certain people whose warm presence you can always count on and Marc and Barbara Thorne are two of those people. “They care so deeply for our community and each other and have been an inspiration and role model for so many.
Louis A. Savarese, age 93, passed away on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019 in Saddle River, New Jersey. Born on Oct. 22, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York to Louis M. Savarese and Catherine L. Savarese. Formerly of Eastchester, New York; Scarsdale, New York; Niskayuna, New York; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Darien, he lived in Saddle River for the past 37 years.
John Frank Steinegger, 86, a resident of Greenwich and formerly of Darien, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. John was born in Darien, on July 1, 1933, a son of the late Frank John and Frances Elizabeth Partele Steinegger of Darien. John was raised in Darien and graduated from J.M. Wright Technical High School as a master lithographer. He worked in the business for 15 years in the production of high school yearbooks.
Ted Larson, 82, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and East Orleans, Massachusetts passed away peacefully on Dec. 6, 2019 after succumbing to injuries sustained during a bicycle accident in October. John Theodore Larson was born in 1937 to John and Frieda Larson in Roslyn, New York. After graduating from Darien High School in 1955 he went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and economics at Cornell University and an MBA from Columbia University. After graduation he worked for Union Carbide and then spent over 25 years in marketing and operations at General Foods.
Brigitte Olsson, a recent immigrant to the U.S. and Darien, died on Tuesday Dec. 3, 2019. She was 85. She was born Brigitte Matern in Grieslinen, East Prussia, now part of Poland, on May 10, 1934. She and her five siblings fled to West Germany to escape Russian troops marching to Berlin in January 1945, and in 1956 she moved to Switzerland to become sales manager in a clothing company.
David N. Elders, 78, of Rowayton, CT died peacefully on Sunday Dec. 1, 2019, at Westchester Medical Center. Dave was born in Port Chester, New York on February 1, 1941. He was the son of the late Irwin and Irene Elders. He graduated from New Canaan High School in 1959 where he played baseball, football, and hockey.