Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/obituaries/page/63)
Death notices for Darienites, immediate relatives and others of interest to town residents
Edward T. “TJ” McManus Jr. died unexpectedly May 27 at his home in Norwalk. He was 52. TJ was the beloved son of Barbara and the late Tim McManus of Cumberland Foreside, Maine and brother of Chris Anne Woods of Portland, Maine. TJ was born in Greenwich on Jan. 19, 1966.
George E. McKnight, 64, of South Salem, passed away on May 16 after a long illness. He was the loving husband of Mrs. Lauren (Fairbanks) McKnight. George was born in Danbury on Jan. 30, 1955; a son of the late George and Constance (Smith) McKnight. A longtime South Salem resident, George enjoyed skiing, photography, gardening, cookouts and his family dogs.
Frances Barber Dorrance, 95, passed away peacefully at home in Darien on May 31. Frannie was born in New York City on March 5, 1924, to Laird Howard Barber and Katharine Welles Barber. She graduated from Smith College in 1946. Frannie married Walter E. Hanson in Greenwich in 1949, and they raised their three daughters in Darien. In 1980, she married Samuel Richmond Dorrance of Darien.
Claudia Jeanne VanVoorhis Trant Christensen died peacefully at home on May 29, two days before her 95th birthday. She was born in Salt Lake City to Bertha Claudia Rich and Lemert Philips VanVoorhis. She went to Stewart School, graduated from East High and the University of Utah where she was a Chi Omega. Claudia attended Stanford Business School where she was one of three women in her class. After school, she had a rich and varied professional life as an English teacher at the University of Utah, an advertising and personnel manager at Keith O’Brien department store, copywriter at KSL radio, and assistant to the president at Christensen Diamond Products.
Philip Joseph Connell, 76, died Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at Seacoast McLeod Hospital in North Carolina. Phil was born Sept. 20, 1942 in Springfield, Massachusetts to parents Ruth Walsh and Philip Joseph Connell. After World War II, his family moved to Darien, where he grew up and graduated from Darien High School in 1960. In 1964, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts with a bachelor of science degree in economics and accounting.
Jeffrey Loel Corbett passed away on April 5. He was 43. He was born July 1, 1975 in Salmon, Idaho. Jeff graduated from Brigham Young University with Bachelor of Science in Finance. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2005.
Ignatius Charles Rinaldi, known as Charles and a resident of Darien, passed away on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 in New York City. He was 76. Born on Sept. 3, 1942 in Springfield, Massachusetts, he was the son of the late Angelo and Anna Rinaldi. Charles received an AB from Saint Michael’s College and a MBA from Babson College.
Carleton W. “Skip” Todd II of Darien passed away suddenly at his home on Monday, May 20. He was born in White Plains, New York on Jan. 30, 1955 to the late Carleton W. Todd and Marjorie Wagner Todd. Skip spent his youth in New Canaan, attended the University of Central Florida and graduated from Eastern Connecticut College. The son of a pilot, Skip had a lifelong love of flying and music.
B.A. Hand, 89, died peacefully on May 15 near her loving family in Norwalk. Born Feb. 21, 1930 in Utica, New York and raised in Norwich, New York, she was the eldest of two daughters born to Dorothy J. and Carl E. Fribley. Her father was an owner of Benedict Cadillac Corporation and past president of the National Automobile Dealers Association. B.A attended Vassar College and graduated with an English degree in 1951.
“When it comes to living large, I say turn it up till the knob falls off and throw it out the window.” Barret Platten Naylor lived a large, joyful life which was cut short a day after his 57th birthday, Thursday, May 9, 2019 due to complications from a liver transplant. Barret was a life force who radiated love and selflessness. His spirit is carried on by his wife, Kim and two children, Christian (27) and Whitney (26), along with many extended relatives and friends whose lives are blessed to have been touched by Barret. Born in Greenwich in 1962, the son of Randolph Naylor and Katherine Tyson, Barret grew up in the Northeast, working in New York City and enjoying summers on Martha’s Vineyard. On Oct.
Kathryn J. “Katy” Votava, age 85, of Neenah, Wisconsin passed away on Tuesday, May 14, with her family by her side. Katy was born Feb. 9, 1934 in Wausau, Wisconsin to Leonard and Pearl (Ramaker) Pheifer. When she was 3 years old, they moved to Neenah. Katy attended Neenah Schools and graduated from Neenah High School in 1952. Shortly after, she was employed by Marathon Corporation (American National Can) in the Research and Development Department. It is there that she met her husband, Jim.
Charles J. Vickers, a longtime resident of Stamford and more recently Darien, died May 8, at the age of 96. Born in 1923 in Hoboken, NJ. Mr. Vickers served as an officer in the Navy aboard Landing Craft Infantry 867 in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Following his wartime service, Mr. Vickers graduated from St. Peter’s College in New Jersey with a degree in chemistry in 1947.
John Byron Dugdale of Darien died suddenly on May 6, 2019 at Yale New Haven Hospital after complications from a brief illness. He was 61. Born in Stamford Hospital on Aug. 30, 1957, he is survived by his parents, Byron and Lois Dugdale, third-generation residents of Darien; his sisters: Mary Danskin, Anne Gordon; and brother-in-law, Ken Gordon, in New Jersey; and his long time girlfriend, Catherine Beckmann. His younger brother, William L. Dugdale, predeceased him in 1969.
Mary Louise McGrath Brennan, 95, a former longtime New Canaan resident, died May 3 at her home in Darien. She was born Feb. 25, 1924, at her parents’ home on 8th Street in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Edward Joseph McGrath and Helen Johnston McGrath. She had three sisters: Helen, Ann, Edith, and a dear cousin, Peggy, who was like a younger sister to her. Mary graduated from Bay Ridge High School and then St.
Rodney Jarvis Ferris, businessman and counselor, loving husband and father, died in his apartment in Lincoln, Massachusetts on May 1, 2019. He was 86. A 56-year resident of Holden and Worcester, Massachusetts, Rodney was born on Feb. 18, 1933, in Darien to Margery Jarvis and William Henry Ferris. He attended Hotchkiss School and Princeton University where he led the varsity swim team’s butterfly squad and majored in engineering.