Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/obituaries/page/85)
Death notices for Darienites, immediate relatives and others of interest to town residents
Angelo Procaccini, 91, passed away peacefully on May 25, 2016 with his loving family by his side. He was a resident of Darien residing his entire life not far from the family farm and the home in which he was born to Luigi and Carolina Russo Procaccini on Aug. 11, 1924. He was one of 10 children. His family lived on a farm, now the site of the Kensett development, where they raised their own vegetables and livestock.
Christine C. Lampros Robinson, 91, of Darien, formerly of Stamford, passed away peacefully on Thursday May 19, 2016 at Stamford Hospital surrounded by her loving family. Christine was born in Stamford on May 25, 1924 to the late Peter and Katherine Marinokos Lampros. Christine graduated Stamford High School, Class of 1942, where she was voted most athletic. She worked at Life Study Fellowship Foundation in Darien before her retirement at the age of 80. She was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother.
Harry William Larson Jr. of Wolfeboro, N.H., passed away on Monday, May 23, after a long battle with cancer. He was 76. Harry was born in Norwalk, on Nov. 15, 1939 to Harry and Bertha (Holtzberg) Larson from Darien. He graduated from Darien High School in 1958 and Bryant College in 1961.
Michael Anthony Siragusa, 30, of Stamford died Saturday May 21. Michael was born on Oct. 11 1985 and graduated from Darien High School in 2003. Michael went on to Johnson Wales Culinary Institute, and was currently employed by United Parcel Service. Always courageous and industrious despite his learning disabilities, Michael was also working with his father at Sal’s Electric of Darien while studying to get his Electricians license. A unique soul, Michael will always be remembered for his ambition, his generosity with his friends and family and his ability to always keep them laughing.
Jeanne S. Artis, 90, a resident of Darien since 1964, passed away on Saturday, May 21 at Stamford Hospital after a short illness. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Richard W. Artist. Born in Bethlehem, Pa., Mrs. Artis was the daughter of Charles and Florence Haney Serman. As a young girl, she was an expert swimmer and an accomplished musician, playing clarinet in her high school band and performing solo and duo piano in regional recitals and concerts. Mrs. Artis attended Syracuse University, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Gay Bennett Reichart, a woman of legendary kindness and social grace, passed peacefully at home on Sunday, March 6. Throughout the indignity of her battle against breast cancer (diagnosed in 2012), she was the picture of dignity to her very last day. She had an unusual combination of ethics and etiquette mixed with a big helping of playfulness. In her later years, she became a prolific and talented quilter. (Many in the family have a Gay Reichart original on their beds or couches.)
What a gift she was and what a terrific legacy she’s left us to follow.
Mrs. Jean Heckadon McCormick, 68, passed away Monday, May 9 at her residence after a two-year long courageous battle with melanoma. Mrs. McCormick was born Jan. 1, 1948 in Almirante, Panama. She is the daughter of the late Philip and Catherine Simpson Heckadon of Evans, Ga. Jean spent most of her formative years in Bakersfield, Calif.
Leslie Campbell Eckhardt passed away on Friday, May 20. She was 64. Leslie was raised in Darien and lived in Fort Lauderdale for the past 28 years. An avid equestrian while growing up, she competed in numerous events in the Northeast. Leslie is survived by her husband, Karl B. Eckhardt, retired Port Everglades employee, and two brothers, William H. Campbell of Newtown.
Evelyn Acton Kuban, 87, a former longtime resident of Darien, passed away on Tuesday, May 17 at The Village at Brookfield Common in Brookfield. Born on March 2, 1929 in Darien, she was the daughter of the late Howard and Ethel Acton. She married the late Edward J. Kuban on March 27, 1948. Evelyn was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who loved to laugh, dance and sing. Her smile and kind words to everyone will always be remembered.
Daniel Patrick Tully, 84, of Hobe Sound, Fla. and a former Darien resident, died Tuesday, May 10, while visiting his daughter’s home in Darien, according to various news reports. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Grace. __________
— unless otherwise noted, information in this obituary is from an obituary published by the Palm Beach Post from May 15 to May 16. __________
A statement posted by the Darien Athletic Foundation to its Facebook timeline said, “DAF mourns the loss of one of Darien’s finest people and philanthropists.”
Grace Jeanne Pohlmann Jahn, a resident of Delaware, Ohio and Twin Lakes, Pa., and formerly a longtime resident of Darien, passed away May 15 at The Inn at Olentangy Trail in Delaware, Ohio. She was 83. She is preceded in death by her husband, C. Richard Jahn. Born Jan. 5, 1933 in Middletown, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Dr. Harry F. Pohlmann and Mabel Myers Pohlmann. Gracie graduated from Smith College in 1953, then received her MBA degree from Harvard/Radcliffe. She was an active volunteer in the Darien community and schools.
Bethel resident Martha “Marty” Brksa Meehan, 57, wife of Terry D. Meehan, passed away on May 11 at Regional Hospice and Homecare of Danbury. Born May 7, 1959 in Stamford, she was the daughter of Martha Frederick Brksa Royle and John J. Brksa. Marty graduated from Norwalk High School and worked at Bankwell in Darien. In addition to her beloved husband, Marty is survived by her son Ryan Meehan of Bethel, and her daughter and son-in-law, Erin and Danny Girard, of Terryville. She is also survived by her sister Susan Brksa and mother Martha Frederick Brksa Royle, of Farmington, and sister Mary Jane Brksa Kosach of Florida.
Cassandra Goss Simonds of Freeport, Maine and a former Darien resident, died on May 6, at Scarborough Terrace Assisted Living facility in Scarborough Maine. She was 82. Born in New Haven, June 16, 1933, to the late Chauncey Porter Goss III and the late Natalie Holbrook Goss of Middlebury, she graduated from Garrison Forest School in 1951. She was a 1955 graduate of Connecticut College, where she received a degree in sociology. She attended the Columbia School of Nursing until her marriage to Charles Sprague Simonds in 1956.
Dr. Max E. Gahwyler, or “Dr. Max” as he was affectionately known in the horse world, passed away this past Friday May 13 at his home in Darien. He was 92 years old, and a town resident for over half a century. Max was born in Switzerland on July 22, 1923, and spent his formative years mountain climbing and skiing in the town of Arosa, Switzerland. He studied internal medicine in Lausanne and Geneva, and met the love of his life, Doris Muller, in the early 1940’s. After the Second World War, the couple moved to the US.
The funeral service for a 5-year-old Norwalk boy fatally struck by a car last week will take place Thursday at New Beginnings Community Church in Darien. Peter Tinnen-Strmiska was in the driveway of his home on Wood Acre Road in Norwalk at about 5 p.m., Thursday, May 12, when a relative pulled a vehicle into the driveway and struck the boy, according to numerous news reports. Police and an ambulance crew responded and rushed him to Norwalk Hospital, where he died. “I’m beside myself,” his mother, Kayla Tinnen, wrote that day in a post on the GoFundMe charitable donations website. “We lost him in a freak accident this afternoon.