Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/obituaries/page/87)
Death notices for Darienites, immediate relatives and others of interest to town residents
Jeffrey Leon Donoso, a lifelong resident of Stamford, peacefully passed away on Saturday, March 26. Jeffrey was born on Oct. 22, 1981 and he was one of the three children born to Margott Donoso and the late Leon Donoso. Jeffrey was born and raised in Stamford and graduated from Westhill High School. Jeffrey worked at Grade A ShopRite and Best Buy.
Jose Manuel Sucre, born in Caracas, Venezuela on Nov. 1, 1963, a longtime resident of Darien, passed away on Friday, March 25 at the age of 52. Son of Juan Manuel Sucre Trias and Zoraida Maria Ciffoni, Jose Manuel grew up in Caracas and moved to the United States when he was 30. Jose Manuel graduated with a degree in Law from the Catholic University Andres Bello in Caracas, and went on to receive a post-graduate degree in Public Administration and Law from Columbia University. He began his career in public service while still living in Venezuela, serving as a representative of the state of Bolivar in Venezuelan Congress from 1988 to 1994, and in 1991 he became secretary to President Carlos Andres Perez. In 1994, he was appointed to an adviser position at the United Nations, where he then worked for more than two decades.
Martin (Marty) L. Piccirillo, 82, of North Haven died at Yale-New Haven Hospital on Easter Sunday, March 27 surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness. A vibrant, hardworking, life-long student and educator, Martin was born on Brown Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood on Oct. 30, 1933 to Luigi Piccirillo and Raffelina (Barletta) Piccirillo. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his only sibling, Anthony Vincent Piccirillo, MD and his cherished in-laws, Candeloro and Adeline (Bonanzinga) Scarfi. Marty attended Notre Dame High School before graduating from East Haven High School.
Margaret F. Jones, 86, the wife of Dr. Robert O. Jones, died Saturday, March 26, 2016, at the Lakes at Litchfield on Pawleys Island, S.C.
Margaret was born in Charlotte, N. C., a daughter of the late E. Owen Fitzsimons and Joy Draper Fitzsimons. She later married George W. Brice, who also grew up on Sherwood Ave. in Charlotte. She was a graduate of The National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. and attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia. The couple moved to Darien, Conn.
Joan Pelletier Isabel, originally of Concord, NH, passed away peacefully at home at Governor’s Club in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Friday, March 18. Joan leaves behind her husband of 54 years, Richard Isabel; two children, Mark Isabel of Providence, R.I. and Margo Isabel of South Riding, Va.; and three grandsons, Charles Manosalvas of Fairfax, Va. and his wife Brittany, Ricardo Manosalvas of South Riding, N.H., and Daniel Isabel of Providence, R.I.
Born Jan. 9, 1940, Joan graduated from Phillips Academy in 1957. She received her BA degree from Denison University, Granville, Ohio in 1961.
James Albert Peterson of Darien died peacefully on March 18 with his loving wife Doreen by his side. He was born Nov. 6, 1956, graduated from J.M. Wright Technical High School and attended Norwalk Community College. After marrying Doreen DeRosa on July 8, 1989 they resided in Wilton and more recently in Cape Coral, Fla. Jim was co-designer and president of Stor-A-Dor.
Thomas Clark Moseley Jr., 58, of Weston, Mass. died suddenly on March 16, 2016 while traveling for business in Saudi Arabia. He was raised in Darien. He was founder and president of The Moseley Group, a strategy and design consultancy to the global multi unit restaurant industry. His contributions to the food service industry have been transformative and continue to fuel the way restaurants operate today.
Harry Frank Upton liked to tell a story about how he joined the U.S. Air Force. One day, they lined up the young men from his ROTC unit. Each man counted off, the ones matched with the nation’s newly-formed Air Force, the twos stayed in the Army. Harry counted off one, and went on to serve proudly as a jet pilot from 1953 to 1956, attaining the rank of Captain. Harry counted life itself a blessing.
Charles (Chuck) John Evers, 76, of Darien died on Wednesday evening, March 16, after suffering a stroke. Charles had been battling Parkinson’s disease for several years. He died with his devoted wife Carolyn, his eldest daughter Kathie, youngest daughter Patrice, and son Christopher at his side. An only child, Charles was born in Queens on Sept. 11, 1939, to Charles and Veronica Evers.
Llewellyn E. Wall, age 75, of Concord, died peacefully in the company of his family on Thursday, March 17 at his Concord, Mass., home. He was the beloved husband for 38 years of Barbara Lynn Clark. Born in Indianapolis, Ind. on March 5, 1942, he was the son of the late Alexander and Helena (Evans) Wall. He was raised in Darien, where he also attended public schools.
Anne E. Roberts, age 89, wife of the late Dudley E. Roberts, passed away on March 7, 2016, at Norwalk Hospital. She is survived by her loving son Michael J. Roberts of Norwalk,; a brother, Joe Dichiaro and his wife Bobbie; and by several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sister Mary Dichiaro. Anne worked as a legal secretary to the late Judge Walton Clark of Darien and prior to that for Middlesex School in Darien. She was a devoted wife and mother to her son Michael.
Marjorie Koster Beinfield of Darien, a former 60-year Westport resident and wife of the late well-known Westport physician Malcolm Beinfield, died March 12, 2016 at home. She was 90. Over the years, Marge and Mal Beinfield — he was Westport’s first board-certified surgeon — were involved in numerous causes promoting equal rights and social justice. Following the Mississippi summer of 1964 that saw students from the North organizing a voting rights campaign, the Beinfields hosted a reception after the Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern benefit concert for the Student Non-Violent Organizing Committee (SNCC). Bruce Beinfield, a son, remembers showing Isaac Stern the Stradivarius violin that had belonged to Marge’s father that night.
Joan Grace LaBanca, a long-time resident of Darien and Jupiter, Fla., passed away on Thursday, March 10, 2016 at Stamford Hospital. Born on Oct. 1, 1929, in Suffern, NY, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Emma Meffert. She was 86. Joan’s education began in a one-room school house with 16 students.
Charles I. Gerstenmaier of Mystic, Conn., and a lifelong Darien resident until recently, passed away March 1, 2016 at the age of 91. He was the son of Charles and Irene Gerstenmaier of Darien. Charles served in the Air Force in World War II, attaining the rank of sergeant. During transit to India, his ship, the Rohna, was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by German forces using a radio-controlled rocket. Twelve hundred men lost their lives in the attack.
Marilyn Mangney Chapman, age 91, died peacefully Feb. 22, 2016 in Houston. A former Darien resident, she was active in Presbyterian organizations. Born July 28, 1924 to Elmer J. and Helen Mangney in Minneapolis, Marilyn grew up in that city and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in home economics. She soon moved to Mullin, Tex.