David Andrew Dever, 83, a Darien resident for 52 years, passed away peacefully at home on Oct. 8. “Whoever dies with the most tools wins” was more than just a motto for David — it was a way of life. A lifelong tinkerer and fixer, he found joy in restoring anything that could be mended, from engines to household gadgets long past their prime. Whether in his garage or his beloved barn in Maine, David was happiest with a wrench in hand and a project to work on.
Michael Robert Taylor, affectionately known as “Tay Tay” of Darien, passed away suddenly on Oct. 8. He was 57. Mike was born on June 5, 1968, in Stamford to Michael and Barbara Taylor. He attended Royle Elementary School, Middlesex Junior High, and Darien High School (class of ’86), where he met his future wife, Lisa DeYulio.
Why is much of Connecticut talking about a bridge from Bridgeport, across Long Island Sound, to New York State? How did we get sucked into a debate about a project that every transportation expert I spoke with said just won’t happen? You can blame (or maybe credit?) Connecticut housing developer Stephen Shapiro for this distraction as he pipe-dreams way outside his area of expertise. “A reporter from The CT Post called me to talk about housing,” he told WFSB’s “CT ‘25”. “I always liked the idea of a bridge. And now this thing has ballooned into a massive story.”
He even helped by generating a lovely artificial intelligence image of the structure, complete with red, white and blue towers, which was gobbled up by the media. A 14-mile bridge, costing a guesstimated $50 billion? It’s a good thing Shapiro didn’t dangle the idea of flying cars to the reporter. Shapiro has never built a bridge. His expertise is in affordable housing projects in cities like Bristol, Fairfield, Milford and Easton. That’s great, and certainly needed. But a bridge?
A 27-year-old man who stole and then altered a check in 2022, was recently arrested at Riker’s Island jail by Darien Police, the department announced. Police gave this further account, including accusations not proven in court:
A woman, apparently from Darien (police didn’t say), told police that on Oct. 25, 2022, the check she mailed out to her painter had been stolen and altered. Mohamed Fofana of the Bronx deposited the check in a TD Bank branch, using a false identity. Fofana also fraudulently created a business entity, Prelude Painting LLC.
Dolores L. Vollenweider, 95, a resident at Wilton Meadows and a former longtime resident of Darien, died peacefully on Tuesday, Oct. 7 after a long illness. She was 95. Born May 31, 1930 in Coppersburg, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Frances and Ralph Skagen.
Dolores graduated from Darien High School. She was a homemaker and a mother of three.
Interim Schools Superintendent Eric Byrne’s weekly newsletter on Friday mentions activities of the Wave Strong Club, a bike and scooter safety workshop and a new Instagram page for the district. It also mentioned a presentation on standardized test results, the Tokeneke Pumpkin Carnival and Darien High’s many athletic meets this weekend. Here’s the full text:
Dear Darien Community,
What a busy week! There is so much incredible work happening across Darien and I truly enjoyed spending time at Hindley & Holmes visiting classrooms and observing our kids and teachers in action. I also enjoyed being a guest speaker at the Holmes School PTO meeting on Wednesday evening.
Christopher Mark Smith of Youngsville, North Carolina, passed peacefully on Sept. 21, 2025. He was 67. Chris was born July 21, 1958 in Paterson, New Jersey to Barbara and Donald Smith. He was a 1976 graduate of Darien High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering technology at Clemson University, class of 1980.
What would happen to you if you borrowed your company’s car and, thanks to built-in tracking technology, were caught driving 113 mph? Or how would your HR staff “dialogue” with you if the car’s mileage wasn’t properly logged, you had apparently used it for personal trips, then left it sitting in a garage, and when you did return it to the motor pool it had $3,500 in damage? This isn’t a hypothetical question. These are actual cases of state employees, including former Chief of Staff to Gov. Ned Lamont, Jonathan Dach. All of this comes to light in the latest detailed report from the Auditors of Public Accounts, a non-partisan, independent body appointed by the Legislature.
Here’s Realtor Deirdre McGovern’s report on Darien and Rowayton-area real estate from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, 2025:
Links are provided to the web pages of those addresses where open houses are taking place this weekend, both in the Open Houses section and whatever other section those addresses appear. Coming Soon
20 Seagate Road, Darien — $2,795,000
New Listings
7 Chestnut St., Darien — $895,000 [PICTURED]
49 Echo Drive North, Darien — $1,595,000
63 Dorchester Road, Darien — $3,695,000
11 Old Oak Road, Darien — $3,895,000
40 Arnold Lane, Norwalk — $1,895,000
Price Changes
Address — current price / previous price
An enigmatic painting. The powerful woman who created it. Will they both be lost to time? Darien Library and Barrett Bookstore welcome author, B.A. Shapiro, who will discuss her new book, The Lost Masterpiece. — an announcement from Darien Library and Barrett Bookstore
In an utterly compelling novel about an enigmatic painting, B. A. Shapiro tells a riveting story filled with thrilling plot twists, taking us deep inside a circle of famous painters in late-nineteenth-century Paris, centering on the anguished Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot — the one woman in their midst who never got her due.
I finally had a chance to ride the new NextGen Acela and I have to admit, I was wrong: this really is Amtrak’s train of the future. But here are a few tips for making your next ride frictionless. These tips are mostly about riding Acela, but many hold true for slower Northeast Corridor trains. WHAT’S A NEXTGEN ACELA? These are the new trains built by Alstom, previously known as Avelia Liberty.
A 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS on Inwood Road was entered sometime on or just before Saturday, Sept. 20, and a wallet and several other personal items was stolen from the SUV, Darien police were told. The vehicle had not been locked, police said.
On Sunday June 15, William Henry Darrow II, loving husband and father of two, passed away at the age of 78. Bill was born on May 30, 1947, in the Bronx, New York to the late William Lawrence Darrow and Martha Beatrice D’Amore. Bill was the oldest of four children. He was raised in New Rochelle, New York. After grade school at Holy Family, he attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, where he played football and was varsity captain in his senior year.
Interim Schools Superintendent Eric Byrnes’ Friday newsletter highlighted the student Unified Soccer Team, the recent concert by the DHS Band, Chorus and Orchestra and the 12 straight wins by the Blue Wave Boys Golf Team. “This very impressive start is our best since 2016,” Byrnes said of the golf team’s success. Byrnes also included reminders about emergency information guides, particularly for parents; reminded students and parents about e-bike and scooter safety rules and a 90-minute safety course for middle schoolers “including safety skills for pedestrians, bikers, e-bikers, and e-scooters.” He said a survey about the superintendent search has a deadline of Oct. 3 (next Friday) and more information about the search is available on the district website.
Darien Police Officer Katrina Cook was honored this week by the Police Commissioners Association of Connecticut for graduating first in her police academy class late last year. Cook received the Samuel J. Luciano Award from the association, given to the recruit in each police academy class who achieves the highest cumulative grade point average during basic training. “Congratulations to Officer Cook on a job well done!” a Darien Police announcement said Friday on Facebook.
