Darienite (https://darienite.com/tag/darien-obituaries-2016)
Frances E. Williams (Bower), 84, of Darien died at home on March 28, surrounded by family, after a short battle with cancer. Fran was born in Trumansburg, N.Y. on May 13, 1932 to Frank and Helen Bower. She graduated from Trumansburg High School, attended Oberlin College in Ohio and later lived in Venezuela for some time. She married Thomas M. Williams on Dec. 24, 1967 and had one daughter, Karen.
Jean Hoel Brown, 88, beloved wife of the late Willard Wilkins Brown for 60 years, cherished mother, longtime humanitarian, and community volunteer, passed away peacefully on Dec. 30, 2016, at the Morristown Medical Center surrounded by her family. Jean was born on May 28, 1928, in Grand Junction, Colo., to Sidney and Louise Rice Hoel. Jean graduated from Grand Junction High School and attended Colorado College for two years before transferring to the University of Colorado to pursue a major in journalism. Upon graduation, she moved to New York, where she was employed by Conde Nast as a copywriter for Vogue Magazine.
Anne Tyson Gilbreath, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at her residence in Atria Darien on Jan. 11, 2017. Mrs. Gilbreath was born on Dec. 12, 1927 in Evanston, Ill., to the late Howell and Rosalind Tyson. She was the middle of three daughters, a graduate of Ashley Hall, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles.
Richard Scott DiPasquale, born August 31, 1959, passed away peacefully on Dec. 30. He was retired for medical reasons from Darien High School, where he was a most beloved teacher for many years. Richard received his bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University and his master’s degree from Yale University. He also attended Cornell University’s Falcon Program and studied in Taiwan and China, as well. Richard is survived by his wife, Susan Mulhair DiPasquale, parents Enrico DiPasquale and Claire Cardelle Skidd; step-father George Skidd; sister Judith DiPasquale and her husband Tom Tuttle; step-sisters Laurie Cross and her husband Michael Cross and Melissa Montanero and her husband John Montanero; niece Sarah Grace DiPasquale and nine nieces and nephews.
John (Jack) Michael Hickson passed away on Dec. 30, 2016. He was 86. He was born on July 23, 1930 in Stamford to George and Helen Hickson. Jack grew up in Darien.
Yolande Domville Mascia McDowell, 89, of Madison passed away Dec. 31 at The Hearth retirement home. Yolanda, as she preferred to be addressed in her later years, was predeceased by her former husband, James Hugh McDowell, in 1964 and subsequently assumed the role of family matriarch, raising their five children in South Norwalk while pursuing a 30-year career in real estate. She started her real estate career in the early 1970s, eventually opening her own office, Shore & Country Realty, in Darien. She was born in Washington, D.C. on Oct.
Jean Le Count White, 90, a lifelong resident of Norwalk, passed away peacefully on Dec. 18, 2016 at Autumn Lake Health Care.
Born at home on Dec. 16, 1926, she was the only child of Wallace and Mary LeCount, a graduate of Norwalk High School Class of 1944 and the Butler Business School of Bridgeport. A child of the 1930s, when nicknames were a requirement for kids, Jean was known as “Stinky” — a name she claimed to hate but secretly relished — for her always being at the center of the fun and the mischief. She was employed as a secretary at different companies before landing a position at Grade Teacher Publishing in Darien, where she rose to be a regional sales and convention manager regularly crisscrossing the country by air throughout the 1960s.
Phillip A. Raymond, Sr., 78, a long time resident of Darien and a more recent resident of Brookfield, NH, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H.
Born in 1938 in Greenwich, he was married to the late Katherine Raymond. Most of his career was devoted to contracting and he was well known for his accomplishments in the community both professionally and for his efforts at the Darien Senior Center. He had a passion for boating and was a member of the Darien Boat Club, rising through the ranks to commodore. _____________
— an obituary from Edward Lawrence Funeral Home
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He is survived by his children Phillip Raymond, Jr. and his wife Melanie and Michele Long and her husband Michael Doyle, all of Wolfeboro, NH.
Charlotte Tanner Timbers, age 101, passed away on Dec. 28, 2016 in Essex. Born on Feb. 11, 1915 in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Harry Lawrence Tanner and Mary Louise Sears Tanner, she graduated from The Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn in 1932. Charlotte graduated from Wells College, in Aurora, N.Y., in 1936.
Thomas J. DeCicco, age 82, of Darien, formerly a long-time resident of Stamford,
passed away on Friday, Dec. 23, surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of the late Marian (Boyle) DeCicco; son of the late Anthony and Josephine DeCicco. He is predeceased by his brother, Anthony DeCicco and his sisters Frances Mangiat and Pauline Williams.
Born April 23, 1934 in Mamaroneck, N.Y., Thomas was a graduate of Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y., and served in the U.S. Army. Thomas spent many years in retail businesses one of which was a family business, Anthony’s Farm Produce in Stamford.
Jerry Anton Zelinka died peacefully, with his wife by his side, on Dec. 22 at the Bentley Care Center, Naples, Fl. He was 82. Born in Tulsa, Okla. on March 18, 1934, he attended Will Rogers High School and served with the U.S. Air Force, mostly in Japan as an intelligence specialist.
Emy Jane Jones of Norwalk passed away peacefully on Dec. 22 with her family by her side. Emy was born on June 14, 1942 in Bay Shore, N.Y. She was the daughter of John Alwin and Jane Froehlich. Emy married Lt. JG James Grady Jones in 1961. They lived in Jacksonville, Fl.
Mary Grace Bruno Fraccola, 105, a lifelong resident of Darien, passed away peacefully at home on Dec. 20. Mrs. Fraccola was born Nov. 8, 1911 at the family homestead in Darien, still standing on Linden Avenue. She was the first of nine children born to the late Agostino and Rose Conti Bruno and, remarkably, was the oldest living Bruno family member outliving all her siblings.
Warren G. MacKenzie passed away peacefully Dec. 17, 2016, in St. Louis shortly after celebrating his 85th birthday surrounded by family and loved ones. Warren was born on Nov. 19, 1931 in Glen Ellyn, Ill., the son of John W.P. and Elizabeth A. MacKenzie.
It is with great sadness we share the loss of Niel Sanders Hansen, 93, of Melvin Village, N.H., formerly of Darien. He passed away peacefully at his home on Dec. 6 in Melvin Village surrounded by his family. Niel was born on Nov. 3, 1923 to the late Niel E. and Helen S. Hansen on November 3, 1923 in Whitewater, Wis.