Darien Obituaries April 2017

Obituaries

Frances Gaughan, 92, a Founding Member of St. Thomas More Church, ‘She Had a Green Thumb for Life’

By David Gurliacci | May 2, 2017

Frances A. Gaughan, 92, passed away on April 23, 2017 in Norwalk Hospital resulting from a fall. Frances was born on May 30, 1924, in Trenton, New Jersey, daughter of the late Angelo and Angela Nardi. She grew up with six sisters, Armida (Mitha), Bianca (Blanche), Olga, Emma, Maria (Mary) and is survived by her younger sister Lena (Tootie) Panfili and a large extended family nearby. During World War II she worked at the Grumman Aircraft Factory in Trenton, N.J. wiring bomb-bay junction boxes in fighter planes. She married John Paul Gaughan on September 17,1949 and was the proud mother of five children, Mary Elizabeth Westlund (Meg), John Paul Gaughan Jr., Barbara Ann Gaughan, Margaret Patricia Ford (Patti) and Thomas Nardi Gaughan.

Obituaries

John DeCesare, 81, Graphic Designer, Former Longtime Darien Resident

By David Gurliacci | April 30, 2017

John A. DeCesare, a resident of Guilford and a former 35-year resident of Darien, passed away on Sunday, April 23 at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was 81. Born on Aug. 13, 1935 in the Bronx, he was the son of the late Louis A. and Marjorie (Chism) DeCesare.  John attended Brown University and the University of Buffalo (Albright Art School).

Obituaries

Maude Pettus, 103, Nurse in China, Member of Noroton Presbyterian Church

By David Gurliacci | April 26, 2017

Maude Miller Pettus went home to be with the Lord at her home in Stamford on April 22 at the age of 103. She was a very special woman, marked by God, who had a deep well of wisdom, a great sense of intuition, and lived a full, joyful life. Maude was born in Springs, Pa. on April 7, 1914, and received her nursing degree from Capital City School of Nursing in Washington, DC in 1936. During her training, she met a Yale medical school student William Winston Pettus, whom she married on June 23, 1937.

Obituaries

Sister Mary Handley, 83, Went to Darien Schools, Convert to Catholicism, Teacher

By David Gurliacci | April 25, 2017

Sister Mary William Handley of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, entered Eternal Life on Saturday, April 22 at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse Health Care Center in Baltic. She was born Patricia Handley in Norwalk Sept. 10, 1933 the daughter of the late William and Dorothy (Raymond) Handley. Sister was baptized in the Methodist Church before converting to Catholicism in 1952. After attending schools in Darien, she entered the Sisters of Charity in Baltic in 1963 and professed Perpetual Vows in 1972.

Obituaries

JoAnn Porter, 92, Former Darien Resident, Real Estate Agent

By David Gurliacci | April 23, 2017

JoAnn E. Porter passed away peacefully on April 4, 2017 at the age of 92. She was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of William and Clara Peters, and younger sister of Marge Sayre. She was married to John O. Evans with whom she had four children. Later she married James F. Porter and moved to Darien, where together they continued to raise their five children. She was a talented woman with many interests.

Obituaries

Rino Sanchioni, 86, Carpenter, Cabinet Maker, Former Darien Resident

By David Gurliacci | April 21, 2017

Rino Sanchioni, 86, passed away at Villa Crest Nursing & Retirement Center in Manchester, N.H. on Tuesday, April 18, following an extended illness. Born in Stamford, Rino was the son of Attilio Sanchioni and Elvira (Righi) Sanchioni. Both his parents emigrated from Italy as young adults. Rino grew up in Stamford and graduated from trade school. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years during the Korean War and toured the world aboard the carrier USS Coral Sea.

Obituaries

Janet Tuck, 85, Painter and Sculptor, Former Darien Resident

By David Gurliacci | April 19, 2017

Janet Barber Tuck, 85, an artist and former Darien resident, died on Sunday, April 16. She had Alzheimer’s disease. Born Dec. 7, 1931 in Aurora, Ill., she lived in Aurora and Oswego, Ill., El Granada, Calif., Darien, Cordova, Tenn., Westport, Bellevue, Wash., West Covina, Calif., and Waxhaw, N.C.

She graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and was the art director of the Lester Jacobs Advertising Agency. Janet went on to practice fine art full time, winning several first-place awards for her work.

Obituaries

Philip Wright, 85, Union Carbide Executive, Avid Sportsman, Philanthropist

By David Gurliacci | April 18, 2017

Philip Taylor (Pete) Wright, 85, a longtime resident of Darien, passed away peacefully on April 11 at Stamford Hospital, surrounded by his four children and wife, Anne. Pete, always the consummate gentleman, enjoyed life to the fullest, was devoted to family and friends, and loved to travel the world. He was a generous, much-loved man with a compelling smile and a twinkle in his eye who saw the best in everyone and in every situation. Pete was born in Wilson, N.Y., on July 27, 1931, to Alexander Joseph Wright and Grace Brown Wright and was raised on a dairy farm in Youngstown, N.Y. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1953 and served in the U.S. Air Force in Utopia, Alaska, from 1954-56. ___________

— an obituary from Edward Lawrence Funeral Home

___________

In 1956, he married Virginia Mae (Ginny) Alden and they had four children.

Obituaries

Gail Ord, 73, Real Estate Agent, Avid Bridge Player, Figure Skating Judge

By David Gurliacci | April 17, 2017

Beloved wife, mother, sibling & friend, Gail Brebner Ord, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on April 11. The way Gail handled a difficult cancer diagnosis was a role model for us all – understanding, accepting and brave. Born on April 28, 1943, Gail was the oldest daughter of the late Frederic Brebner and Doreen Dann. Gail grew up in Toronto and Montreal, and graduated from John Rennie High School and Macdonald College at McGill University. She married Nicholas Ord on Aug.

Obituaries

Josephine Held, 90, Former Darien Resident

By David Gurliacci | April 10, 2017

Josephine Held of Marlton, N.J. passed away peacefully on April 6. She was 90. She was born Dece. 17, 1926 in Chicago. Married in 1956, she was the much-loved wife of Roy Held, who survives her.