Darien Obituaries April 2018

Helen Pierce, 89, Nanny, Professional Chef Who Was Self-Taught

Edward Duffy, 81, Contractor, Loved Fishing, Golfing, Driving Through New England with Family

Anna Gledhill, 99, Former Darien Resident, WWII Vet, Kindergarten Teacher

George Swisshelm, 94, U.S. Army Veteran of WWII and Korea, Editor, Active in Darien Senior Center

Anthony Verrico Sr., 74, Veteran, Post Office Employee, Car Buff

Mary Romaniello, 87, Former Darien Resident, Worked at Capital Magnetic and IBM in Stamford

Joseph Augustus, 91, a Darien Post Office Supervisor, Active in Piedmont Club

Parker Chick Jr, 85, Former Darien Resident, Active in Episcopal Church

Maureen Diehl, 68, Former Darien Resident, Enjoyed Crocheting, Celebrating Holidays

Sanford Kaynor Jr., 58, Raised in Darien, Dies as a Result of 2012 Shooting

Malcolm Robinson Jr., 82, High School Athlete in Darien, IBM Executive

Michael Jordan, 68, Hairdresser and Business Owner in Darien and Stamford

William Barrett, 93, Former Darien Resident, Self-Taught Mineralogist, Semi-Pro Ice Skater

Cornelius Lovelady, 72, Former Golf Pro at Country Club of Darien

Jacqueline Pace, 93, a Teenager in the French Resistance, Former Darien Resident

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 14, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 9, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 9, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 3, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 3, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 3, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 2, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | May 1, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 25, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 24, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 20, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 20, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 18, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 13, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 9, 2018

Helen McAloon Pierce, 89, formerly of Darien and Stamford, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Born in Bo’ness, Scotland on Dec. 18, 1928 to the late Patrick and Elizabeth McCallum McAloon, she was married for 56 years to William K. Pierce Jr., who predeceased her in 2015. In her 20s, Helen worked in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh, Scotland and London before immigrating to the United States as a governess for a family in Greenwich. As a superb self-taught cook and expert in fine dining, Helen then held a long-time position with the CONDEC Corp.

Edward Francis Duffy, a longtime Darien resident, passed away at his home on Friday, April 6 after a long battle with nasopharyngeal cancer. He was 81. Ed was born as a first generation American on Sept. 16, 1936 in Brooklyn, NY. His parents were Edward McPartland Duffy, a native of Scotland, and Anna Flynn, a native of Ireland.

Anna Margaret Gledhill, educator and veteran, died peacefully at home in Hallowell, Maine, on Monday, April 30. She was 99. Anna Margaret Fiddler was born May 7, 1918 in New Brighton, PA. She grew up there as well as Stamford. She also spent time in Havana, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and New York City.

George A. Swisshelm, a longtime resident of Darien, passed away on Thursday April 26 in Branford. He was 94. He was born on Jan. 6, 1924 in Baltimore to the late Emmet Swisshelm and Beatrice Johnston Swisshelm. George graduated from William C Bryant High School in Long Island City. He was in the U.S. Army during World War II and then received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in 1948.

Anthony (Tony) Joseph Verrico Sr., 74, of Stamford, Darien, Wilton, and North Carolina, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 20,at Wilton Meadows Convalescent Home in Wilton. He served his country as a member of the United States Navy and was a retired U.S. Postal worker. He had many interests, from building and flying model planes, to working on engines of all sizes. He was a car buff, enjoyed music from the Doo-wop era especially those “Oldies but Goodies,” and don’t forget Country Music! Tony loved fishing, boating, traveling, and cooking.

Mary McDonald Romaniello, formerly of Darien and Estero, FL, passed away in Naples, FL. She was 87. Mary was a resident of Southwest Florida for over 23 years. Mary Romaniello was born June 3, 1930, she was the daughter of Edward J and Cecilia M (nee Walsh) McDonald. She was a graduate of Darien High School.

Joseph G. Augustus, a lifelong resident of Darien, passed away on Sunday, April 29, 2018 at his home. He was 91. Born Jan. 9, 1927 in Darien, he was the son of the late George Agosto and Josephine Calvi Agosto Verducci. Mr. Augustus attended Darien Public Schools and was a star athlete while at Darien High. He participated in the Accelerated Graduation Program and was drafted into the U.S. Army near the end of World War II.

Parker Newhall Chick, Jr., 85, of Chatham, MA passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 26, 2018 after a long illness. He was the beloved husband of Priscilla (Freeman) Chick for over 64 years. He is predeceased by his parents Parker Chick Sr. and Katharine (Pearson) Chick, and his beloved brother Peter Chick of Tacoma, WA. He was born in Cambridge, MA on June 12, 1932. He attended Walpole public schools and graduated from Walpole High School in 1951.

Maureen Joy (Felicella) Diehl of Trumbull and previously of Darien and Stratford, beloved wife of the late Steven Diehl, passed away Sunday, April 22 at St. Vincent Medical Center. She was 68. Born Jan. 12, 1950 in Bridgeport, Maureen was the daughter of the late Vincent and Mary (Joy) Felicella and was a lifetime area resident.

Sanford (Sandy) Bull Kaynor, Jr. an attorney and businessman, died on April 19, 2018 in New Orleans, the result of gunshot wounds sustained on Oct. 2, 2012. He was 58. Born in Manhattan on May 19, 1959 and raised in Darien, he was predeceased by his parents Sanford Bull Kaynor, Sr. and Laura (Sanford) Kaynor. A descendant of the earliest settlers of the country, his ancestors included Elihu Yale; Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford; and soldiers who fought at the Battle of Brandywine in the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Plattsburgh in the War of 1812.

Malcolm W. Robinson, Jr., died April 16, 2018, at his residence at Westminster, FL in the World Golf Village, after a few days of hospice care. He lived a vibrant personal and business life, raising a family with his wife of 55 years, Betsy. He was attended in his last conscious days by his sons, and his only brother, John, and sister in law, Lynn, all whom had the chance to remind him they love him. Malcolm was born in Stamford, on June 13, 1935. He spent his childhood as a student, sailor, hockey player, lacrosse player, and a boxer in Darien.

Michael J. Jordan, passed away on Monday, April 16. He was 68. Michael was born on April 15, 1950 in Stratford to Josephine Dominguez and Joseph Carter. He was a business owner/hairdresser for 50 years in Darien and Stamford. Surviving are his siblings: Jo-Ann Ferro and Anthony Spetrino; his former wife, Lynn Jordan of Stamford, CT; his daughter, Mariesa Lynn Jordan of Stamford CT; and by his two twin granddaughters, Brooke Emily Bechalany and Jordan Lynn Bechalany.

William John (Bill) Barrett passed away peacefully at the River Glen Health Center in Southbury on Saturday, April 7. He was 93 years old. Born in South Norwalk to the late John J. and Viola Bloom Barrett in 1924, he resided in Norwalk, Trumbull, Darien and South Salem, NY before retiring to Southbury over thirty years ago. Bill was a member of the 3704th Army Air Force Base Unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces Training Command in World War II, serving from 1943 to 1946. He co-owned a roofing business and worked as a construction foreman, but his true passions were history, antiquities and science.

Cornelius “Neil” F. Lovelady, of Fairfield, the beloved partner for over 22 years of Marilyn Eggers, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, April 8. He was 72. He was born in Halifax, England to the late Cornelius C. and Elizabeth Lovelady and grew up in Oxford, MS.

Neil received his B.A. degree in physical education from the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the golf team and won NCAA Individual Champion honors in 1967-1968. He followed his passion for golf winning Pro-Am tournaments and serving as Assistant Golf Pro at the Country Club of Darien for over 30 years. Neil had a genuinely warm personality that everyone loved to be around. He was a true southern gentleman and a friend to all.

« August 2022 »

Jacqueline Henriette Pace, a former, long- time resident of Darien and once a member of the French Resistance, passed away peacefully after a long illness Saturday, March 24, at her apartment in Stamford. She was 93.

Born March 18, 1925 in Paris, Jacqueline Gambiez survived the Great Depression and World War II as part of the rightfully dubbed “Greatest Generation.”

Upon the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, Jacqueline left behind her Parisian childhood to hide in the Burgundy countryside in Chatillon-sur-Seine with her mother and grandmother. (Her grandfather, Henri Bertrand, who had passed before WWII, once owned a small cheese-making company near Chatillon, in Chamesson, and built a beautiful stone home there that remains today.)

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— an obituary from Edward Lawrence Funeral Home

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Two years later, at the age of 14, Jacqueline joined the Resistance delivering mail to the underground. While she assumed tremendous risk (that she said she never appreciated at the time), she proved very valuable as a translator since she spoke English, German, Russian, and of course, French. Among her notable wartime successes, Jacqueline helped save the life of American pilot, James MacGrew, who had been downed behind enemy lines in the forest near her home.