Obituaries

Kathryn Votava, age 85, Former Darien Resident

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Kathryn J. “Katy” Votava, age 85, of Neenah, Wisconsin passed away on Tuesday, May 14, with her family by her side. Katy was born Feb. 9, 1934 in Wausau, Wisconsin to Leonard and Pearl (Ramaker) Pheifer.  When she was 3 years old, they moved to Neenah. Katy attended Neenah Schools and graduated from Neenah High School in 1952. Shortly after, she was employed by Marathon Corporation (American National Can) in the Research and Development Department.  It is there that she met her husband, Jim.

Obituaries
Charles Vickers obit

Charles Vickers, 96, Founded Drug Distribution Company, Loved Jazz, Sang, Played Ukelele

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Charles J. Vickers, a longtime resident of Stamford and more recently Darien, died May 8, at the age of 96. Born in 1923 in Hoboken, NJ. Mr. Vickers served as an officer in the Navy aboard Landing Craft Infantry 867 in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Following his wartime service, Mr. Vickers graduated from St. Peter’s College in New Jersey with a degree in chemistry in 1947.

Obituaries
John Dugdale obit

John Dugdale, 61, Financial Researcher, Marketer, Avid Cyclist, Active Volunteer

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John Byron Dugdale of Darien died suddenly on May 6, 2019 at Yale New Haven Hospital after complications from a brief illness. He was 61. Born in Stamford Hospital on Aug. 30, 1957, he is survived by his parents, Byron and Lois Dugdale, third-generation residents of Darien; his sisters: Mary Danskin, Anne Gordon; and brother-in-law, Ken Gordon, in New Jersey; and his long time girlfriend, Catherine Beckmann. His younger brother, William L. Dugdale, predeceased him in 1969.

Obituaries
Mary Brennan obit

Mary Brennan, 95, Loved Traveling, Reading, Broadway Shows and the Beach

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Mary Louise McGrath Brennan, 95, a former longtime New Canaan resident, died May 3 at her home in Darien. She was born Feb. 25, 1924, at her parents’ home on 8th Street in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Edward Joseph McGrath and Helen Johnston McGrath. She had three sisters: Helen, Ann, Edith, and a dear cousin, Peggy, who was like a younger sister to her. Mary graduated from Bay Ridge High School and then St.

Obituaries
Rodney Ferris obit

Rodney Ferris, 86, Darien Native, Church Deacon, Loved Sailing, Tennis, Playing Piano

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Rodney Jarvis Ferris, businessman and counselor, loving husband and father, died in his apartment in Lincoln, Massachusetts on May 1, 2019. He was 86. A 56-year resident of Holden and Worcester, Massachusetts, Rodney was born on Feb. 18, 1933, in Darien to Margery Jarvis and William Henry Ferris. He attended Hotchkiss School and Princeton University where he led the varsity swim team’s butterfly squad and majored in engineering.

Obituaries
Gretchen Terhune obit

Gretchen Terhune, 85, Led Darien United Way, RTM Member, Volunteers Director at DHS

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Gretchen Reiche Terhune, of Falmouth, Maine, died Wednesday, April 24 of a stroke at Maine Medical Center. She was 85. Born April 11, 1934 at the then Maine General Hospital in Portland, she was the daughter of Laura Christine Knudsen Reiche and Howard C. Reiche, who was for many years the Principal of Portland High School. Educated at Portland High School, she was a fiercely proud scholarship graduate in 1956 of Pembroke College in Brown University. She will be remembered as a warm, kind and loving person.

Obituaries
Charles O'Rourke obit

Charles O’Rourke, Former Member of St Thomas Church in Darien

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Charles E. O’Rourke of Brookline, Massachusetts and formerly of New Canaan, passed away April 17. He graduated from Watertown High School and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He also was a graduate of Boston College (class of 1951) and received a master’s degree from Brown University, and masters of business administration from Fordham University. Mr. O’Rourke was a former longtime employee of Union Carbide Corp., and Carbtrol, Inc. He was formerly a longtime resident of New Canaan, and was a member of the New Canaan Senior Men’s Club, American Chemical Society, and served as treasurer of CDA. — an obituary from the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home

He was a longtime parishioner of St.

Obituaries
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Carolyn Schoonmaker, Active in Community Affairs, Chaired Darien Republican Town Committee

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Former Darien resident Carolyn Schoonmaker, passed away peacefully in Naples, Florida on the morning of April 2 with her two sons, Sam and Eric, by her side. In passing, she rejoins her beloved husband, Sam, who predeceased her. She is survived by two sisters, a stepsister, two sons, four grandchildren and numerous other family and friends. Carolyn was born in Englewood, New Jersey, the second daughter of Frederick and Carol Peters. A natural athlete, she grew up throwing and catching a baseball with the Yankees, who practiced in the park near her house.

Obituaries
Manuel Perez obit

Manuel Perez, 79, Avid Photographer, Produced ‘Darien Library: The Great Good Place’

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Manuel Joseph Perez, the beloved husband of Janet Williams Shaw, passed away on Sunday, March 24, 2019 at the age of 79. He was born on Jan. 15, 1940 in Newburgh, New York, the son of Manuel and Madeline (Paolini) Perez. As a child, Manny loved books, reading, listening to stories on the radio and watching movies, which laid the foundation for his life’s work. On a Naval ROTC scholarship, Manny graduated from the University of Rochester in 1962 with a degree in clinical psychology.