Darien Obituary April 2018

Obituaries

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

By David Gurliacci | April 9, 2018

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.)

____________

— an obituary from Edward Lawrence Funeral Home

____________

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.

Obituaries

Robert Buccelly, 87, Former Darien Resident, Electrician, Air Force Veteran

By David Gurliacci | April 9, 2018

Robert W. Buccelly, 87, of Shelton, beloved husband of Gertrude M. Ouellette Buccelly, passed away March 31 at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. 

Robert was born in Derby, May 9, 1930, son of the late Liberato and Antonetta Bosco Buccelly.  Robert was a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force serving during the Korean War.  He graduated from the University of Hartford with two associates degrees in electronics and in industrial & communications. He lived in Darien, for many years.  He worked as an electronic technician for Dorr-Oliver Inc. of Stamford for many years until his retirement.  He was a member of the Sutter Terlizzi American Legion Post 16 of Shelton, and the Shelton Senior Center. Along with his wife Gertrude, he is survived by his sister, Ada Rauscher of Worcester, Mass.; his sister-in-law, Dolores Buccelly of Shelton, his nephews: Michael Rauscher and Keith Ogle and his wife, Jennifer; his nieces: Mary Marengo, Debbie Potter Ogle, and Joan Russell and her husband, John. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brothers: Dante Buccelly (who was shot down and died while flying a mission in the U.S. Air Force during World War II) and Orlando Buccelly (who was also a proud veteran of the U.S. military and served during WWII); and his sisters: Eva Ogle, and Dora Buccelly.

Obituaries

Susan Coates, 69, Former Darien Resident, Active Volunteer

By David Gurliacci | April 7, 2018

Susan Merritt Coates, 69, passed away on March 10 from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which affects one person in a million each year. She was surrounded by family and friends when she passed away peacefully with the same smile and positive attitude that she kept during her entire life. Susan was born May 21, 1948 in Port Chester, N.Y. and graduated from Darien High School. She attended Colorado Women’s College in Boulder before transferring to San Jose State University, where she received her degree. It was there that she met her future husband, Stephen, to whom she was married for nearly 48 years.

Obituaries

Barbara Dillon, 90, Worked at The New Yorker, Wrote Children’s Books, Active Volunteer

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Barbara Dinkel Dillon, 90, of Darien passed away on March 28, 2018. Born on Sept. 2, 1927 in Glen Ridge, N.J., Barbara grew up in Maplewood, N.J., where she graduated from Columbia High School. She went on to attend Pembroke College in Providence (then the women’s school of Brown University), following in her father’s footsteps as a Brown alumnus. She graduated in 1939 with a B.A. in English.