April 29, 1941 – September 9, 2022 Gayle S. Maffeo, veteran television producer, beloved partner, mother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away in her home on Sept. 9, 2022 surrounded by those she loved the most. She was 81. Gayle Arden Sickinger Maffeo was born on April 29, 1941, in Evanston, Illinois, to Virginia (Klapp) and Kenneth Sickinger and between her two siblings Timothy and Kendall (Rojas). After the loss of her father to Leukemia at age 35, Gayle’s mother married Orville Tousey, bringing two additional cherished brothers, Mike and Tim, to her life and moving the family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Ruth Bovier Witt, 84, passed away on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022 at the Meadow Ridge Senior Living Community in Redding. She was a 50-year resident of New Canaan, from 1970 to 2020, and previously lived in Darien. The daughter of Ralph F. and Alice Patterson Bovier, Ruth was born in Towanda, PA on Aug. 24, 1938.
Harry Van Benschoten of New Canaan and Naples, Florida died peacefully at his home on Aug. 31, 2022 at the age of 94 1/2. Harry was born in New York City on Feb. 18, 1928. He attended Dartmouth College and enlisted in the U.S. Army in September, 1946 through January, 1948 and served during the occupation of Japan after World War II.
It is with profound sadness that our family relays the news of the passing of our beloved Irene Marie Mahoney Trautmann on Saturday morning Sept. 3. She was 59. “Renie”, as she is known to those who knew and loved her, was a guiding light. A cherished daughter, sister, mom, aunt, godmother, wife and dear friend.
On July 25, 2022, while vacationing in Nova Scotia, Canada, Craig Lehne Knebel passed away unexpectedly due to a rare complication from a heart procedure he had the prior month. He was doing what he loved the most, exploring beautiful places with his family. Craig was born in Bronxville, New York in 1960 to Jane Ann and George Knebel and grew up on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. As a child he loved exploring the outdoors and playing sports, excelling in swimming. His fondest childhood memories were at Camp Seagull in North Carolina, first as a camper then as a counselor, where he proudly achieved his U.S. Coast Guard License to operate small motorboats. A driven and impressive student, Craig graduated high school from The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and went on to obtain his undergraduate degree at Duke University and then an MBA at The Wharton School.
Robert (Bob) Courtney McGee passed away on Aug. 22, 2022 at the age of 86. He was a Darien resident for 30 years and lived in Norwalk for the past 19 years. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 59 years, Carol Dawn McGee. Robert, the son of Percy and Carrie McGee, was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia.
Edmund W. Chang of West Newton, Massachusetts age 64, passed away after a more than two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64. Ed was born to Chinese immigrants Nelson Chang (1923-2020) and Edith Chang (Hsi), and grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and Darien. In 1980, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in urban studies and architecture from Northwestern University. After graduating, Ed worked as a designer for Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates before attending Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Jane G. Dolcetti, a 65-year resident of Darien, passed away at her daughter’s home in Norwalk on Aug. 22. She was 91. She was born in New Haven on March 13, 1931, to William Stack Greaney and Helen Dorothy Dunn. Jane grew up in Stamford and went on to graduate from Danbury State Teachers College.
Velma Saire, 89, of Sewickley, Pennsylvania passed away in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 18. A native of Glassport, she was born to Virginia (Altman) and Albert Backstrom. Despite a childhood filled with obstacles, she was valedictorian of Glassport Junior/Senior High School in 1951 and attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, Master of Education degree in school administration and doctorate in administration. In her 50-plus years as an educator, she shaped thousands of lives as a teacher, administrator, and college instructor in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, California, New Hampshire and Connecticut. While she referred to her experience as one of the developers of the Model School in McKeesport as the “Camelot of her career,” she was also honored to have had both high schools she led designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. She received countless awards in educational leadership including the Distinguished Woman in Education from the University of Pittsburgh, a Congressional Award for a distinguished career in education in 2000, and membership in the prestigious 100-member Headmasters Association during her tenure at Darien High School. After announcing “retirement” in 2000 from her position as assistant superintendent of Quaker Valley Schools, she continued to teach as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Gordon Joy Dean, 89, of Buckland, Massachusetts, died Aug. 17, 2022, his beloved partner Hedley Yost at his side. Gordon was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, the youngest child of Arthur Dean and Gladys Joy Dean. He developed an early interest in music that led to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sacred music from Boston University. He then completed a Master’s of Divinity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge.
After a long and full life, Carol Norma Lange Davis died peacefully at home surrounded by her daughters. She was 90 years old and lived in Norwalk. Carol was born on Nov. 5, 1931 in New York City. Carol received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.
