Darienite (https://darienite.com/tag/exceptional-obituaries-2022)
W.P. “Peter” O’Neill died on Sunday, Oct. 23, in the Philippines of a brain tumor. He was 97. Peter was born on Dec. 20, 1924, to Connecticut parents Gladys Elizabeth and John Daly O’Neill, both born in Stamford and long time residents of Darien.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, John N. Ray, loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away at the age of 97 in West Hartford. John, known to all as Jack, was born on May 3, 1925, in Bridgeport to H. Benjamin and Florence Margarita (Norton) Ray. He and his parents resided in Darien, where Jack grew up enjoying many outdoor pursuits, including camping, boating, hockey and riding as a member of the New Canaan Mounted Troop. At the age of 17, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Pacific and Japan during World War II.
Elizabeth Sherwood Frank of Houston passed away on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. She was 27. Liz is the adored daughter of Jane and Stephen Frank and loving sister to William and Caroline. Liz was in her fourth year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.
A truly amazing woman from a generation like no other, a mentor, a friend and our wonderful mother Glenna Maduro de Rham passed away peacefully at her home in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, on Nov. 1, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was 85. Glenna led an amazing and storied life filled with adventure, love, and joy. She was born in New York City on Oct.
Martin Joseph Flaherty, 87, son of Therese Leinert Flaherty and Joseph Martin Flaherty, passed away quietly in his sleep on Oct. 14. Marty loved growing up during Darien’s more rural past, and spent hours exploring the woods, streams, swamps, and shoreline of his hometown. Interest in the natural world around him led to a fascination for his parents’ Victory garden where he learned to cultivate and preserve fruits and vegetables. Though taken by the garden, working the family chicken business was more of a chore, as was mowing the lawn of his paternal grandparents, Catherine and Martin Joseph Flaherty.
Arthur James Allen was born to Barton and Marilyn Allen in Flushing, New York on Sept. 14, 1976, and grew up with his sister Jennifer (Allen) Paterson and brother Bart Allen in Northport, New York. As a child he loved to ride his red fire engine way too fast down an incredibly steep hill, shoot baskets at his neighbor Curt’s house and read books on long days of sailing in the summer. He graduated from Northport High School in 1994 and was a varsity basketball player and varsity lacrosse player. During his senior year of high school he received all-league and all Suffolk County recognition for his skill.
On Sept. 8, 2022, Russell “Russ” Harding, former astronomer, astronomy educator, teacher trainer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, dedicated volunteer, avid skier, patron of the arts, world traveler, and beloved friend to many, died at Glen Hill Center in Danbury after a prolonged illness. He was 90. Often referring to himself as a misguided missile, Russ had a whimsical approach to life which brought much joy to those around him. Children especially loved his unusual taste in gifts for all occasions which were always fun and never practical.
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.
100 years, 7 months. Alice B. Canavan passed away Thursday, July 21, 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky. She squeezed every last drop of life from the mortal one granted to her by God. She was a resident at The Willows At Springhurst nursing home. Formerly a resident of Darien for almost 60 years, she was previously a 20-plus year resident of Bellevue, Pennsylvania.
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.
James Morgan Abbots died on July 17, 2022 at 1:42 p.m., due to complications from Type 2 Diabetes and other complications. He was 74. Jim was born in Danville, VA on August 13, 1947. Jim graduated from Darien High School in 1965 and was a multilingual graduate in 1969 of the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He could speak French, Vietnamese, German, Arabic and Mandarin Chinese and also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tom J. Geraghty on June 26 from complications of kidney cancer. He was 79. Tom was born on Oct. 19, 1942 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the oldest of seven children. During his youth, his family moved to Cleveland and afterward ended up in Palatine, Illinois.
John Frederick Sutton, of Scarborough, Maine, died peacefully at home on July 29, 2022. Born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1933 to the Rev. Fred Perry Sutton and Dorothy Auten Sutton, John devoted his life to education, service, his church, and his family. He walked this earth with quiet dignity and left his imprint on so many he met along the way. He will be greatly missed. John attended Haddonfield Friends School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and after moving to Connecticut, Hopkins Grammar School (now Hopkins School) in New Haven, where he graduated in 1951.
James Ryan Morrison died Nov. 14, 2021 in Spokane, Washington, with son Jameson and carers Samantha and Syvanna at his side. It was one day after his 97th birthday and three nights after polishing off a whopping great slab of apple pie before going to sleep. He was born Nov. 13, 1924 in Pawling, New York during the Coolidge Administration.
Judith (Judy) Pittman Tibbetts, a nearly 70-year resident of Darien, has recently passed. Born in Nebraska to the late Beatrice and Alfred Pittman, and raised in Chicago and Boston, Judy moved to Darien in the early 1950s after college (Principia) and marriage. She and her husband, Paul, and their two sons, Alfred and John, lived in a home they built in Delafield Island. They were also founding members of the Christian Science Church in Darien on the corner of the Post Road and Salt Box Lane. While her children were still quite young, Judy discovered a knack for selling real estate, arranging two sales before deciding to go into the business.