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Joseph Mulvaney, carpenter, veteran
Joseph L. Mulvaney of Ridgefield, a carpenter and a lifelong Ridgefielder, died on Sunday, May 16, at Danbury Hospital. He was 84 years old and the husband of Doris Provencher Mulvaney.
A Ridgefield native, Mr. Mulvaney was born on Feb. 29, 1920, a son of George and Mary Fischer Mulvaney. He attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1937. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy.
Mr. Mulvaney was a retired carpenter and had worked for many years with the Louis E. Lee Company in New Canaan, building some of the area’s largest homes. He had been a member of the Carpenter’s Union Local 210 for 57 years.
“When not working in his trade, his family was most important,” his family said. “He enjoyed gardening, mastering crossword puzzles and complaining about the stock market.”
Years ago, Mr. Mulvaney was a model for a drawing by artist Harry Bennett, his high school classmate, that appeared in national magazine advertisements for Lea and Perrins, the Worcestershire sauce.
“He was a handsome fellow,” explained his daughter, Sandy Mulvaney.
Mr. Mulvaney was a member of St. Mary's Church.
Besides his wife of 60 years, Mr. Mulvaney is survived by two daughters, Joyce Kegelman and her husband Ned of Danbury and Sandy Mulvaney of Ridgefield; a son John Mulvaney of Ridgefield; a sister-in-law, Helen Mulvaney of Ridgefield; four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Three sisters, Molly Griffiths, Martha Minella and Elizabeth Mulvaney, and three brothers, George Mulvaney, James Mulvaney and Robert Mulvaney, died before him.
Services and burial will be private.
There are no calling hours.
Contributions in Mr. Mulvaney’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association, Box 5022, Wallingford CT 06492, or the American Lung Association, 45 Ash Street, East Hartford, CT 06108-2372.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Janet Baldwin, IT&T accountant
Janet W. Baldwin, a former Ridgefielder, died July 7, 2004, at her home in Cumming, Ga. She was 94 years old and the widow of Guy Robert Baldwin.
A native of Oakhurst, N.J., Mrs. Baldwin had lived in Cumming for the past seven years, moving there from Connecticut. She retired from IT&T as a payroll accountant after 30 years of service and was a Baptist.
Survivors include her daughter, Barbara H. Claudy of Cumming; a brother, Angus Wilson of Kennebunkport, Me.; two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Vicar Robb Harrell led services Saturday morning, July 10, at McDonald and Son Funeral Home chapel in Cumming.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Jack Coffey, athlete, Navy veteran
John E. “Jack” Coffey of North Creek, N.Y., who grew up here and was president of his Ridgefield High School class, died on Thursday, July 22, 2004, at his home. He was 69 years old.
Mr. Coffey was born in Ridgefield on May 25, 1935, a son of the late Joseph P. and Mary McCarthy Coffey. He attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School in the Class of 1953.
While a student at Ridgefield High School, he was president of his class, played in the band and was an accomplished athlete, participating in basketball, football and baseball.
After graduation, Mr. Coffey served in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 1957. He later graduated from the former Danbury Teachers College, now Western Connecticut State University.
Mr. Coffey worked in the building trades most of his life and moved to North Creek in the early 80’s to pursue hunting, fishing and gardening.
He is survived by a brother, Joseph Coffey, and his wife Eileen of Ridgefield; two sisters, Joan Roudenis and her husband Peter of Ridgefield, and Marilyn Witt and her husband Ron of Gaylordsville; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. in St. Mary’s Church, Ridgefield.
Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
There will be no calling hours.
Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to Johnsbury Meal Site, 3584 State Route #28, North River, NY 12856.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Joseph Dunleavy, 83, postal worker
Joseph F. Dunleavy, 83, of Kent, a former Ridgefielder who had worked at the post office here, died on Friday morning, June 18, 2004, at his home. He was 83 years old and the husband of the late Eleanor Conti Dunleavy.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 24, 1920, Mr. Dunleavy was a son of the late Joseph and Mary Kane Dunleavy. When he was a boy, his family moved to Danbury where he attended schools and graduated from Danbury High School in the Class of 1938.
Mr. Dunleavy was a World War II veteran of the Army’s 192nd Field Artillery. He served in Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, New Guinea and Luzon and was a recipient of the American Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with Star.
He moved to Ridgefield in 1952 and had been outgoing mail clerk for the U.S. Postal Service in Ridgefield, retiring about 20 years ago. He moved to Kent 10 years ago. There, he was known in recent years for coming to town each day on his scooter and having coffee with the local old-timers. He became known as “Scooter Joe” and in May, was asked to lead the Memorial Day parade aboard his scooter.
Mr. Dunleavy is survived by a son, Timothy F. Dunleavy of Danbury; a sister, Nancy Mortimer of Danbury; a brother-in-law Ernest Conti and his wife Cynthia of Ridgefield.
Graveside services with military honors took place on Wednesday in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
John Dwyer, flight engineer
John P. Dwyer of 61 Sleepy Hollow Road died at Danbury Hospital on Tuesday morning, May 4, 2004. He was 81 years old and the husband of Rosetta Gillen Dwyer.
Mr. Dwyer was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 12, 1922, son of Thomas F. and Gertrude Bonzell Dwyer. He attended New York schools and was a World War II U.S. Army Air Force veteran and served as a flight engineer.
Upon discharge from the military, Mr. Dwyer was employed by Trans World Airlines and in later years, Socony and at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. He was a retired dock builder and was a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters of New York.
A summer resident of Ridgefield since 1950, he became a permanent resident in 1977 coming from Hollis, Long Island, N.Y. For many years he contributed letters to The Press on issues affecting the town.
Besides his wife of 61 years, Mr. Dwyer is survived by two sons, John Patrick Dwyer Jr., and his wife Victoria of Greenwich, and Daniel A. Dwyer of Ridgefield; a daughter Maryanne Dwyer of Ridgefield; and three sisters, Irene Callahan and Margaret Dwyer, both of Ocean Grove, N.J., and Gertrude Dwyer of Woodside, Queens, N.Y.
Funeral services will take place on Friday morning at 10:30 in the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street. Burial will follow in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven, Hawthorne, N.Y.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home on Thursday from 5 to 8.
DJ Esslinger, 21, technician
DJ Esslinger of Wilton, a former Ridgefielder who was a heating, ventilating and air conditioning technician, died on Tuesday, May 18, 2004. He was 21, and the son of Patricia Tait of Wilton and David Esslinger of 18 Fillmore Lane.
Mr. Esslinger was born on Dec. 10, 1982, and grew up in Wilton and Ridgefield. He recently had spent a short time in Vermont where he was a chef at a French restaurant. He also had worked as a HVAC technician in the family business.
Mr. Esslinger will be remembered by his family and friends as a good friend and older brother.
Besides his parents, he is survived by his mother’s spouse, RossTait, and his father’s wife, Sharon Esslinger; his siblings Dan, Gil, Jennifer, Joseph and Charlotte; and his grandparents, Charles and Mary Hogan and Robert and Joan Esslinger, all of Wilton.
Calling hours were on Friday, May 21, at the Bouton Funeral Home on West Church Street in Georgetown.
A private memorial service was held for the family on Saturday, May 22.
Carolyn Fischer, 91, lab technician
Carolyn Ferguson Fischer of Brookfield, a Ridgefield native who had worked for Schlumberger, died at Danbury Hospital on Thursday, May 6, 2004. She was 91 years old and the widow of Gerhard Fischer.
Mrs. Fischer was born March 5, 1913, in Ridgefield, daughter of the late Elbert and Margret Hyland Ferguson. She attended Ridgefield schools.
She married Gerhard Robert Fischer in Lewisboro, N.Y. on Nov. 30, 1940. They were married for 38 years before he died in February 1978.
She retired from Schlumberger-Doll Research in 1978 after 20 years of service as a lab technician.
Mrs. Fischer had lived in what came to be known as the “Scott House” on Catoonah Street from 1943 to 1960. The house was moved a few years ago to Sunset Lane and is the current home of the Ridgefield Historical Society.
In recent years Mrs. Fischer lived with her daughter, Geralyn Fischer, in Brookfield.
She was a former member of Bethel Methodist Church.
Besides her daughter, Mrs. Fischer is survived by a son, Robert Fischer and his wife Dusty of Denver, Colo.; a sister, Anna Mead of Ridgefield; a sister-in-law, Joan Ferguson of Southport, England; and several nieces and nephews.
Three sisters, Harriet O’Connor, Marjorie Heal and Rosella Morris, and a brother, Elbert Ferguson, died before her.
Services took place on Saturday afternoon at the Green Funeral Home in Danbury.
Contributions in her memory may be made to The Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 296, Brookfield, CT 06804.
Edward M. Holub, noted engineer
Edward Milo Holub of Media, Pa., an engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project and had lived in Ridgefield most of his life, died suddenly on Saturday, July 17, 2004, at Riddle Memorial Hospital.
Mr. Holub was born in New York City on Jan. 26, 1919 and grew up in Ridgefield. In 1942 he graduated from Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and was captain of the Cornell Pistol Team.
From 1943 to 1945, he worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb.
Mr. Holub had a 42-year career with Union Carbide Corporation’s Linde Industrial Gases Division.
During his years with Union Carbide he held many management positions and was issued patents in the field of powder cutting and scarfing. He also wrote many articles for technical journals and was an honorary life member of the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers. In 1959 Holub was listed in Who’s Who in Engineering.
In 1985, Mr. Holub was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given at 10% chance of survival. He underwent an operation at Norwalk Hospital, survived and went on to overcome the partial paralysis that had resulted from the operation.
In 1995 he moved from Ridgefield to Riddle Village. An avid golfer he also enjoyed spending time in his Maryland home of the Chesapeake Bay. He was an accomplished craftsman in furniture making and donated many pieces to local charities. He had been a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels since 1973.
Mr. Holub was recognized by The Rotary Club of Media and made a Paul Harris Fellow for all of his contributions to its annual auction.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jane Black Holub, his son Stephen Holub, daughter-in-law Sally Holub, granddaughter Jennifer Holub Green and husband Brian Green.
Contributions may be made to Riddle Memorial Hospital Foundation Development Fund, 1068 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, PA 19063 or The Media Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 522, Media, PA 19063.
C.W. Archambault, born in Poland
Christine W. Brusnicki Archambault, who had worked in the food service industry for much of her life, died April 20, 2004, at Danbury Hospital. A native of Torun, Poland, Mrs. Archambault died after “a long and courageous battle with cancer,” her family said.
She was born Nov. 29, 1927, a daughter of Alexander and Czeslawa (Chwalibog) Brusnicki. They immigrated to the United States, settling in Springfield, Mass., where Mrs. Archambault grew up. She later lived in Henniker, N.H., where she was co-owner of Baldwin’s Market in the early 1970s.
After moving to Ridgefield, she was a member of St. Mary’s Parish and enjoyed reading, shopping, and spending time with her family and friends.
She is survived by her son, Sean Archambault, and his wife, Allison, of Ridgefield; her son Gary Archambault of Litchfield; her daughter, Andrea Gleason of Dennis, Mass.; a sister and two grandchildren. Her son, Mark, died in 1972.
A Mass of Christian Burial took place on April 26 at St. Mary’s Church; burial was in Henniker, N.H.
Contributions may be made in her memory to the Praxair Cancer Center, c/o Danbury Hospital Development Fund, 24 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810.
Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
