Category: In Memoriam (Page 1 of 10)

John Wolcott, aged 82 and a 46-year resident of Darien, Connecticut, passed away on July 13, 2026 surrounded by his loving family.

Born in Berkeley, California, the son of Oliver Dwight Wolcott and Valborg Kjeldsen Rasmussen, John is survived by his loving wife and best friend, Jane, their two daughters, Kristine Braden and Dana Grunow, Dana’s husband, Benjamin and their son, Charlie and daughter, Whitney, and Kristine’s husband Glen and their two children, Tully and Hannah and last, but not least, a marvelous huge Maine Coon, Tabitha, named for Jane’s great-great-etc., grandmother who dwelt down east in Maine a century or two ago.

After being pulled from pillar to post while growing up in 23 houses including Peru and Trinidad, John kited back and forth between Cal Davis and Cal Berkeley chasing his interests (which might not have included academics), graduated, then served three years in the Army Transportation Corps, first in Virginia (the agony of Engineer OCS), then Colorado (the ecstasy of snow-Vail was just up the road from Fort Carson) and finally the Central Highlands of Vietnam (no snow, but at 2,500 feet, it did freeze!), during which he was awarded the Bronze Star. Leaving the Service as a Captain. John finally got serious, returned to school and earned an MBA in 1973 at Cal Berkeley, again, where for several years he moonlighted as a lecturer introducing incoming MBA students to the marvels of beancounting.

As a newly minted CPA, John joined Price Waterhouse in San Francisco, then transferred to their National Office in New York for a tour of duty, during which the family, having discovered that Darien was a wonderful place to raise children, made a rewarding decision to permanently relocate there. Later in his career, John took on various iterations of CFO for several private wealth management firms featuring extensive international travel. When asked what he did for a living all those years, John would reply, “Colleagues made the money; my job was to make sure we kept it.”

Sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on their first blind date, John fell head over heels in love with drop-dead gorgeous Jane at first sight. Happily, it only took Jane a little longer before she arrived at the same conclusion and they married the following spring-after only 19 days face to face! Over 54 years of marriage, John and Jane’s greatest joys in life (aside from each other) were their two spectacular daughters, complemented by their own growing families. John and Jane loved to travel together, trekking off to destinations ranging from the usual capitals to exotic outposts in obscure corners of the world, a wanderlust they are highly gratified to have imparted to their children.

John played so-so tennis and attempted golf until compelled to preserve the last shreds of his dignity. He would not have gone to Vietnam except that he failed to break a leg crashing down Vail’s Riva Ridge every weekend just before they closed the chair, a small consolation being that, despite himself, he was able to bash his way down double-blacks. He did board that plane along with fellow OCS graduates and all five were thankfully seated together again returning to the “world” to resume life exactly 364 days, 23 hours later. Back in the USA, John continued to ski, taking Jane and the girls to Snowmass every winter, particularly loving that precious 20 minutes on the Summit chairlift when he got to chat one-on-one with their daughters. They were always happy to ride up with Da (the girls had decided the second “d” was redundant) because he would lend them his toasty gloves to warm their freezing fingers. Once the kids were in college, Jane announced that it was time to trade the Rockies for warm white sandy beaches. John, who would follow Jane anywhere, acquiesced and Hawaii interspersed with Nantucket became frequent destinations.

Musically, John played accordion until begged to stop, and gamely practiced Czerny and Chopin until he arrived downstairs one morning to discover that his parents hated Czerny even more than he did and had sold the piano, after which he transitioned to the Hammond organ, where his teacher told him he might actually become good enough to run a piano bar someday. Finally, inspired by Deliverance, John was able to pick his way on his 5-string through Dueling Banjos-well, the opening riffs, at least.

Living in Darien, John served on the boards of the Middlesex and Darien Country Clubs as treasurer and served in a variety of roles with the Darien Men’s Association from secretary to president, where he enjoyed speaking before the membership weekly revealing the unreported ironies of what really happened “On this Day in History” of History Channel fame. As a final civic effort, John was also elected to serve on Darien’s Board of Finance. In recognition for his service to the military and the Community, John was named the Grand Marshal for Darien’s 2022 Memorial Day parade. Traveling out to camp at the “Grove” north of San Francisco every summer, John was also a long-time member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco.

John would like to hope he would be remembered for the quip, “Only stubborn when right.” However, most might find a more fitting epitaph to be, “Often wrong, never uncertain.”

James J. (Jim) Fletcher, a resident of Darien, passed away at age 88 on April 30, 2026, at Stamford Hospital. He was born to the late Maynard Fletcher and Clara Whalen Fletcher on June 28, 1937.

James graduated from St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire, earning his bachelor’s degree. He then began his career by starting his own business, J.J. Fletcher Company, working as an insurance investigations agent. He was a longtime parishioner at St. Thomas More Parish in Darien as well as a member of the Darien Men’s Association. James enjoyed golfing, playing handball, boating, country music, motorcycles and cars.

He is survived by his wife Barbara; one daughter, Jennifer Fletcher of Stamford; two brothers, David Fletcher and Paul Fletcher; two sisters, Clara Quintal and Patsy Jackson; and one cousin, William Morrison. He was predeceased by two brothers, Peter Fletcher and Thomas Fletcher.

Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bridge of Life (https://bridgeoflifeinternational.org) in memory of James.

Charles V. Raymond, or Chip to his friends, passed away in Stamford Connecticut early Saturday morning, April 11, just shy of his 84^th birthday. He is survived by his wife Jan; his sons Joshua and his wife Lisa, from Washington D.C., and Luke and his wife Briony, from Darien; and four grandchildren, Henry and Lucy (21), Rhys (12) and Vaughn (9).

Chip led an extraordinarily active life. He had a dynamic career of service to New York City and the world in government, non-profit management and foundations. He worked in senior positions for four New York City mayors including Mayors Lindsay, Beam, Koch and Dinkins. Early in his career he ran some of the first methadone maintenance programs in the country and helped reform the Willowbrook Psychiatric Hospital after a famous exposé was done by a young Geraldo Rivera on its abhorrent conditions. He finished his government career as the first ever Commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services, addressing the City’s homeless crisis.

After leaving government, he became the first managing director of the New York City Ballet. He remained an active patron of the Ballet right up to the end of his life.

In the last 10 years of his career, he ran the Citigroup Foundation, where he helped provide seed funding for the first large-scale microfinance projects in some of the world’s poorest countries. Outside of work, Chip was an avid sailor and competed in the Newport Bermuda race, the Marblehead Bermuda race, the Halifax race and multiple Vineyard races. He competed nationally in the Soling and Tempest classes. He spent years racing at Noroton Yacht Club in J-24s and Sonars with his family and friends. In later years, he served on New York Yacht Club’s Model Committee, helping to maintain and restore the Club’s world-famous ship model collection. He also cruised his own boat with Jan between Noroton and Newport almost every summer. Through all of that, during the last 21 years, Chip remained primarily focused on his family and especially his four grandchildren.

Donations in his honor can be made to Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) (BRC.org). BRC is one of New York’s most effective providers of services to unhoused people, and Chip served on its board of directors.

Peter Louis Anker (born May 14, 1935) passed away at his home in Darien on February 23, surrounded by family. As his name suggests, Peter was a strong and sturdy support for all who knew him. For his family, he was a warm, loving and supportive rock on which multiple generations grew and prospered. Professionally, his wise counsel and advice in the metals and mining industry helped build one of America’s premier investment banks.

A woodworker all his life, he knew the importance of a sturdy base and strong connections. Like the best cabinet makers, he made joints to give a piece of furniture or cabinet beauty and function and joined its parts for life. With family, friends and colleagues, his wisdom, decency, and humor were the mortices that held them together.

He was born into an extended Jewish family in Konigsberg, Germany, in 1935. He and his parents Dorothea and Hans were forced to flee their home and family in 1939 for safety in England first and then to the United States in 1940. He grew up in Springfield, Ill., where he, his parents and his sister Carole Jean built a new life.

Peter graduated from Springfield High School in 1953 and was one of very few members of his high school class to come East for college, attending Columbia University in New York City and graduating in 1957. While at Columbia, he studied English literature, skied in Canada and Vermont and stood to see all the great Broadway musicals.

He never lost his love for reading, theater, and New England, filling his bookshelves and Kindle, attending performances at and supporting Encores and the Goodspeed Opera House, and skiing and vacationing at his home in Vermont. Music and the arts were also constant throughout his life — classical music and the Great American Songbook always played in his house, car, and workshop. Following in the footsteps of his father, who helped found the Springfield (now Illinois) Symphony, Peter was an active board member of the Stamford Symphony (now Lumos) in Connecticut

He received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. He served in the United States Air Force on active duty between college and graduate school and in the reserves in France after being called up during the Berlin Wall crisis. He had a long and successful Wall Street career as a securities analyst in the metals industry, including at Smith Barney and First Boston, ultimately retiring as director of equity research at First Boston, before unretiring multiple times.

But Peter was much more than his impressive resume. His greatest achievements and joy were his family — his two sons, Philip, of Keston, England, and Kent of Pleasantville, N.Y., their wives Elizabeth and Patty, and his grandchildren Samuel, Lucy, G and Roan. He was a constant loving presence providing advice, encouragement and wisdom with distance never being an obstacle, regularly providing typed letters and phone calls. His home was a center of celebration, wine and chocolate (which he could not live without). He was a devoted brother to his sister Carole Jean Sternstein and her husband Jerry and uncle to his nephew Matthew Sternstein, his niece Alexis Schwartz, and their families.

His great love was his wife Billie. Married for 33 years and best friends for years before that, they built a life together of family, joy, laughter, food and travel, and were constant companions. He became a beloved stepfather, grandfather and great-grandfather to Billie’s four children, John, Chris, Tom and Karen, who brought them 11 grandchildren and their ever-growing number of great-grandchildren (now at seven). He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, great-children and his sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew.

Robert Edwin Kenyon III, known as Peter, passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side on December 21, 2025.

Peter was born in Chicago on July 27, 1938, to Robert Edwin Kenyon, Jr., and Doris Bokum Kenyon. They moved to Old Greenwich when Peter was six years old. He graduated from Kent School in 1957 and Columbia University in 1962. Shortly after graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy in San Diego and served for two tours of duty on the destroyer Bausell (DD845), on which he saw action off the coast of Vietnam. After his active military service, Peter went on to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve for another 20 years.

Peter met the love of his life, Kathleen O’Neill, in San Diego. They moved to Darien in 1972, where Peter enjoyed a long, distinguished career as both a reinsurance underwriter and broker. He retired from Guy Carpenter & Co. in 2014.

Peter was most proud of his family, and nothing was more important to him than the time he spent with them. He shared his love of the water with them, spending many a beach vacation together in Nantucket over the years and taking his kids out early in the morning on fishing trips, where he painstakingly taught all of them how to cast and reel one in. Peter taught his kids and grandkids many of his own passions, including, but not limited to: sports and the importance of teamwork; traveling, both exploring new places and going back to favorites; all things food-related; anything related to the Navy; and the impact of volunteering and community service. Most important, both Peter and Kathy would drop everything to be there for their loved ones, and that had an everlasting impact on the family.

Upon moving to Darien, Peter became a devoted volunteer of many organizations. He served on the RTM for District II and was elected moderator of the RTM for six terms. He was a parishioner at Saint Luke’s Parish, serving on its vestry, being an usher and faithfully staffing the dessert table at community suppers. Peter coached his son’s Darien Youth Hockey team, served on the PTO at Tokeneke School, worked on Darien’s Environmental Protection Commission, raised funds for the Darien Old Timers Athletic Association, mentored candidates of the Navy SEAL Recruiting District Assistance Council and supported the Middlesex Genealogy Society.

Peter was blessed by the gift of life, having  received a heart transplant in early 2002. Both Peter and Kathy felt strongly about honoring his donor by giving back through volunteering at Yale New Haven and mentoring patients waiting for a transplant and those living with a left ventricular assist device.

Peter is survived by his wife of 59 years, Kathleen O’Neill Kenyon; his daughters Kelly (Dave) Wheeler, Michelle Kenyon (Frank Persico) and Robyn (Mark) Kammerer; his son Jonathan (Janine) Kenyon; his grandchildren Jack, Charlie and Ali Wheeler, Benjamin and Isadora Kammerer, and Jonty and Nicky Kenyon; his sister Pamela Force; and many nephews and nieces.

Robert (Bob) Bishop Fiske Jr., devoted family man and esteemed lawyer, died peacefully at his home in Darien  on December 4, 2025. He was 94. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Born in Brooklyn on December 28, 1930, Bob spent his formative years in Darien. He met his future wife, Janet Tinsley, when they were teenagers. They remained happily married for over 71 years, often repeating the phrase, “together forever.”

Bob’s greatest joy was his family. Many of his happiest moments were spent sharing adventures with them. He cherished trips to Block Island, Nantucket, Steamboat and special times together at a second home in Vermont. An avid outdoorsman, he hiked the Long Trail in Vermont, the Appalachian Trail and New Zealand’s Milford Track, and took particular pride in completing the New York City Marathon and the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, as well as riding for many years in the Pan-Mass Challenge. He was a longtime member and sailor at Noroton Yacht Club and an enthusiastic fly fisherman at the Balsam Lake Club in Livingston Manor, N.Y. Bob embraced every opportunity to be outside, turning boating, skiing and countless other activities into treasured family memories. He continued playing tennis and kayaking in Long Island Sound well into his nineties.

An alumnus of Pomfret School, Yale University and the University of Michigan Law School, Bob was a distinguished partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. He served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) from 1976 to 1980, leading one of the nation’s most prominent prosecutorial offices. He personally led several high-profile cases, including the conviction of “Mr. Untouchable,” Harlem drug kingpin Nicky Barnes. While at the SDNY, he began his dedication to the hiring and advancement of women in the legal profession.

In 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno selected Bob to serve as the Independent Counsel investigating President Clinton’s involvement in the Whitewater matter, a role for which he was universally praised across the political spectrum for his sterling reputation, non-partisan decision-making, integrity and prosecutorial excellence.

Bob’s professional achievements and reputation garnered him numerous awards and distinctions. In addition, he served as president of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Federal Bar Council.

Reflecting his belief that exposure to both public and private practice cultivates more experienced lawyers, Bob created the Fiske Fellowship Program at the University of Michigan Law School in 2001 to financially support graduates beginning their careers in public service. He was deeply committed to public service and the communities he loved. Bob devoted many years to the Board of Trustees of Vermont Law School, helping to shape and strengthen the school’s future, and to the Vermont Natural Resources Council, reflecting his longstanding passion for conservation and the environment. Closer to home, he served as the Darien Police Commissioner for many years.

In 2014, he published Prosecutor, Defender, Counselor: The Memoirs of Robert B. Fiske Jr., reflecting on his legal career and personal life. After retiring from Davis Polk, Bob continued to work on legal matters, serving on committees and participating in pro bono cases until his death.

Bob had a remarkable intellect and memory, matched by his kind and generous nature. He had a rare ability to connect with anyone, taking a genuine interest in their lives. His dry wit and understated manner often belied his outgoing nature and boundless energy. His zest for life shone through in the way he loved planning gatherings with family and friends. Many of these grew into lasting traditions, particularly attending Yale and University of Michigan sporting events.

Bob leaves behind his beloved wife Janet; their children Linda, Robert and Susan (Rusty Williams); five grandsons: Ryan (Ellen), Calvin (Milena), and Robert “Roby” Williams and George and Sam Fiske; and great-grandson Owen Williams. He is survived by his brother John and predeceased by his brother McNeil.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 31 at 2 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien. To watch online, visit https://www.saintlukesdarien.org/event/funeral-for-robert-fiske/.

The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Robert B. Fiske Jr. Fellowship Program in Public Service, https://giving.umich.edu/um/w/robert-b.-fiske-jr.-fellowship-program-in-public-service-575174, Soundwaters, https://soundwaters.org/donatenow or a charity of your choice

William H. (Bill) Anderson passed away peacefully at his home on December 3, 2025, at age 95. Born November 24, 1930, in South Bend, Ind., Bill grew up in a football family. His father, Heartley “Hunk” Anderson, coached at Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears. His mother Marie was a teacher and homemaker. The youngest of three children, he was cherished by sisters Shirley Simpson and Joann Wilcox, both of whom predeceased him.

At Duke University, Bill excelled in track and was an ROTC member. A church supper introduced him to Margaret “Mugsie” Worrell, the love of his life. After graduating cum laude, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War but not before they married in Palm Beach, starting a 67-year union.

Bill spent 26 years at IBM, rising through the ranks and relocating often to support his family. Later, as CIO at Prudential Securities, his leadership earned him a Board seat. He retired after two decades and is remembered for integrity, mentorship and treating his teams like family.

Family was always at the heart of Bill’s life. He and Mugsie, along with their four boys, cherished summers boating and winters skiing. Bill continued to nurture those bonds by hosting countless family gatherings that created shared experiences and lasting memories.

Bill was a man of faith and generosity, devoting his time, talent and resources to every church he served — especially St. John’s in Hingham, Mass., and Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien. He held roles from youth leader to warden to usher, reflecting his deep commitment to his faith community. Bill also championed outreach initiatives, supporting Person to Person in Darien and the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance. He lived his faith through action and kindness.

Bill was predeceased by Mugsie and his son Mark Worrell Anderson. He is survived by his son William (Oz) and his wife Cindy of Cameron Park, Calif.; his son Jeffrey and his wife Karin of Hingham, Mass.; his son Daniel and his wife Julia of Stamford; and his daughter-in-law Christine of Manchester, N.H. Bill was blessed with 12 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Saint Luke’s Parish on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Person to Person, 1864 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820, or The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist, 172 Main Street, Hingham, Mass. The family wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude for the love, prayers and support shared during this time. Bill’s life was a gift to all who knew him, and his legacy of kindness, faith and devotion will continue to inspire the family, which invites you to join it in celebrating his remarkable life and in keeping his memory alive through acts of love and generosity.

John Miller McDonald Jr., known to most as Sandy, died on August 25, 2025. He was 95 and lived most recently in Northampton, Mass.  Born on January 5, 1930, in Evanston, Ill. and raised in Winnetka, Ill., Sandy was the son of John Miller McDonald of Columbus, Ohio and Florence Merrill McDonald of St. Paul, Minn. He married Ann Gebhart McDonald (“Gebby”) in 1961, and they spent 64 happy years by each other’s side. He graduated in 1947 from New Trier High School in Winnetka, and from Dartmouth College in 1951. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy in 1952, serving as a gunnery officer in the Mediterranean on the destroyer USS Warrington. Later, his service continued at the Naval Academy, teaching sailing and racing from Argentina to Brazil before his honorable discharge as lieutenant in 1956. He received an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1957.

Sandy spent his entire career in sales and marketing positions in the plastic packaging business, first for Kordite in Rochester, N.Y. and Atlanta, and then for 36 years at Continental Can (later Continental Plastic Containers). Throughout his career, he was active in the larger plastics industry, with roles at the Society of Plastics Industry and as a spokesman for public affairs of the Plastic Bottle Institute. He helped to establish the plastic bottle material coding standards for recycling and capped his career at Continental as an environmental consultant.

In 1962, Sandy and Gebby settled into what became their home of 58 years in Noroton Bay in Darien, where they raised three boys. Some of the most memorable moments of his life revolved around boats and the water. Growing up, he sailed on Lake Michigan. At Dartmouth, he raced on the sailing team and helped construct an early boathouse. He raced an Ensign and then a Sonar on Long Island Sound, savored his memorable trips to sail with family and friends in the British Virgin Islands, and proudly entertained many on his retirement Grady-White powerboat.

A member of Noroton Yacht Club for over 60 years, Sandy served in various positions of leadership there and in the broader Darien and Long Island Sound community. He served on the Junior Sailing Committee at Noroton Yacht Club for six years, including as chairman. He served a six-year term as a flag officer, becoming commodore in 1980. During his tenure, the club hosted the National Junior Sailing Championship. Sandy and Gebby founded and produced the Noroton Fleet Sheet for more than 10 years. He was a 1999 recipient of the Moon Award, presented to a club member who has given extraordinary volunteer effort over time to the club.

He served as chairman of the Junior Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound, and as environmental chair of the organization. He was a member of the Connecticut Harbor Management Board, vice chair of the Connecticut Boating Council, and represented Darien on the Citizens Advisory Committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Study. He also served as chairman of the Darien Advisory Commission on Coastal Waters and was Secretary of the High-Speed Ferry Safety Task Force of Long Island Sound.

Sandy took great joy in celebrating others in their achievements, always ready with a smile and a hearty handshake of greeting or congratulation. All who knew him felt his warmth and curiosity, as he inquired about their latest pursuits and shared what he had learned from his own avid reading. To be at a table with him as he raised a glass in “Skol!” was to feel kinship as family. He was an active and devoted father, and later grandfather. Sandy was a happy Scotsman, proud of his Scottish heritage and a long-time member of Clan Donald USA.

Sandy is survived by his wife Gebby; their three sons Jock, Doug and Geoff; three daughters-in-law Allison Bleyler McDonald, Deanna Cook McDonald and Sarah Brubacher McDonald; and five grandchildren Ella, Maisie, Callum, Spencer and Rory McDonald.

A celebration of Sandy’s life will be held at Noroton Presbyterian Church and Noroton Yacht Club on December 27, 2025.

Frank Badart Kemp of Darien passed away peacefully at home on August 30, 2025, due to heart failure.

Born on September 30, 1943, to Blanche and Lemuel Kemp, Frank was raised at their home in Catonsville Md. He graduated from McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md. in 1961.

As an American studies major at Yale’s Davenport College, he was active in campus programs, especially the Yale Political Union, taking great pleasure in hosting guest speakers of national reputation to a seminar chat, dinner, and then presentations to the larger student body.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, and upon graduation in 1965 was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. His initial assignment was at Camp Casey, Tongduchon, Korea, 40 miles north of Seoul and near the Demilitarized Military Zone. His first assignment was an infantry platoon leader, prior to being promoted to first lieutenant and the battalion staff. Prior to his discharge from the Army, he taught marksmanship to basic trainees at Fort Dix.

At Columbia University he earned an M.B.A. in 1969, majoring in finance and information management and was hired into a start-up training program for liberal arts graduates by Arthur Young and Company. There, he learned the consultant’s discipline and thrived in projects devoted to computer systems and development.

While at Columbia he met and courted Judith Ann Budding who had graduated from Connecticut College while he was in the Army. Their marriage in the fall of 1969 marked the beginning of 44 years of bliss, starting in Murray Hill, then Brooklyn Heights, and a final move to Darien in 1987. Once settled in at Seagate Road in Darien, they began their commuting careers, together in the morning, but unable to coordinate the timings of their trips home.

With a love for sailing, clearly inherited from his dad, Frank ventured with Judy all over Long Island Sound, enjoying weeks-long cruises to places where they could anchor out and enjoy the sunsets. In later years, the sailing platform was an 18′ Marshall Catboat, a sturdy craft found mostly in the middle of the pack: neither the first, nor the last. After the years of sailing, he recently “went to the dark side” with a sturdy 19′ center console boat, taking it to Hartford, the Erie Canal and around Manhattan several times, for the pure joy of it.

Following a career at Arthur Young, Frank served as chief information officer (CIO)for the Municipal Bond Investors Assurance Corporation and the law firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdun, completing his career as CIO at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants just after Y2K computer issues were resolved.

On their retirements in 2000, Frank and Judy launched into a most vigorous era of public service projects within Darien. Frank was recognized as a volunteer of the year in 2006, served on the boards of Person-to-Person and the Darien Arts Center and on the vestry of Saint Luke’s Parish. He served as president of the Darien Arts Center for several years, and as commander of the Darien Sail & Power Squadron. He relished the challenges of organizing the Squadron’s flare up session, as well as the boat camp, involving over 100 camper students and many volunteers’ boats.

Upon the loss of Judy in 2013, Frank returned to active participation in yet more civic activity, including teaching boating courses for the Darien Sail & Power Squadron. It has been estimated that he and his colleagues taught and certified over 3,000 students for their Connecticut boating licenses — many of whom remained good friends.

He was one of the longer-serving members of Darien’s Representative Town Meeting and was chair of the committee that has been revising the town’s charter and ordinances.

He is survived by his partner Margaret MacMillen and a great cloud of honorary nieces and nephews, and their kids.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Frank’s memory to Person-to-Person, 1864 Post Road, Darien CT 06820 or  East Coast Contemporary Ballet, 15 Yew Street, Norwalk, CT 06850.

Douglas Campbell III, age 72, passed away on September 2, 2025, at his home in Stamford with his wife and kids at his side after a courageous four-year battle with ALS. He went peacefully thanks to an abundance of love and support from family and friends, and because he was able to watch the University of Michigan football team win its first game of the season a few days prior. 

The son of the late Douglas Campbell Jr. and Elizabeth MacColl Campbell, Doug was born on March 6, 1953, in Detroit, and grew up in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. He graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 1971 and received a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 1975. After a stint at the U.S. State Department, he received an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in 1980.

In 1972, Doug met Gwynne (MacColl) Campbell in Portland, Oreg., and in 1978 they got engaged in Italy. They married on Cape Cod a year later and relocated to Darien, where together they opened the first Sylvan Learning Center on the East Coast, providing tutoring and test prep for 36 years.

In 1995, Doug founded The Success Coach to help CEOs and their teams reach business goals. Simultaneously, he taught M.B.A. classes for almost two decades at Sacred Heart University and Fairfield University and ran monthly “High Talent Creatives” networking meetings until 2014. In 2019, he helped launch and co-hosted the Stamford Ferguson Library’s Entrepreneur in Residence Program.

He served on many local boards, including the Darien Chamber of Commerce, Darien Men’s Association, Darien Land Trust and Connecticut’s Angel Investment Forum. In recognition of his service to The Hotchkiss Fund, Doug received the school’s Armitage Award in 2023. He wrote books titled Where To Go From Here: Reinventing Your Business and Your Career and The 16-28 Solution: Unleash the Passions of Your Youth. He co-authored Major Issues of the Law of the Sea with his professor at University of New Hampshire after graduating from there.

Doug was most proud of the family that his wife and he raised. He is survived by son Colin and wife Tara Craft and their two daughters, Alma and Chloe, and his daughter Caroline and husband Robert Dickie and their two sons, Brooks and Miller. Doug cherished his grandchildren and loved playing tickle monster and games with them.

Doug loved coaching Colin and Caroline on their youth ice hockey, baseball and softball teams. A lifelong golfer, fisher, biker, ice skater and swimmer, Doug loved being active and supporting his teams. He spent many summers hiking in Michigan’s upper peninsula and continued to enjoy the outdoors at the family house in Matunuck, R.I.

Doug was a member of Noroton Presbyterian Church where he served on the missions board and co-founded a multi-denominational men’s bible study group, now in its 18th year. Doug also helped establish micro lending initiatives in Ecuador and El Salvador. He enjoyed his many trips abroad, visiting all continents except Antarctica.

In early 2022, Doug was diagnosed with ALS and vowed to fight the terminal illness with positivity, science, humor and diligence, inspiring his family, friends and business community until the very end.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to ALS United Connecticut (4 Oxford Road, Suite E4, Milford, CT 06460, www.alsunitedct.org) or the Darien Land Trust (5 Brook St., Darien, CT 06820, https://darienlandtrust.org).

Vin Burke Obituary