Angelo James Veno, 93, Died; Veteran, Longtime Saugatuck Resident, Compo Beach Staple

Angelo James Veno, known by many as Cookup, passed away peacefully on December 1, 2021 after a long and happy life. He was Born on April 15, 1928 in Saugatuck, CT to Louis and Mary Veno. He went through the Westport public school system. After school each day, Angelo would head to the local bowling alley where he would work to manually re-set the pins for the next group of bowlers.

Once in High School at Staples he was named a three-sport star in playing football, baseball and basketball. After graduating from High School in 1946 he played semi-pro football with the Westport Advertisers and basketball with the Saugatuck Veterans, Westport YMCA and Clam Box Five. Angelo also took up boxing and had a brief pro career which saw him post a 12-2 record. In 1986 he was named a recipient of the "Sportsman of Westport" award.

In 1951 he went to serve his country by joining the U.S. Navy where he served for four years on the Ship U.S.S Howard D. CROW as an Engineer. He became a member of the fleet's boxing team and out of 16 fights he lost only one. Following his service days, he came home to Westport and helped coach the Westport PAL football team. Shortly thereafter he married his first wife Judith Lissberger. They had 2 children, Timothy and Belinda. Both his children have great memories of their childhood and the many times they traveled with their Dad to the NY Giants exhibition games in Pittsburgh and then returning home to go straight to the The Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy for dinner. Angelo later married Theresa Karutz in 1984, a former Miss Atlantic City winner and enjoyed spending time with his two stepsons, Wallace and William Karutz.

Angelo had a long and successful career in the world of construction as President & CEO of his own company, AJ VENO Construction. A business that he started as a window replacement company and grew into a full-fledged construction company where he built both Corporate buildings and Residential homes for a number of years.

On a personal level, Angelo made friends and made people laugh wherever he laid is hat, whether the local Pizza restaurant or with nurses caring for him. In fact, one person said he remembers him as "the big guy that was always funny." He adored his family and friends. He loved spending time at Compo Beach either with friends or on his own just to feed the birds.

Angelo is survived by his brother Joe Veno and sister Theresa and her husband Richard Valentine. He was predeceased by his sister, Ida Lockwood. He is also survived by his two children, Timothy Veno and his partner Gwen Purcell and Belinda and her husband Richard Benincasa. And his three grandchildren, Richard and his wife Nora Benincasa, Ryan and his wife Noelle Benincasa and Morgan Benincasa as well as multiple cousins, nieces and nephews. And most recently, his first great-grandchild, Ryan Casey Benincasa.

Friends are invited to attend a funeral on Monday, December 13, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. meeting directly at Assumption Church, 98 Riverside Ave., Westport, CT for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment with full Military Honors will follow in Assumption Cemetery, 73 Greens Farms Road, Westport, CT. The family will receive friends in the Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Rd. E., Westport, CT on Sunday December 12, 2021 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Condolences in memory of Angelo may be left online at www.hardingfuneral.com

JoAnn Adamski Rogers, 82, Died; “a sassy woman”; Loving “Nana” to 3 Grandchildren

Obituary

JoAnn Adamski Rogers, 82, of Westport, CT peacefully passed away in her home Friday, November 26, 2021. JoAnn was born on June 19, 1939 in Binghamton, NY to Edward and Angelina Adamski.

She married her loving husband and one true love, Edward Rogers, on June 20, 1959. They spent the next 62 years together until her passing, their love never wavering.

JoAnn is remembered with love by her two daughters, Michelle Byrne and Karen Houseworth, sons-in-law Eugene Byrne and Mark Yingling, three grandchildren Lauren Byrne, Sydney and Edward Houseworth, her brother-in-law Bill Bennett, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved sister, MaryLou Bennett.

JoAnn was a dedicated wife and mother, first and foremost. She treasured her family and embraced every moment with them. She especially loved her role as Nana, a name her grandchildren affectionately gave to her. JoAnn was full of life, her home was always the "place to be" as she made everyone feel welcomed.

She loved to cook; it was one of the many ways she showed her love.

She was a sassy woman, known for her strong-willed and sometimes stubborn ways, she liked to do things her way, and was usually right anyway.
She loved to bowl, read, play bridge, golf, go to the casino, and enjoy time with her girlfriends. But above all her family was everything to her.
JoAnn gave strength a new meaning. She battled extreme chronic pain and health conditions, never once complaining or showing any signs of weakness. JoAnn smiled through it and continued to put everyone before herself. She was selfless in everything she did. Her faith as a devout Catholic guided and comforted her.

JoAnn lived her life with grace, dignity, and love. Her legacy will live on in those who knew her. She will be greatly missed.

There will be calling hours at Lesko & Polke Funeral Home, 1209 Post Road, in Fairfield Center from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, December 3rd.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Luke's Parish, 49 North Turkey Hill Rd., Westport, CT, on Saturday December 4th at 11:30 a.m.
Burial will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery, Westport.

Memorial contributions in JoAnn's honor may be directed to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. www.stjude.org/donate
For travel directions or to sign her online guest registry, please visit www.LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com

Jeffrey Davenport West, 73, Died; “Our fearless Captain”, Former OAK Investment Firm Member

Obituary

Jeffrey Davenport West, of Stuart, Florida passed away at Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas on September 24, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. He was born in New York City in 1948 and grew up in Teaneck and Englewood, New Jersey. He was the oldest of four sons to parents Davenport and Patrica Salter West.

Jeff is survived by his wife Kay West, his step-daughter Amanda Breese, his son Davenport West IV, daughter-in-law Renee West, and two grandsons, Grayson and Ryland West. Jeff is also survived by three younger brothers, Nicholas, Andrew, and Eric West.

Jeff attended the Dwight Englewood School in Englewood, NJ and the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut. Jeff earned a BA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1971 and an MA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University 1972.

Jeff had a lifelong love of the ocean, sailing, and fishing, which he acquired from summers on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In the 1960s, as a member of Stone Horse Yacht Club, he became a well-respected competitive sailor.

He was first employed by the Xerox Corporation in Rochester, NY. He and his family purchased a farmstead in Sodus, New York. Much sweat and love went into the renovation of the house and property, which was fondly called Crumble Farm.

In the 1980s, Jeff was hired by OAK Investment Partners, a venture capital investment firm based in Westport, Connecticut. There, living with first wife, Valerie Kinnicutt and young son Davenport, he was able to return to his favorite hobbies, boating and fishing. He became especially interested in pursuing billfish through charters with well-known captains fishing on the edge of the continental shelf and offshore canyons.

Eventually, Jeff took a new job opportunity with OAK to move his family to Atherton, California, spearheading their Silicon Valley investment initiatives in the eighties. After many successful years in California, he decided to make the move to fulfill his ultimate life dream. He moved to St. John, US Virgin Islands and started an independent sportfishing enterprise, taking advantage of the one of the prime billfishing areas in the world. His 48' Garlington sportfishing boat, "Courtesan," was well known in the Caribbean sportfishing circuit. Jeff's fishing adventures took him to many exotic destinations, including Venezuela, where he married Kay Allen Breese in 1997.

He had no lack of eager visitors to his paradise in St. John. Jeff and his wife Kay hosted many family events and holiday parties over the years at their compound in Chocolate Hole. Although Jeff's mother loved visiting, she made it earsplittingly clear that she was not fond of the 45 degree incline jeep-ride up and down the mountain.

After many years, he and his family left the Virgin Islands and moved to Cape Cod where he renovated several houses, and also acquired his real estate license. Eventually, he made a final move to Florida in 2004. Of course, never able to take a rest from his entrepreneurial spirit, he purchased an historic residential property called EdenLawn Plantation near his home in Stuart, Florida.

Jeff is loved and will be sorely missed by his family and friends. He will live with us always as beloved husband, father, brother, and friend. He was often a mentor and certainly imbued his love of the ocean to his son Davenport. Above all, we will remember him as our fearless "Captain."

Stephanie Haase Moore, 83, Died; Staples Class of 1956, Devoted Local Volunteer

Obituary 

Stephanie Haase Moore, age 83, of Wilton, CT, passed away on November 18, 2021 at Meadow Ridge medical center while recovering from recent heart surgery.

For sixty-one years she was the beloved wife of Gary Moore, and then loving mother of Scott, Leanne and Kristen and doting grandmother of Emma, Katie and Charlotte.

Steffi was born on April 19, 1938 in New Rochelle, NY, attended Thornton Donoval school, and lived on Interlaken Avenue until she was fifteen. In 1953 her parents, George and Helen Haase, moved the family to Sturges Ridge Road in Wilton, and she attended Staples High School in Westport, graduating in 1956.

She went on to attend Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where she majored in English Literature and was a proud member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Stef was blessed to meet the handsome former GI, Gary, in the student snack bar, and reluctantly agreed to have a beer with him at the local farmer's bar. They were married five months later and finished their degrees together.

Steffi and Gary quickly started a family, residing first in Bridgeport and then settling back in Wilton, CT. She took immense pride in being an amazing stay at home mother, who focused on volunteering with any organization that needed her. The groups to which she was most devoted included the Treasure House and The Turnover Shop, and her ultimate joy came from the hours she dedicated to the Minks to Sinks twice-yearly event.
Steffi took her role as grandmother very seriously and got tremendous happiness from her three granddaughters. She particularly enjoyed sharing her love of dollhouse collectibles, watching movies and making her famous chicken paprikash for them.

In addition to her almost seven-decade love of Wilton, Steffi also savored her time at the family getaway in western Pennsylvania, where Gary grew up. She was always most content to relax with a crossword puzzle or a book on the front porch rockers with a glass of wine in her hand, her famous spaghetti sauce bubbling on the stove. Most of all she loved time with her family and friends.

Stephanie is survived by her husband, Gary, her two daughters, Leanne Moore of Norwalk and Kristen and husband, Stewart, of Ridgefield, granddaughters Emma Caroline, Katherine Scott and Charlotte Claire, and brother Jon Haase and wife Margaret of Wilton. She is predeceased by her son, Scott.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 2:00 pm at Bouton Funeral Home, 31 W. Church St., Georgetown, CT 06829. Friends may greet the family from 1:00-2:00 pm. Interment will be private at Hillside Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to Family and Children's Agency or the Wilton Library.
https://familyandchildrensagency.org/ or https://www.wiltonlibrary.org/