Pearl Marcus, 99, Died; Former Coleytown PE Teacher, Longtime Westporter
Pearl Marcus passed peacefully at home in Westport, CT on August 9, 2022. She was 99 years old.
She was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Marc (Melvin) Marcus.
To her family, Pearl was a Gigi, Momma, and Mom. What a wonderful and beautiful life she lived. She had a fantastic group of friends and a loving family. She was always there for all of us.
Pearl leaves two daughters and their spouses, five fun loving grandchildren, and two spouses, and four incredible great-grandchildren.
She lived a long and fulfilled life in Westport, CT. She was a physical education teacher at Coleytown Elementary School and was involved in the Westport community.
She enjoyed traveling, entertaining her family and friends, was an avid theatre patron, and had a great passion for tennis.
Pearl your love for your family and friends proved to be the mainstay of your awesome, incredible, and spectacular long life.
Recalling the song by Bette Midler "Wind Beneath My Wings", you were and will always remain the anchor of our family.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Pearl's honor to: Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 1073 N. Benson Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824, https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/ or Baltimore Squashwise, 2801 Sisson St., Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21211, https://baltimoresquashwise.org/ (Pearl's great-niece is the Executive Director).
Agnes “Aggie” Veno, 67, Died; Staples Graduate, Artistic
Agnes "Aggie" Veno, age 67, of Westport, the loving daughter of Marie Veno and the late Andrew J. Veno, Sr., passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Born in Norwalk, she attended Staples High School and worked as a manager at Pepperidge Farm.
Aggie was passionate about everything arts and crafts and loved doing craft fairs in Fairfield County. She was especially good at crocheting. Aggie was a great cook and baker and enjoyed the many gatherings with her extended family. She was an avid volunteer at St. Luke Church in Westport and was always willing to lend a hand.
In addition to her mother, she is survived by her sister, Joann (Steve) Porch; her godson, Nicholas Vena, Jr.; her many cousins, including Sadye Bella Bustillo, who had a special place in her heart. In addition to her father, she was predeceased by her brother, Andrew J. Veno, Jr.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 10:00 AM at St. Luke Church in Westport. Interment will follow in Assumption Cemetery in Greens Farms.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. To send an online condolence, please visit www.shaughnesseybanks.com
Charles “Charlie” Crooks, 23, Died; Fairfield Native, “Not many get the chance to live that way.”
CHARLES HEW DALRYMPLE CROOKS: August 15, 1998 - July 29, 2022
Born in Lima, Peru on August 15, 1998. Died in a flying accident on July 29, 2022, in Raleigh, NC.
Raised in Fairfield, CT, Charlie attended Osborn Hill Elementary School and Roger Ludlowe Middle School. After completing his freshman year at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, he made the brave journey across the continent to Mill Bay, British Columbia to complete his high school education at Brentwood College School, his father's alma mater. He was admitted to Bucknell University, graduating in May 2020 with a BA in Political Science.
Charlie had numerous interests and talents. Several weeks each summer were spent at his grandparents' cottage on Gloucester Pool, where he honed his unique swimming style of bobbing with chin partially submerged. While he loved the water, Charlie lacked the necessary buoyancy to pursue swimming as a sport. Instead, he had the great fortune to meet Master KJ Ha of World Champion Tae Kwan Do in Fairfield. Through many years of dedication on the part of both master and student, Charlie was proud to achieve his second-degree black belt.
Leaving home for boarding school required a leap of faith, but Brentwood provided the environment in which Charlie truly began to excel academically, physically, artistically, and socially. He joined the cross country running club and was proud after much dedication to move "from the shame of being stuck in the slow group to feeling confident as a solid member of the medium-slow group." He tried his hand at rowing, competed on the debate team, and perhaps most importantly learned from his band of brothers in Rogers House to give and receive true friendship and to have confidence in his unique gifts. His time at Brentwood culminated in the ultimate honor of being elected by his classmates to give the valedictorian speech for the class of 2016. Delivered with his trademark combination of self-deprecation and sly wit, his final moments at Brentwood were spent walking from the stage wearing a giant smile, to an explosion of cheers and a standing ovation. At Bucknell, Charlie joined the Bison Battalion, Bucknell's chapter of ROTC, completed Basic Camp at Fort Knox, founded the Bucknell chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, competed on the ski team, and discovered a gift for art and sculpture.
Aviation was Charlie's overriding passion practically from birth. He read every flight book he could get his hands on and was known occasionally to wear one on his head for transcranial absorption of knowledge. As a young teenager, he built an actual flight simulator and developed a love for flying remote control planes, but the real fun began when he took his first flying lessons at Three Wing Aviation in Stratford, CT. He continued his training throughout college in Williamsport, PA, soloing in August of 2017. Facing a complete lack of demand for pilots during the early phase of the pandemic, Charlie doggedly, yet cheerfully, pursued his dream of becoming a professional pilot, earning various advanced ratings and qualifying as a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor before landing a job in May 2021 as a flight instructor at Flightgest Academy at the Raleigh-Durham Airport. He was greatly admired by his students and colleagues for his teaching style. His celebrated whiteboard drawings made even the most complex concepts both humorous and easy to understand; many have been photographed and preserved by his fellow instructors. In April 2022, Charlie accepted his dream job as a First Officer with Rampart Aviation, a specialist contractor primarily conducting support operations for the Department of Defense. He was very proud of the company and pleased to announce to his family that he had earned the nickname "Tuna," signaling his full acceptance as part of the Rampart team. When not on the job, Charlie fused his love for art, technology, and aviation, producing custom designed, 3-D printed components that he shipped to other flight simulator enthusiasts around the world.
The resume of Charlie's life could never fully describe the legacy he leaves. He was guided always by a strong moral compass; a fierce love for and loyalty to his family and friends; and a heart that was open and forgiving. He gave everyone a chance. His sense of humor was legendary – the far side of The Far Side. As a boy, he insisted on being the Batmobile in proud and practical support of his younger brother's and sister's Batman and Robin for Halloween. Charlie reveled in the eclectic, with a taste in music that ranged from bossa nova to King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. Without guile or affectation, he nonetheless enjoyed putting on a suit for wine night with friends, sometimes with trademark aviator glasses and empty pipe, an inside joke. This spring he used his new regular paycheck to purchase a reliably unreliable 1978 Fiat convertible. He spent many hours and more than a few dollars trying to keep the car roadworthy while avoiding tetanus.
There was so much joy. Earlier this year he posted an update to friends on Instagram that began "Long time, no life updates so here's the recap," and ended with "This has been a very eventful year, and while there have been challenges, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life and I wouldn't trade places with anyone in the world."
Charlie's wonderful friends in Chapel Hill, aka The Terrace Club, were central to his sense of fulfillment and belonging. Only days before his death, Charlie shared with his parents that he was exactly where he wanted to be doing exactly what he wanted to do. Not many get the chance to live that way.
Charlie is survived by his parents Hew and Kate, brother Crawford (22), his sister Mary (20) of Fairfield, CT, his maternal grandmother Mary Zipser of Savannah, GA and his paternal grandparents Art and Mary Jane Crooks of Lethbridge, Alberta, his aunts Melissa Zipser Murray, Claire Crooks Goodall (George), and uncle Morgan Crooks (Aimee), first cousins Katherine and Elizabeth Murray, Finn, Sydney, Grady, and Tilly Goodall, Riley and Andrew Crooks.
The funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 13th at 11 am at Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 75 Church Lane, Westport, CT. A reception will be held in Branson Hall in the church immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the charity Above the Clouds (abovethecloudskids.org).
Anthony T. Gilbertie, 84, Died; Former RTM Member, Assumption Church Cantor
Anthony T Gilbertie, 84, lifelong resident of Westport, passed away on August 3, 2022, due to a long, courageous battle with Parkinson's.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Diane Taylor-Gilbertie; his three children, Tom Gilbertie and his wife, Anne. Peter Gilbertie and his wife, Dee and Nancy Gilbertie-Loshuk; and also five grandchildren. Griffin Gilbertie, William Gilbertie, Thomas Gilbertie, Christopher Gilbertie and Jack Loshuk.
He is predeceased by his parents, John Gilbertie, Sr and Lillian Gilbertie; as well as all his siblings, John Gilbertie Jr, Mario Gilbertie, Linda Gilbertie-Bullard, and Michael Gilbertie. Anthony was also predeceased by two baby siblings, Thomas and Gloria.
Anthony was a devout Catholic and a lifelong member of the Assumption Church, where he was a cantor for 13 years. In most recent years, he was employed by the US Postal Service as a rural carrier in Weston.
He was the 5th member of the Gilbertie family to serve on the RTM in Westport. Anthony was a big fan of history, current events and the New York Yankees.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests a donation to the Assumption Church in Westport, or The Parkinson's Foundation.
The Wake will be held on Friday, August 12th from 8:30-10:30 AM at the Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Rd., East Westport, CT 06880. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held the same day at 11:00 AM at the Assumption Church, 98 Riverside Ave., Westport, CT 06880; followed by burial at Assumption Cemetery on Greens Farms Rd. in Westport.
The family kindly requests that all wear masks, some family members are immunocompromised.