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Ann R. Valligny, 72, accountant
Ann R. Valligny of Spring Hill, Fla., who had lived in Ridgefield more than 35 years, died Sunday, Nov. 16, 2003, at Tampa General Hospital surrounded by her family. She was 72 years old and the wife of Roger C. Valligny Jr.
Mrs. Valligny was born Jan. 18, 1931, in Copenhagen, Denmark, daughter of the late Arnold and Ella Olsen.
The Vallignys had lived on Caudatowa Drive for 35 years, coming to Ridgefield in 1968. They moved to Spring Hill in October 2003.
While here, Mrs. Valligny was a “stay-at-home mom” while her kids were small. She was a member of the Laurels Club and also an active member of Eight Lakes Association. When wintering in Port Richey, Fla., she started a computer club and taught the folks there all the ins and outs of using a computer. “As a truly devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend, she will be truly missed by all she touched,” said her daughter, Cathy.
Besides her husband of 46 years, Mrs. Valligny leaves a daughter, Cathy L. Czyr and her husband TJ, of Spring Hill; a grandson, Nicholas Czyr also of Spring Hill; and a son Richard Valligny. Services took place in Florida.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the Ann Valligny Memorial Fund, 3444 El Prado Avenue, Spring Hill, FL 34609. These donations will be used for the purchase of benches to be donated to the local hospice and memorial gardens.
Philip Ancona, lifelong Ridgefielder
Philip Charles Ancona, a lifelong Ridgefielder who served in the Navy during World War II, died Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004, at Danbury Hospital. He was 84 years old and the husband of the late Anna T. Ancona.
A native of Ridgefield, Mr. Ancona was born on April 16, 1919, a son of Charles Philip and Josephine Infurchia Ancona, who came here from the province of Agrigento, Italy. He grew up in Branchville, attended the old Branchville Schoolhouse, and graduated from Henry Abbott Technical School in Danbury.
As a young man, he worked for his uncle, Joseph, who founded Ancona’s Market in Branchville.
During World War II, Mr. Ancona served in the U.S. Navy in China and the Pacific Theatre. He was both a machinist and a shipboard barber — and once toyed with the idea of becoming a barber in civilian life.
However, after the war, he went to work as a machinist with the Gilbert and Bennett Manufacturing Company in Georgetown. He retired after more than 30 years with the company.
Mr. Ancona met his future wife, Anna Cariello, at a wedding in Trumbull. The two were married June 21, 1952, and the couple marked their golden wedding anniversary in 2002. Mrs. Ancona died in February 2003.
Mr. Ancona was a life member of the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department and was active in Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown.
He enjoyed music, and played the guitar and sang in productions staged years ago at Sacred Heart Church.
Mr. Ancona also enjoyed being outdoors. He was famous in the area for his fig tree, which he nurtured for more than 25 years and which recently produced a harvest of more than 1,000 figs. He and his good friend and neighbor, Tony Del Biondo, cared for the tree, wrapping and protecting it each fall against the damaging cold. Mr. Ancona would grow seedlings from its fruit to give to family and friends.
“He was a very generous man, a dedicated father, who was devoted to his family,” said his daughter Teresa Ancona.
Besides his daughter Teresa of Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Ancona is survived by a son, Charles P. Ancona of New York City; a grandson, Michael Philip Krell of Geneva; a sister, Frances Pambianchi of Ridgefield; two sisters-in-law, Elizabeth J. Cariello of Trumbull, and Mary J. Cariello of New York City; and many nieces and nephews.
A brother, Nazzareno Ancona, and a sister, Phyllis Pancrazio, died before him.
The Rev. M. Joseph Joaquin, pastor, celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial Saturday at Sacred Heart Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Sacred Heart Church, Box 388, Georgetown CT 06829, or the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department, Box 544, Georgetown CT 06829
The Bouton Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Joseph E. Brunetti, market owner
Joseph E. Brunetti, a second generation grocer who had operated one of the village’s last family markets and was a longtime supporter of athletics programs, died Sunday, Feb. 1, 2004. He was 83 years old and the husband of Ada Bedini Brunetti.
Mr. Brunetti was born in a room over his father’s grocery store at the corner of Prospect Street and Bailey Avenue. Except for a stint in the Army, he had worked in markets from the time he was a small boy filling sacks with potatoes at his dad’s store until he sold his Brunetti’s Market in 1983 and retired.
Mr. Brunetti was born on Nov. 1, 1920, a son of Ernest and Josephine Boccolucci Brunetti. His father was a popular civic leader and a longtime merchant. His mother, the first Italian immigrant woman in Ridgefield to hold a driver’s license, helped found the Italian American Mutual Aid Society Ladies Auxiliary, which she led for 15 years.
In 1915, his father and Nazzareno Gasperini had bought Benvenuto Carboni’s Italian market on Prospect Street, and young Joseph grew up in the family business, working there after school and on weekends.
In high school, where he graduated in 1938, he was active in sports, and was a star catcher on the baseball teams coached by Cliff Holleran. “He was never possessed with great speed but had a good arm and a good bat,” his old friend Paul Baker recalled. “One of his memories is beating Mr. Holleran’s hometown high school team with a hit in the 10th inning.”
During the war he served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific, and also continued to play ball. He was selected for the Sixth Army All-Stars in 1945, and caught for Jim Hearn who later pitched 13 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Phillies. Other members of the team included Joe Garagiola of the Cardinals.
After the war he returned to Ridgefield and married Ada Bedini in 1946. That year, he went to work for Perry’s Market on lower Main Street. In 1948, he moved across the street, going to work for the A&P, which was located in what is now Gail’s Station House restaurant. He soon became manager of the store. In 1962, when A&P built its new supermarket on Danbury Road, Mr. Brunetti decided to open his own market in the same space that had been the A&P.
Brunetti’s Market quickly became one of the busiest businesses on Main Street. “When I started out, I had one small meat locker,” Mr. Brunetti said in a 1979 interview. “Now I have one upstairs and three downstairs. I use up every square inch we have, but I still want to keep the image of the place. The success of our business has to do with the service and the high quality of the meat.”
Mr. Brunetti was known for his advice on how to prepare the meats he sold, and would often provide recipes and tips. “People got not only their meat and groceries, but also a cooking lesson,” said Irene Gray, his niece.
By the mid-1970s, take-out lunches had become a major portion of the market’s business, and it wasn’t unusual to see lines of people waiting to buy custom-made sandwiches, salads, and even barbecued chickens at lunchtime.
In 1983, Mr. Brunetti sold the business to two employees. He and his wife Ada retired to Pompano Beach and Stuart, Fla., but later moved back north to Danbury. The store closed in 1990, after its owner was unable to handle the rising costs of doing business.
Mr. Brunetti had a lifelong love of sports. After the war, he played ball and later coached the Ridgefield Merchants baseball team. He was one of the original sponsors of Ridgefield Little League, was a coach, and served as a Little League commissioner from 1955 to 1960.
An avid and skilled golfer, he had shot holes in one in both Connecticut and Florida, and had often played with many of the village business leaders and professionals. He was a member of the Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury.
For many years from his teens well into adulthood, Mr. Brunetti had been a sports reporter and columnist for The Ridgefield Press. From 1938 to 1941, he was sports editor. “I don’t have to write for the Press to earn my bread and butter because journalism is my pet hobby,” he wrote in a column in the 1950s. “Whatever I submit to my editor is only for the good of the sports events I cover.”
Mr. Brunetti was an early member of the Ridgefield Old Timers, which honored him in 1995 for both his sports prowess and his longtime support of local athletics.
Mr. Brunetti had been a member of the Marquette Council, Knights of Columbus, and the Lions Club, served on the board of the Ridgefield Boys Club, was an officer in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, had been a member of the Italian American Mutual Aid Society, and was a longtime member of the Advisory Board of Directors of the Village Bank and Trust Company. He was a volunteer at the Danbury Hospital visitors snack bar for many years.
Twenty-five years ago, when he was thinking about retirement, Mr. Brunetti recalled with pride meeting an old friend, John Mullen, on the street.
“I never thought you could be half the man your father was, but now I’ve changed my mind,” Mr. Mullen had told him.
“He saw that I’ve reached my goal,” Mr. Brunetti said, “and that I’ve become as good a man as my father was.”
Besides his wife, he is survived by nieces and nephews, including Virginia Zaleta of Danbury, Irene Gray of Wilton, Patricia Becker of Hingham, Mass., Charles Costanzo of Danbury, Thomas Costanzo of Ridgefield, and Judith Cusack of Danbury; a sister-in-law, Marian Brunetti of Boyerstown, Pa.; a cousin, Arthur Frattini of Ridgefield; and several great-nephews and great-nieces.
A memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 10:15 a.m. in St. Mary's Church.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Kane Funeral Home, 438-6597.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Ridgefield Old Timers, Box 13, Ridgefield, or the Ridgefield Boys and Girls Club, 41 Governor Street.
Frank Grandville, 71, accountant
Francis “Frank” Grandville of Ridgefield, a retired accountant, died on Thursday morning, Jan. 8, 2004, at Danbury Hospital. He was 71 years old and the husband of Mary M. Rogan Grandville.
Mr. Grandville was born in New York, N.Y., July 1, 1932, a son of the late Ralph and Veronica (Lennon) Grandville. He attended New York schools and was a graduate of City College of New York.
For many years, Mr. Grandville was a corporate accountant and had been an audit director with American Brands Corp.
In later years he had been campus supervisor for the Wilton public school system.
A U.S. veteran of the Korean War, Mr. Grandville has been a resident of Ridgefield since 1980 coming from Simsbury, and previously, the Bronx, N.Y.
He enjoyed cooking, shopping and most especially his family.
Mr. Grandville was a member of St. Mary’s Church.
Besides his wife of 45 years, he is survived by a daughter, Mary-Teresa Grandville of Stamford; his twin brother, George Grandville of Lakewood, N.J.; a sister, Catherine DeMarco of Coral Springs, Fla.; and many nieces and nephews.
A son, Francis J. Grandville, and a brother, Ernest Grandville, died before him.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday at St. Mary’s Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Dorothy Day Hospitality House, 11 Spring Street, Danbury, CT 06810.
The Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street, was in charge of arrangements.
Kenneth Harris, 48, worked at hospital
Kenneth M. Harris, 48, of 642 Danbury Road, Ridgefield, died on Thursday evening, February 26, 2004 at Laurel Ridge Nursing & Skilled Care Center, Ridgefield.
Kenny was born in Rochester, NY, April 27, 1955, a son of Frances (LaDelfa) Saint of Southbury, CT and the late Allen D. Harris and resided in Albany, NY prior to moving with his family to Carmel, NY where he attended St. James the Apostle School, St. Andrew’s School of Middletown, NY and the University of Connecticut.
He was last employed with the Danbury Hospital.
In addition to his mother Frances and her husband William Saint of Southbury, two brothers Curt Harris of Lothian, MD and Kevin Harris and his wife Denise of Cooper City, FL, his nieces and nephews, Christina Harris, Philip Harris, Kevin Harris, Taylor Harris and Alana Harris, two aunts, Rosalie LaDelfa and Pamela Garrod and her husband Walter, his cousins and spouses, Philip and Sharon LaDelfa, Christopher P. and Kristina LaDelfa, Kathy A. and Miles West, Joanne M. and Burt Motta and Pamela A. Carpenter and their families survive him.
His beloved “Nana” Josephine LaDelfa and “The Wind Beneath His Wings” Aunt Anna and Uncle Philip LaDelfa predeceased him.
The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to the administration and staff of Laurel Ridge Nursing & Skilled Care Center, Ridgefield for their loving care and concern for Kenny and his family. May God Bless You.
Funeral services will take place on Tuesday at 11:30AM in the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield.
Interment will be private.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home on Tuesday one hour prior to the service.
Memorials to Laurel Ridge Residence’s Recreational Fund, 642 Danbury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877 would be greatly appreciated.
Stan Garrett, 49, Silver Spring pro for nearly 20 years
Stanley Haskell Garrett of Ridgefield, golf pro at the Silver Spring Country Club for nearly 20 years, died Monday, March 15, 2004, in Danbury Hospital after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 49 years old, the husband of Lisa Geveda Garrett, and the father of Sandra, 13, Sara, 11, and Brady, 10.
A native of Midland, Texas, Mr. Garrett was born on Nov. 15, 1954, a son of Rachel Joan Garrett of Rochelle, Ill., and Davy L. Garrett of Kerrville, Texas. He grew up in Miami, Fla., and graduated from Coral Gables High School there in 1973.
It was in high school that Stan Garrett fell in love with the game of golf, playing varsity golf at the school as well as varsity football. “His talent at the sport was evident at a young age, and through hard work and dedication, he achieved his dream of becoming a golf professional in his early 20s,” his wife said.
Mr. Garrett received a degree in parks and recreation management from Brevard College in North Carolina, where he was on both the golf and soccer teams. He had also studied at Florida International University in Miami.
He began his professional career in Naples, Fla., and had served as an assistant at several courses, including Mount Kisco, N.Y., before coming to Silver Spring Country Club 19 years ago.
“His job allowed him to touch the lives of many people in and around the Ridgefield area as he shared his skill and love of the game,” Mrs. Garrett said.
“He was loved by the members,” said Bob Sommer, general manager at Silver Spring, who described Mr. Garrett as a very gracious, patient, and gentlemanly pro who had “touched a lot of lives” and had trained many golf professionals.
“Many of his assistants went on to become head pros at many great clubs around the country,” he added.
For relaxation, Mr. Garrett enjoyed vacationing with his family in New Hampshire where he owned property and had hoped to one day build a home.
Mr. Garrett was a longtime member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
Besides his wife of 14 years, his children and his parents, Mr. Garrett is survived by a brother, Stephen Garrett of Palm Bay, Fla.; two sisters, Shelley Garrett Smith and her husband John of Miami, Fla., and Susan Garrett Bunton and her husband Steve of Rochelle, Ill.; his father- and mother-in-law, Chet and Marie Geveda and their sons, Chet, Rob, and Eric, all formerly of Ridgefield; father- and mother-in-law Bill and Maureen Fanning and their children Dawn of Pasadena, Calif., and William of Las Vegas, Nev.; and by nieces, Kristin and Emily, and nephews, Dylan and Cullen. A sister, Sandra Garrett of Miami, died before him.
Services will take place Thursday, March 25, at 11 a.m. in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. (Note: The funeral is not Thursday, March 18.)
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to The Garrett Children Trust, c/o Gregory and Adams P.C., 190 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton CT 06897.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
