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Virginia Bates, 81 homemaker
H. Virginia Bates of Lakeland, Fla., a former Ridgefielder, died of a stroke Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at Good Shepherd Hospice. She was 81 years old and the widow of George S. Bates.
Mrs. Bates was born in Danbury on Feb. 15, 1922, and had been a homemaker. She lived on Tackora Trail for many years.
In 1983, she and her husband moved to Lakeland. Mr. Bates died in 1988.
She is survived by her daughter, Carol Aldrich of Lakeland; a son, Gary Bates of Hickory, N.C.; a brother, William Hodshon of Charlestown, R.I.; a sister, Elizabeth Burdick of Danbury; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Services took place in Florida.
Donations may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Avenue, Auburndale, FL 33823.
The National Cremation Society was in charge of arrangements.
Bart Mauceri, 60, popular deacon
Deacon Bartholomew J. Mauceri of Ridgefield, the first deacon at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, died on Monday, Feb. 2, 2004, at Danbury Hospital. He was 60 years old and the husband of Jo-Ann Williams Mauceri.
Deacon Mauceri specialized in programs for teenagers and was coordinator of the Youth Ministry Program at St. Elizabeth Seton. “It’s a fantastic ministry,” he once told The Press. “There’s no price to put on the love these kids show me. I get my strength from them.”
Over the past 21 years, he had performed more than 100 marriages, many of them involving former students of his in the parish.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Deacon Bart Mauceri was born on March 27, 1943, son of Charles and Jane Morealli Maucere e is correct. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes School of Brooklyn, and graduated from John Adams High School of Ozone Park, N.Y.
At Queens College Mr. Mauceri first majored in journalism but switched to physics. He transferred to the New York Institute of Technology, studying electronics and at the same time teaching at the RCA Institute.
Before he was ordained a deacon in 1982, Mr. Mauceri had been a project manager with Power Medical Intervention of New Hope, Pa., and a project engineer with U.S. Surgical in Norwalk. There he helped develop the TPR, a device that checked a patient’s temperature, pulse and respiration and displayed the results digitally.
In 1979, Mr. Mauceri applied to become a deacon, a process that took many interviews and two and a half years of study. In the Catholic Church, a deacon may perform most of the functions of a priest, except hearing confession and consecrating the bread and wine.
“I guess the calling was always there,” he said in 1982. “As a child I wanted to be a brother when I grew up.”
At St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Mr. Mauceri served on various church committees as well as coordinating the Youth Ministry Program.
“He was not only a deacon, but also a brother to me,” said the Rev. Joseph Prince, pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton.
“I was amazed at his ability to be optimistic and his willingness to help anyone in need. He was a man for others.”
Father Prince said Deacon Mauceri never complained about his illness. “Whatever he was going through, he was going through with faith and trust in God,” he said.
Deacon Mauceri also served on the Deaconate Board of the Diocese of Bridgeport, was the community service program coordinator at Immaculate High School in Danbury, and was a spiritual outreach adviser to the Portuguese-speaking Catholic communities of Danbury, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Hartford.
As a boy and a teenager, Mr. Mauceri had been a summer resident of Ridgefield. In 1964, his parents moved here permanently. His mother died in 2001 and his father, a year later.
He and his wife of 35 years, who also grew up in Ridgefield, had lived in Georgetown briefly before moving to their own home here in 1976.
For relaxation, Mr. Mauceri enjoyed fishing and crabbing on Long Island Sound. He had also been a jazz musician, playing bass, piano and accordion semiprofessionally as a young man. In Brooklyn, he had been the choir director of his church.
Besides his wife, Deacon Mauceri is survived by two sons, Bartholomew Mauceri Jr. and Joseph C. Mauceri, both of Ridgefield; two daughters, Diana Marie Mauceri of Ridgefield and Roseanne Thomas and her husband Jim of Mooresville, N.C.; and two grandchildren, Amelia Rose and Jesse Hayes.
A parish Mass was celebrated on Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Seton Church and a concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated today, Thursday, at 10 a.m.
Burial will be private.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Deacon Bartholomew J. Mauceri Fund, St. Elizabeth Seton Church, 520 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Robert Herstein, 95, commodities expert
Robert J. Herstein of Ridgefield died at his home Monday, Jan. 5, 2004. He was 95 years old and the husband of the late Hazel Gray Herstein.
Mr. Herstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 5, 1908, a son of the late Joseph and Estelle Minton Herstein. He lived in New York City for most of his life and later made his home in Westport, Palm Beach, Fla., Southbury, and for the past four years, Ridgefield.
He was a retired commodities expert on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. Herstein is survived by two sons, James Gray and his wife, Karen, of Derry, N.H., and Richard M. Herstein and his wife, Dahn, of Ridgefield; a daughter, Kathy H. Weiss and her husband Dr. Robert F. Weiss; and four grandchildren, Lauren Weiss, Scott Weiss, David Herstein, and Kevin Herstein.
Rabbi Jon Haddon of Temple Shearith Israel will lead private services at the Kane Funeral Home.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Lung Association, 45 Ash Street, East Hartford, CT 06108-3272.
Ernest Hughes, 76, retired manager
Ernest R. “Ernie” Hughes of Naples, Fla., who had lived in Ridgefield many years, died Friday, Feb. 27. He was 76 years old and the husband V. Doris Hughes.
A Navy veteran of World War II, Mr. Hughes had a long career in manufacturing. He had worked for Electrolux in Old Greenwich in the late 1960s, and later was engineering manager for Electrostatic Equipment Corporation, plant manager for Ashflash Corp., and manager of manufacturing and engineering for the Burndy Corp.
Mr. Hughes and his family came to Ridgefield in 1968, living on Tackora Trail. He and his wife retired to Florida in 1998.
He had been a member of the American Legion.
Besides his wife of 48 years, Mr. Hughes is survived by two daughters, Kathleen Raffio and her husband Rich of Wantagh, N.Y., and Jo Ann Brennan and her husband Tom of Schaumburg, Ill.; and by five grandchildren, Desiree, Tony, Anna, Doretta, and Brigette.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Tuesday, March 2, at St. William Catholic Church in Naples.
A memorial mass will be celebrated in Springvale, Maine, at a later date.
Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society in his memory.
Arrangements are by the Fuller Funeral Home of Naples.
Douglas Jones, 64, Alaskan police lieutenant
Douglas E. Jones of Anchorage, Alaska, who grew up in Ridgefield and had been a police lieutenant in Alaska, died unexpectedly in Yokohama, Japan, on March 3, 2004 while on a world cruise aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2. He was 64 years old.
Mr. Jones was born April 25, 1939 in Brookfield, a son of the late Fred and Ruth Jones of Ridgefield. His father, who died in 1999 at the age of 92, had been a farmer and caretaker of the Brewster farm in Farmingville, and had been the town’s dog warden.
Mr. Jones grew up here, graduating from Ridgefield High School in 1957. Soon after, he joined the U.S. Air Force and, in 1959, was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base when Alaska was still a territory. He never left Alaska.
After his honorable discharge in 1961, Mr. Jones joined the Anchorage Police Department. He retired as a lieutenant and commander of persons crimes on May 31, 1984.
Throughout his career, he was recognized for many accomplishments, including establishment of the first Metro Narcotics Unit.
“His deep and enduring love for Alaska, particularly its untamed wilderness, is best illustrated by the remote log cabin and numerous associated structures which [he] built by hand, on his property located at the confluence of Donkey Slough and Donkey Creek, north of Skwentna,” his family said. “No opportunity to escape to that locale was missed, including a recently completed, full-time, two-year sabbatical.”
“His innate kindness, infectious smile, and great sense of humor endeared Jones to all with whom he came in contact.”
Mr. Jones is survived by his wife of 20 years, Donna C.Willard-Jones of Anchorage; his son and daughter-in-law Dean and Erika Jones of New Milford; and daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Edwin Garcia of Antioch, Calif.; grandchildren Douglas and Christina Jones of Alaska; Sheridan Jones of New Milford, and Justin, Vanessa and Joshua Garcia of Antioch, Calif.; his brother and sister-in-law, Raymond and Margaret Jones of Gouldsboro, Maine; a brother Colburn D. Jones of New Milford; sister and brother-in-law Berthann Jones and Steve Drabkin of Guilford; and brothers-in-law Douglas Morris of Nanoose Bay, B.C., and Gary Morris of Beaumont, Alberta.
The Rev. Gail Fisher will lead services Saturday, March 13, at 2 at First Presbyterian Church, 616 W. 10th Avenue, Anchorage.
The eulogies will be delivered by Ronald Otte, former commissioner of public safety and Anchorage police chief, and the Honorable Larry Weeks, judge of the Superior Court. A celebration of Jones’ life will take place at the family home immediately after his interment at Angeles Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alaska Peace Officers Association, P.O. Box 240106, Anchorage, AK 99534; Alaska Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 549 W. International Airport Road, Anchorage, AK 99518; or Friends of Pets, P. O. Box 240981, Anchorage, AK 99524.
John K. Kinnear Sr., 82, engineer
John Kenyon Kinnear of Anderson, Calif., a former Ridgefielder, died Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at his home. He was 82 years old and the husband of Helen Kinnear.
Born June 28, 1921 in New York City, Mr. Kinnear was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. He had been a manufacturing engineer for the American Bosch Arma in New York City and for Perkin-Elmer.
He and his family moved to Poplar Road in 1964. He moved to Shasta County, Calif., in 1985, and had worked there for Disney and for Boeing.
He was a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
Besides his wife, his survivors include sons John Kinnear Jr. of Ridgefield, James “Larry” Kinnear of Bethel, and Clifford Kinnear of Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina; daughters Lorraine Haddock of Litchfield, June Pierce of Anderson and Jacquelyn Storer of Carmel, N.Y.; a brother Leonard Kinnear of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services took place Friday, April 2, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Anderson. Burial was at Anderson District Cemetery.
Donations in his memory may be sent to Mercy Hospice, 1544 Market Street, Redding, CA 96001. Cards may be sent to Helen Kinnear and family, 22441 Lone Tree Road, Anderson, CA 96007.
Arrangements were handled by Allen & Dahl Funeral Chapel in Anderson.
Joseph P. Kolf, active at St. Mary’s
Joseph Peter Kolf Jr. of Ridgefield, who had been activity in community and church work, died on Friday, Jan. 23, at Danbury Hospital. He was 75 years old and husband of Marianne Conlon Kolf
Mr. Kolf was born in Boston, Mass., on March 27, 1928, a son of Joseph P. and Elizabeth Murphy Kolf. He attended schools in Boston and graduated from Boston College Catholic High School.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard aboard the U.S.S. Wakefield, based in Boston.
Mr. Kolf retired after having worked for Stop & Shop Stores for 53 years. He had been a meat cutter, most recently at the Ridgefield store and earlier at Norwalk where he was also meat department manager. He was a member of the Local 371 United Food and Commercial Worker’s Union.
The Kolf family came to Ridgefield 43 years ago from Avon, Mass. Mr. Kolf was active in the Ridgefield community. He was a founding member and former treasurer of the Little Singers of Ridgefield, a boys choir at St. Mary’s Parish, and traveled with them in the mid-1970s to Rome and London.
At St. Mary’s Church he was active in the Daily Adoration Chapel and served as a past member of the parish council.
He was also a former member of the Ridgefield Jaycees.
“He was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, a firm believer in the Democratic Party and enjoyed dancing, most especially with his daughters,” his family said.
Besides his wife of 52 years, Mr. Kolf is survived by two sons, Joseph P. Kolf III and his wife Bunny of Brookfield, and Thomas F. Kolf and Jennifer “Jenny” Tworek of Lindenhurst, Ill.; five daughters, Maryann Paradise and her husband Edward of Bethel, Michele D. Kolf and Dennis A. Pontanella of Ridgefield, Barbara A. Kenney and her husband James of Old Saybrook, Elizabeth “Betsy” Pambianchi and her husband Fred of Ridgefield, and Grace A. Kolf of Ridgefield; a sister, Elizabeth Dolaher and her husband Leo of Framingham, Mass.; 14 grandchildren, Erin M. Carney, Kendall A. Paradise, Jennifer R. Filgate, Michele Filgate, Colin J. Filgate, Kaylee Kolf, Briana Kolf, Michael J. Kolf, Ryan M. Pambianchi, Emily G. Pambianchi, Rebecca E. Pambianchi, Matthew E. Kolf, Brendhan A. Kolf and Bridget C. Kolf; and several nieces and nephews.
A brother, Thomas Kolf, and two sisters, Margaret Burns and Catherine Lennon, died before him.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday in St. Mary’s Church.
Burial followed in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Memorials to the Young Adult Group (Y.A.G.), in which daughter Grace Kolf is involved, may be made in care of Joyce Brigish, 32 November Trail, Weston, CT 06883.
