Marlene Coscina Tufano, 81, beloved wife of sixty years to Joseph P. Tufano, died peacefully on April 9, 2023 at home with her loving family by her side. …
She shared pure love as the mother of Lana, Gary, and Greg, and her family defined her life …
Marlene is survived by her daughter Lana Angelo and her husband Ron of Wethersfield, her son Gary Tufano and his wife Rosanna of Old Lyme, and her son Greg Tufano of New Britain …
Calling Hours for Marlene will be held Friday, April 14, 2023 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at New Britain Memorial-Sagarino Funeral Home, 444 Farmington Ave, New Britain, Connecticut 06053. A Celebration of Life will occur Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Holy Family Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Rd, West Hartford, CT 06107 …
A ribbon-cutting was held April 2 to celebrate the inaugural trip of the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry’s 2023 season. The celebration was held at the entrance to the ferry in Hadlyme where Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto (center) cut the ribbon. Looking on are (from left to right) State Rep. Christine A. Palm, (D-36th District); State Rep. Irene Haines, (R-34th District); State Rep. Devin Carney, R-23rd District); State Senator Norman Needleman, D-33rd District); Lynn Wilkinson, President of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park, and Tyke and Theodora Niver (a.k.a. William and Helen Gillette).
HADLYME — During an April 2 celebration of the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry’s 253-year legacy of service on the Connecticut River, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto cut a ribbon before welcoming new passengers aboard.
Attending the event were State Rep. Devin Carney, R-23rd, whose district includes Lyme and Old Lyme; State Rep. Christine A. Palm, (D-36th District); State Rep. Irene Haines, (R-34th District); District); Senator Norman Needleman, D-33rd District); Lynn Wilkinson, President of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park, and Tyke and Theodora Niver (a.k.a. William and Helen Gillette).
The event was sponsored by the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park with refreshments from the Hadlyme Country Market.
The boat loaded first on the Chester side and then made its five-minute run east to the Hadlyme landing adjacent to the park, where members of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park gathered to mingle with regional dignitaries.
Access to the western landing is on Rte. 148 at Ferry Road in Chester. The eastern landing is on park property at the base of Seventh Sister Hill, with a road and footpath leading up to the castle, the eccentric, century-old home of the late actor William Gillette.
The event included the portrayal of Gillette and his wife by Harold and Theodora Niver of Rocky Hill, who have portrayed the Gillettes at the castle for decades.
The park itself is in the towns of East Haddam and Lyme along the Connecticut River, and is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset.
In addition to being a continuation of scenic Rte. 148, the initiation of ferry service is an important lifeline between Chester and Hadlyme, Lynn Wilkinson, president of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park, noted.
The 65-foot diesel-run Selden III crosses the Connecticut River filled with passengers enjoying the 2022 “First Ferry Celebration”. The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry is one of the oldest continuously-operating ferries in the United States.
“The ferry offers a wonderful alternative traffic route, and this year especially it will help ease the pressure of traffic during closures this year of the East Haddam Swing Bridge, which carries Rte. 82 over the Connecticut River,” Wilkinson said. “It also gives park visitors a really fun and ‘photo-friendly’ way to get to the castle.”
The bridge-rehabilitation project is expected to have no impact on the ferry’s operations or hours, according to John Kennedy, the ferry’s captain. The Connecticut DOT launched the project in 2022 to improve the swing-span operation’s reliability, extend its service life and improve the roadway. Completion is expected by late 2024.
A series of 63-hour road-closure periods are planned during which traffic will be detoured away from the bridge, according to a state-published pamphlet. Several closures are to take place this year, beginning at 8 p.m. Sundays and ending at 11 am. Wednesdays, except on holiday weekends.
Ferry passengers will be charged current rates to ride the 65-foot diesel-run Selden III, which include a walk-on charge of $2 to pedestrians and bicyclists, $5 for vehicles on weekdays and $6 for vehicles on weekends. A $3 commuter rate requires pre-purchased coupons priced in a book of 20 for $60.
Because the boat is a public conveyance, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may affect the boat’s capacity as well as safety precautions such as masking and social distancing while aboard the boat. Under normal conditions, the boat has a nine-vehicle capacity.
A book detailing the history of Connecticut ferries is available for purchase at the Gillette Castle souvenir shop.
The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry began service in 1769 as Warner’s Ferry, and is one of the oldest continuously operating ferries in the United States. It is also Connecticut’s second-oldest ferry service, after the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry, which began in 1655.
A steam-powered barge began to serve the ferry crossing in 1879 and was named the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry in 1882 while it was operated by the town of Chester. In 1917, the Connecticut Department of Transportation took over the service, and the current boat has been in operation since 1949.
The Friends of Gillette Castle State Park is a nonprofit, all-volunteer group dedicated to the preservation, conservation and educational activities of the building and its grounds. More information may be found at www.gillettecastlefriends.org.
OLD LYME — George J. Perchal, 95, of Old Lyme passed peacefully in his home on April 3, 2023 …
George was a charter member of the Mountain Laurel Ski Club through which he would meet his future wife, Frances Birmingham. They were married in 1968, moved to Old Lyme in 1970, and were active members of Christ the King Church where they both sang for several years in the church choir … He is survived by his wife Frances, son Brian and daughter-in-law Rebecca …
Calling hours will be held on Friday, April 14 from 5-7pm at Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, 13 Beckwith Lane, Old Lyme. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 15, at 11am at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme. Burial with military honors will take place at a later date …
OLD LYME — Stephen Joseph Joncus AIA, USNR Lieutenant JG Retired, of Old Lyme, passed away at the age of 90 in the early hours of Easter Sunday (April 9) at Connecticut Hospice in Branford.
Steve was past president of the Connecticut branch of the American Institute of Architects and the Old Saybrook Rotary Club, and a former corporator of Laurence + Memorial hospital, where he spent some of his final days as a patient. He is survived by Sandra, his wife of 68 years, by two of his sisters, Barbara Sieczkowski and Susan Nichols, by his three children and their spouses – Stephen Jr. and Rose (Cleavenger) Joncus, Leslie and Nural Akchurin, and Andrew and Berta (Tucker) Joncus – and by grandchildren Peri, Larissa, Parker and his wife Brittany, Gustav, and Oliver.
Steve was born on October 14, 1932, in Newton, Massachusetts, to Joseph Joncus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, and Margaret (Brobeil) Joncus. Originally a physics undergraduate at Cornell, Steve transferred to the College of Architecture at the end of his first year. He and Sandra, who met at Needham High School in the 1940s, were married on a college break on the day after Christmas 1954. His two years of active naval duty following graduation included listening to North Atlantic signals traffic from a secure location in lower Manhattan. In the late 1950s Steve and Sandra moved to Hartford, where they rented an apartment in Mark Twain’s former kitchen, and near the end of their two years there Steve produced a set of ‘as built’ drawings of the Mark Twain House. In 1960, with Steve employed by the Hartford firm of Jeter & Cook (now JCJ Architecture), the couple and their first two children moved to a farmhouse in rural Coventry, Connecticut.
In 1969, at the age of 37, Steve opened his own architectural practice on State Street in New London, and the following year moved his family to the Old Lyme house where he lived with Sandra until two weeks before his death. This began a commitment to New London and its surrounding area that lasted the rest of his life. Among his projects in the city of which Steve was proudest was the Starr Street Historic District, for which he was awarded the 1984 Public Places Award by The Connecticut Society of Architects. While his professional practice over the years included partnerships with Bill Hermann in Mystic and Mark Schneider in East Lyme, from the late 1980s Steve was a sole practitioner, working from an office he’d designed out of his home’s former garage.
Steve used his lively design sense to make clients’ existing spaces work better for them. He delighted in finding elegant solutions to the restrictions caused by zoning, by previous building footprint, or by access requirements. He was an early proponent of green technologies. Within the profession, he was a critic of the “style guys” – the marquee architects who dominated the glossy monthlies – but was no less opposed to those who would deny that architects are necessary to the conception and construction of buildings. He always promoted the relevance of architecture, to people’s lives and as a profession.
In retirement, Steve devoted his talents to civic, social, and religious projects. In Old Lyme, as part of the ‘Tuesday Morning Work Crew’, he designed expanded working spaces for the Old Lyme Historical Society, which included an archive-grade document storage room and a handicapped access hoist. One of his last and most satisfying projects was a church conversion to a shelter and offices for the New London Homeless Hospitality Center. Steve was for many years Treasurer of the South Lyme Union Chapel, where he and Sandra worshipped, and he devised a number of small improvements to the chapel building.
Steve’s interactions with others were characterised by a kindness, honesty, and dry wit that inspired love and loyalty among many people with whom he dealt and worked. An enthusiastic sailor, he loved living by the sea. A life-long Democrat, he was a true egalitarian who worked actively for a world where each person’s potential can be realized. A keen reader of historical works, he was fascinated by the Civil War in particular, and by the person and presidency of Abraham Lincoln, whom he admired enormously.
A memorial service for Steve will be held at the South Lyme chapel, located at 308 Mile Creek Road, at 11 am on Saturday, April 15. Those wishing to give something in his memory are invited to donate to causes that he supported: 350.org, Doctors Without Borders, and The New London Homeless Hospitality Center.
We were both heartsick that the proposal by the Halls Road Improvement Committee was defeated and that two members of the committee failed to vote.
Our wonderful village needs both more local shops and restaurants so that we don’t have to go across the bridge to Saybrook. We would welcome a bakery and other shops.
Apartments for residents are another priority. Many friends of ours want to move out of their larger homes and want to remain in Old Lyme. Younger residents who can’t afford high priced homes would welcome this affordable option.
Currently, our refugee family, The Popals, are looking for a three bedroom apartment so that their children can remain in Old Lyme attending our fine school. There is nothing available for them.
As someone who walks around Old Lyme frequently, I notice the dilapidated buildings around The Hideaway. Newer shops and restaurants would attract customers. Apartment rents would provide another source of revenue for the projects as well as giving property tax revenue for Old Lyme.
We were particularly saddened that the immediate reaction was to vote down the proposal because of a lack of an adequate septic system instead of opting to look at solutions. We want to have officials who look at the big picture with creativity instead of negativity. How can we make Old Lyme a wonderful place for residents to live in the future? We need to focus on how an acceptable septic plan can be designed and implemented.
I hope that new proposals offered by the Halls Road Committee will be heard with constructive thoughts. Edie and her committee have worked on this plan for more than three years asking for opinions from residents. It is time for the board to approve the Halls Road Plans, which include necessary plans for septic meeting State standards required.
