Author Archives: Admin

Death Announced of Jacqueline L. Duval; Old Lyme Resident for 29 Years, Member of Saint Ann’s, Worked in OL Town Hall

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SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. —Jacqueline L. Duval, devoted and loving wife, mother, grandma and great-grandma, passed away on June 3, 2023 at Harborview Senior Communities at the age of 94 …

She met the love of her life, Francis, through her sister Lucy who was married to Fran’s best friend, Bob Locke. Jackie and Fran were married Feb. 4 in Amherst, NH. Jackie became an Air Force wife …

Eventually the family moved to Old Lyme, CT after Fran’s retirement from the Air Force. While in Old Lyme, Jackie was a member of Saint Ann’s Episcopal Church and for many years she was the Altar Guild Directress and Altar Guild Treasurer. She also worked as a dental secretary, a clerk in the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s Office, and utilized her sewing skills working at the Seam Shoppe.

The Duvals lived in Old Lyme for 29 years before moving to Williston, VT …

Jackie is predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Francis Duval and her parents, Mario and Winifred (Bowler) Bianchi and sister Lucille MacDonald.

She is survived by daughters, Sandra Aldrich of Milton, VT and Sheri Youngberg and her husband Brian of Richmond VT. She is also survived by four granddaughters …

There will be no calling hours. A Memorial service will be on Saturday, July 8 at 11 a.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1250 Spear Street, South Burlington, VT. …

Visit this link to read the full obituary published by The Williston Observer on Jun. 15, 2023.

Atty. John ‘Jack’ Collins of Old Lyme Reappointed as Judge of Gaming Disputes Court for Mohegan Tribe

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Atty. John “Jack” A. Collins III

OLD LYME/ NEW LONDON – Old Lyme resident John A. Collins, III, has been reappointed as a Judge of the Gaming Disputes Court for the Mohegan Tribe for a 5-year term, effective May 9, 2023.

Collins presides over matters assigned by the Chief Judge pursuant to the Mohegan Gaming Disputes Ordinance and the Mohegan Tribe Constitution.

In its constitution, the Mohegan Tribe has extended jurisdiction over disputes involving or arising out of ’Gaming’ to the Gaming Disputes Court, which consists of a Trial Court and a Court of Appeals. This jurisdiction extends to actions of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and disputes involving its employees and customers.

Atty. Collins is a Director/Shareholder of Suisman Shapiro Attorneys-at-Law, who concentrates in the areas of Personal Injury Law and Civil Litigation. 

He served as the Managing Partner of Suisman Shapiro for over 20 years. 

Unexpected Death Announced of Park McLeod Morrison, 67; Born, Married in Old Lyme, Played ‘Countless Rounds’ of Golf at Black Hall Club

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ROCKPORT, MAINE — Park McLeod Morrison, 67, of Rockport, died unexpectedly Saturday, May 27, 2023, while enjoying his favorite pastime — golf.

Park was born to the late Betsy and Victor Morrison Jr. in Old Lyme, Conn., on Nov. 29, 1955 … Park married Melissa (Missy) Chapman, in Old Lyme, Conn. in 1980 …

He was a lifelong golfer who played countless rounds at Old Lyme Country Club, Black Hall Club and Megunticook Golf Club …

Park will be lovingly remembered by his wife of almost 43 years, Missy Chapman; daughters, Storrey (Jeff Ryckbost) and Sarah (Aaron Fulton); brother, Victor III (Patty Dunn); sister, Susan; …

Family and friends will remember Park at a celebration of life later this summer. In memory of Park, please consider donations to the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, take time to watch the birds or perform an act of kindness to promote peace in the world.

Visit this link to read the full obituary published June 9, 2023 on The Courier-Gazette.

Suisman Shapiro Attorneys Zrenda of Old Lyme and Bouchard Win Over $284,000 at Trial on Behalf of Client Injured in Workplace

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NEW LONDON/OLD LYME — Recently, following a two-day trial, a New London County jury awarded Attorneys Kyle Zrenda and Tim Bouchard’s client $284,514.07 for injuries he suffered in a slip on a wet floor at work. Zrenda, who resides in Old Lyme, and Bouchard are both employed as Attorneys at Suisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law in New London.

Despite not putting up any warning signs, the defendant, a commercial cleaning company, argued that the wet floor was not dangerous, and should have been obvious to the client.

Suisman Shapiro’s team was able to convince the jury that the floor was hazardous, and that their client could not have seen its dangerous condition before he slipped.

The client, a 33-year-old New London man, previously injured his back in a car accident four months earlier. Attorneys Zrenda and Bouchard successfully argued that his slip made those back injuries worse, and played an important role in his need for additional treatment.

A Tangled Story: Witness Stones Project Celebrates Placement of New Historical Plaques Honoring Lives of Enslaved Persons in Old Lyme

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Connecticut Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell reading reflections in verse. Photo by Liz Frankel and Carolyn Wakeman.

OLD LYME — On June 2, a large audience, along with musicians, singers, genealogists, poets, and descendants, gathered on the lawn of the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library to honor the lives of enslaved persons who lived in Old Lyme. 

The Old Lyme Witness Stones Project, with the support of its many local partners, recently installed new historical plaques on a grassy triangle on Old Shore Road. The plaques detail the names and stories of eight enslaved African-Americans and indentured Indigenous people, who lived and labored in the Black Hall section of the historic town of Lyme in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Select Singers performed at the ceremony.

These new brass plaques, four inches square and set flush to the ground, join 30 plaques that have been installed over the past two years on Lyme Street and in front of the Duck River Cemetery on McCurdy Road. 

Speakers and musicians included saxophonist Richard Wyman;  historian John Mills; Genealogist Vicki Welch; and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School poets.
Eight plaques newly installed on Old Shore Road.

Carolyn Wakeman, an historian and organizer of the project noted: “This is a tangled story in which families of the enslaved and the enslavers intertwined, but the circumstances of those enslaved . . . allow us today to discern the contours of northern slavery.” 

A postcard/map is available at the Town Hall, the Library, the Florence Griswold Museum, the First Congregational Church, and on the Witness Stones Old Lyme website https://www.witnessstonesoldlyme.org/.

Between 1670 and 1826, over 250 enslaved African-Americans and indentured Indigenous people labored in what are now the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme, and parts of East Lyme and Salem. They were young and old, male and female, parents and children. Some died as slaves, some were given freedom; some were soldiers, sailors, soap makers, runaways, fiddlers, and farmers.

The project will be completed over the next two years with a total of 50 plaques installed in Lyme and Old Lyme.

An interpretive sign on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library marks the Witness Stone trail.

The commemorative plaques in Black Hall, placed together in a group, expand the power of an individual story.