OLD LYME — Constance L. “Connie” Gray (Leighton), 83, of Old Lyme, passed away peacefully at home April 1, 2023 …
Connie was preceded in death by her husband, Fenton Paul Gray, 1971. She is survived by her devoted children, Fenton Paul Gray (Wellesley/Nantucket, Mass.) and Stephen James Gray (Middletown); siblings, Joan Leighton (Melrose, Mass.) and George Leighton (Old Lyme) …
Soon after marrying her beloved husband in 1961, she settled in Old Lyme. Here she raised her family and lived for the past 60 years. Her love for Old Lyme Shores Beach was reflected in her 35 years of service as Beach Association secretary and 25 years as the Association rental agent …
Her selfless nature led her to volunteer with numerous organizations, including the Christ the King Church Prayer Line …
A calling hour will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, April 10, at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at Christ the King Church at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Duck River Cemetery, Old Lyme … In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Connie’s memory to Christ the King Church in Old Lyme …
Winifred M. Leary, 87, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2023. Born on April 5, 1935, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, she was the only child of Margaret (Collins) and Martin Murray. She was the beloved wife of Richard “Dick” Leary. They would have celebrated their 65th anniversary in June.
Winnie’s grace and kindness was evident in everything that she did. Making sure she raised independent, caring and kind people was her number one priority. Winnie extended this care to the wider community through her commitment to volunteerism and leading by example. She had a way of making every person feel appreciated and loved. We will greatly miss her eloquence and wit.
Besides her husband, Dick, she is survived by her 8 children: Kathy Gentilozzi (Mark), Stephen Leary (Mary), Mark Leary, Marty Braun (Peter), Martha Quaratella (Joe), Susan Beaudoin (Rich), Dennis Leary (Kristin) and Jennifer Kelley (Mike).
Winnie was blessed to have 30 grandchildren: Kristina, Andrew, Kati, Sara, Michael, Courtney, Paul, Jack, Nick, Haley, Erin, Sam, Cooper, Catie, Lauren, Jake, Elizabeth, Nathan, Austin, Benjamin, Clayton, Dylan, Hannah, Grace, Luke, Rose, Eli, Kaleigh, Sydney, Colleen, Liam and one great grandchild, Wellie.
Winnie grew up in New Bedford and graduated from Bridgewater State Teachers College in 1956. She taught school for 2 years before meeting the love of her life, Dick. They were married and began their family in Waterbury, CT and then moved to Meriden, Connecticut where they lived for almost 50 years. She was a self-described “homemaker” and “Mommy” for 15 years. Over the next 26 years she held various roles in banking before becoming a financial advisor. Winnie and Dick were devoted parishioners at St. Joseph’s Church. They were awarded the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation in recognition of their service to the Hartford Archdiocese and community. Winnie was a board member of The Meriden United Way, American Association of University Women and St. Joseph’s School. She also volunteered at the Franciscan Life Center, Curtis Home.
Winnie was always up for an adventure, enjoying travel both abroad and across the US visiting her large family. Her favorite thing to do was anything with her favorite guy.
We would like to thank three very special people, Terry Ann, Sue and James, who supported Winnie and her family.
Her family will receive relatives and friends (TODAY) Tuesday, April 4th from 5 to 7 p.m. at Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish, St. Joseph Church, 177 West Main Street, Meriden, CT 06451. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 5th at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Church. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist 269 Finch Avenue Meriden, CT 06451
For online condolences, please visit jferryfh.com.
The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Mock Trial team won top honors in the state championship held at the Supreme Court in Hartford . Photo courtesy of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser commented, “[It] was a great accomplishment for this program, which only restarted at the high school about five years ago after a brief hiatus,” adding, “Jim [Wygonik, LOL High School Principal] and I had the opportunity to watch them argue their case at the Supreme Court in Hartford to win the state championship.”
Nevaiser concluded, “These young men and women are incredibly talented, well coached, and put in countless hours on weekends to prepare their arguments.”
Winning the state championship earned the LOLHS team the honor of representing Connecticut at the National Mock Trial Competition in Little Rock, Ark. in early May.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to raise the required funds to send the team and its coaches to Little Rock to compete. The school administration explains on the campaign site, “Normally we would utilize traditional fundraising methods. These, however, take time.”
The statement on the website continues, ” Our window to commit to the national competition is just a few weeks. We hope that you will consider donating to our trip fund so 12 aspiring attorneys and their two coaches can continue this exciting journey.”
Ready to cut the celebratory ribbon are from left to right: Old Lyme (OL) Economic Development Commission (EDC) member Wendy Russell, OL Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, EDC Chair Cheryl Poirier, Kate’s mother Chris Lanfair, Papi’s mother Maria Luisa “Abuela” Sanchez Espejel, Kate Lanfair holding Cruz, Addy, Adrian “Papi” Vidals, State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), OL Selectman Matt Ward, OL First Selectman Tim Griswold, EDC members Scott Smith, Joe Camean, Mona Colwell, Teri Lewis, and Jean Wilczynski.
OLD LYME — A ribbon-cutting to celebrate the official opening of Papi’s Taqueria was held Saturday morning, March 25. The new takeout Mexican restaurant was long awaited by local diners, who were happy to see its “Coming Soon” sign replaced by a “Now Open” sign in January.
Kate Lanfair and Adrian “Papi” Vidals, pictured below, are the owners and talent behind the newest addition to Old Lyme’s food offerings. Lanfair has been an owner of Westbrook Pizza since 2001 and sole owner since 2007. Nine years ago, Papi came in hoping to be hired, and the rest is history.
“Papi joined Westbrook Pizza and was so talented with pastas, baking, and pizza of course,” said Lanfair, “but in addition he would make Mexican food for the staff meals, dishes his mother taught him in Puebla, Mexico, and we were just blown away.”
Along the way, Lanfair and Vidals began dating. “We would go out on Tuesday and Thursday nights to the [Long Wharf] food trucks in New Haven or over to Groton for authentic Mexican food.” Lanfair said, “I kept asking, why aren’t we selling your Mexican food?”
Now a family with two young children, who are six and two years old, Lanfair and Vidals committed in September 2021 to opening a taqueria in Old Lyme, renting space in the Old Lyme Shopping Center. Lanfair explained, “We felt it was an unserved market and it was still close enough to our home in Westbrook.”
But September 2021 still had halting supply chain issues due to the pandemic, which greatly altered the opening plans of the taqueria.
State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) and Old Lyme Selectman Matt Ward were both in attendance at the opening.
“The Town of Old Lyme was great, our delays were all related to the pandemic,” Lanfair said. “We had a nine-month delay for the fabrication of an oven hood system we needed, which had to have a special grade of stainless steel.” And as the hood was in transit to Old Lyme the truck broke down on the side of a road.
She commented with a quiet chuckle, “You can’t make this stuff up, we would get over one hurdle, and then we’d face another, like our work crew all getting COVID and then construction coming to a halt for three weeks.”
But they kept their eye on the goal and continued to move closer to opening.
Adrian “Papi” Vidals hands out traditional Mexican ‘Sopes’ to guests attending the opening.
Three months before opening day, Papi’s mother “Abuela” Maria, arrived from Puebla to help with the business by way of a 10-year visa. The kitchen staff is made up of other family and friends. Opening day finally came January 17, 2023, 19 months after first leasing the property.
The OL EDC hosted Saturday’s ribbon cutting ceremony. The event began with EDC Chairwoman Cheryl Poirier thanking Lanfair and Vidals for their patience and also, their investment in Old Lyme. She said, “Our small, family-owned businesses are part of the fabric of Old Lyme.”
State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) reads a General Assembly Official Citation welcoming Papi’s to Old Lyme while Old Lyme Selectman Matt Ward (right) listens attentively.
Old Lyme First Selectman Tim Griswold then welcomed the new owners. State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) spoke next, reading aloud a General Assembly Official Citation introduced by State Rep. Carney and State Senator Martha Marx, which offered the General Assembly’s sincerest congratulations and wished the business many years of prosperity.
Lanfair then thanked everyone for the warm welcome they had received to Old Lyme and shared they have been very happy with the response from the community. “Everyone has been so nice,” she said. “Everyone is so appreciative, so curious, and friendly. The kids that come in on their own are always well-mannered, which has really been wonderful.”
Old Lyme EDC member Joe Camean chats with Old Lyme Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker at the opening.
The couple is looking forward to their first summer serving the Old Lyme community and its visitors.
Papi’s daily specials are on their Facebook page and will soon be on their newly-launched website.They have added Shoreline Menus delivery service and will continue to add special features such as “Tamale Thursdays,” when their homemade tamales will take center stage.
Although their first few weeks were a cash-only operation, they now accept cards although they offer a discount to those paying with cash.
All the people attending the celebratory opening gathered outside the store for a photo prior to the official ribbon-cutting.
Editor’s Note: Papi’s Taqueria is located at 19 Halls Road in Old Lyme. Hours are Monday through Saturday 11am-8pm and Sundays 3pm-8pm. To phone in an order, contact them at 860-434-8226 (TACO).
The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Mock Trial team won top honors in the state championship held at the Supreme Court in Hartford . Photo courtesy of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.
‘These young men and women are incredibly talented, well coached, and put in countless hours on weekends to prepare their arguments.’ LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser
LYME/OLD LYME — On Thursday, the Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) High School Mock Trial team won first place in the highly competitive State Championship.
The team is coached by Sarah Hylas, who is assisted by Emily Kelly. Their legal advisor is Captain Ben Karpinski of the US Coast Guard.
Asked his reaction the result, LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser responded by text, “[It] was a great accomplishment for this program, which only restarted at the high school about five years ago after a brief hiatus.”
Neviaser added, “Jim [Wygonik, LOL High School Principal] and I had the opportunity to watch them argue their case at the Supreme Court in Hartford to win the state championship. These young men and women are incredibly talented, well coached, and put in countless hours on weekends to prepare their arguments.”
He concluded, “We wish them the best of luck as they move on to the national competition in Little Rock, Arkansas.”
Here at LymeLine, we send hearty congratulations to the whole team and their coaches on this terrific achievement.
