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Death Announced of Lilliane Phoebe Spratt of Old Lyme, CT: Palm Beach, FL: Watch Hill, RI; An Exceptional Artist, Designer, Athlete, Poet, Volunteer

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Lilliane Phoebe Spratt
Jan. 23, 1989 – Jan. 9, 2025

OLD LYME —Lilliane Phoebe Spratt (b. January 23, 1989), of Palm Beach, FL, Watch Hill, RI, and Old Lyme, CT, passed from this terrestrial realm to the heavens on January 9, 2025, surrounded by her loving family in her lakeside Old Lyme home. A private funeral was held at the Grassy Hill Congregational Church of Lyme, CT, and a ceremony celebrating her life is being planned.

Lilly grew up surrounded by water in Old Lyme and Watch Hill, the youngest of four siblings. She graduated with honors from Lyme-Old Lyme High School, before attending Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, and Connecticut College, where she graduated with a double-major in English and Art. Both an exceptional installation artist and a poet, having published her first poem in middle school, creativity beamed through all her endeavors and lent to her defining hyperintelligence. From an early age she found inspiration observing her mother’s design and textile business. Also a standout athlete, Lilly was a varsity track and cross-country runner at all of the schools she attended, and enjoyed running marathons. She was the coxswain for the Connecticut College crew team and liked to kayak. As a young adult, she trained in gymnastics, which positioned her to later pursue the art of the flying trapeze. Her revelry in fire eating, a skill she mastered while at a circus academy, was, however, most emblematic of her magical approach to the world.

Lilly’s enchantment and exceptional beauty did not go unnoticed, as Vogue sought her for an acrobatic photo shoot. On account of her talent for writing and remarkable work ethic, she gained design, photography, marketing, and publishing experience in the fashion world with Bergdorf Goodman, Alice + Olivia, and Shape magazine in New York City. She also worked for the executives of Rolling Stone magazine and pursued her master’s degree at Parsons School of Design. These experiences ultimately led her to create her own company, Love Lilly, a resort clothing company based in Palm Beach and Old Lyme. The company designed, marketed, and sold wholesale dresses throughout the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, yet most importantly celebrated the power of color and light in textiles to foster positivity. Like her brand, Lilly’s fellowship program for aspiring highschool fashionistas to gain first-hand experience in the industry brought inspiration and love to all who benefited from her mentorship.

Wherever Lilly traveled, she left her mark with her kindness, grace, compassion, generosity, and unforgettably luminous dark brown eyes. She had the fondest of memories volunteering at an orphanage in Chennai, India, doing an art residency in Lucca, Italy, building boats with her beloved sister Meredith in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, participating in Parsons’ international business and fashion program in Paris, tracking wolves in Yellowstone National Park with her friends, and exploring the tropics with her dearest mother. She loved special nights out in Los Angeles and New York City discovering new places with her sisters or friends, but also appreciated quietude. The poetry of Mary Oliver brought her solace, and Lilly wrote remarkable poems throughout her life. Her joy in baking irresistibly delicious cakes and cookies for others symbolized the incredible love she bestowed upon her family and friends, always through the most thoughtful gifts.

Lilly had an uncanny ability to unveil the truth in most things, which made her the best of friends—as the privilege of knowing Lilly well was synonymous with being completely understood—and riotously funny, given her quick-witted tongue. This also made Lilly a formidable foe as a Scrabble player and an excellent strategist in real estate and property makeovers. Her highly remarked upon Connecticut College art installation, “An Apple a Day,” points to her depth of character and complexity. In it she critiqued the saccharine beauty of the quotidian by way of its routine entrapments. In this regard, she hinted at her struggle to manage the chronic disease that she courageously fought for over a decade. Nevertheless, she exuded optimism, selflessness, kindness, compassion, and cordiality in all of her interactions. She also exercised an incredible capacity for forgiveness and understanding. During extended hospital stays you would find her giving counsel and an empathetic ear to other patients, visitors, and the staff. No matter how she was, she would ask you how you were and genuinely care to know your answer.

Lilly’s friends best describe her infectious personality as larger than life. Her impeccable fashion sense and signature oversized sunglasses typically paired with the perfect shade of pink or black accoutrements was iconic. To witness her joy—elegantly soaking in the warmth of the Palm Beach breeze, driving her convertible with her long, chestnut hair gracefully blowing in the wind with the best music blasting, or owning the road in her Hummer—was to see life cinematically transform to her perfected design. For Lilly, an essential component of her inimitable stamp on life was the presence of her most devoted dogs, Bambi and Armani, in everything that she did. Lilly loved her dogs tremendously and this joy for her pets, especially her notable connection to Bambi, gave her strength and comfort in the hardest of challenges.

In this untimely winter passing, let Lilly’s poetry give us the hope and love she would have wanted us to conjure now, “For winter’s touch is never long / and seasons do change,” as she writes in Roots. Lilly is survived by her mother Patricia and her father John, her siblings Emily, John, and Meredith, and her nieces Violet and Lyra. In lieu of flowers, please honor Lilly’s memory through acts of kindness and compassion.

Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.comto leave a tribute for her family.

Op-Ed: It’s ‘Time to Show Who We Are, as Residents of a Diverse, Welcoming State,’ so ‘Light Up the Night for IRIS’ … and for CT

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Editor’s Note: This op-ed was submitted by the Rev. Steven R. Jungkeit, Ph.D., who serves as Senior Minister at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. All are welcome to attend the vigil tomorrow evening. The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme is located at 2 Ferry Rd., Old Lyme, CT 06371.

In the congregation I serve (The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme), I’ve been sharing since the November election that we are in a position similar to that of the biblical character Miriam in the second chapter of Exodus.  Faced with a terrible catastrophe (a threat against all Hebrew male children, including her baby brother, soon to be named Moses), Miriam “watches from a distance” as a small basket carrying her brother bobs up and down along the Nile River.  Since November, we too have been forced to watch and to wait in the bulrushes with Miriam, as if from a distance, using the time to gain perspective and to gather our wits as the current of history swirls around us.  In the Exodus story, Miriam watched and waited for the opportune moment to act, and when it arrived, she seized it.

People of faith and conscience will need to be continually vigilant in this new political environment.  We’ll need to seize opportune moments whenever we can to stand with the most vulnerable around us.  

Now is the first of those moments.  Now is the time to emerge from the bulrushes, as Miriam eventually did.

In these early days of the new administration, federal funding for a host of worthy agencies has been suspended, eliminated, and then, (maybe?) partially reinstated.  Few who depend upon that funding believe that the threat has gone away.  Meanwhile, livelihoods and support services throughout the country hang in the balance.

Among the many worthy agencies affected across Connecticut, IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigration Services) in New Haven has experienced tremendous whiplash.  Depending on which order is being considered, and when, it appears that IRIS stands to lose millions of dollars in funding, preventing them not only from helping to resettle refugees, but also hindering their ability to assist people in need all across the state.  Losing that funding would place thousands of people in jeopardy.

The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, together with two other churches in town (St. Ann’s and Christ the King) as well as many other residents of no particular faith, have partnered with IRIS for the past decade, ever since the beginning of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015.  Indeed, our community was the first in the state to reach out to IRIS during that crisis, though many others soon did the same.  Before long, a Syrian family arrived in Old Lyme and has remained here ever since, just the way Syrians arrived in communities all across Connecticut.  Since that time, we have helped resettle five additional families in our area from many different parts of the world, a pattern that has unfolded all up and down the Connecticut Shoreline, and throughout the entirety of the state.

IRIS is one of the crown jewels of Connecticut, helping to make us the welcoming, hospitable, and culturally rich state that we are.  Our communities have been improved by welcoming refugees, and supporting immigrants, which IRIS has facilitated.

If this is an opening salvo from a hostile new administration, then the time is right for Connecticut residents who continue to believe in the sanctity of hospitality to come together, and to push back the night.  

With that in mind, the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme invites friends and supporters of IRIS to join us for a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening, February 5th, at 6:00 PM.  We’ll sing, we’ll offer words of prayer, and we’ll light up the night.  But we also have a goal: to raise $100,000 as a gesture of goodwill and support for IRIS.  That won’t be enough.  But if similar events took place around the state, it would go a long way.

IRIS has given our communities so much.  They have offered support and protection to so many, and they have enriched our lives for the relationships they helped to create.  It’s time to give a little back.

But more to the point, it’s now time, like Miriam, to emerge from the bulrushes, and to push back against the Pharaohs that continue to afflict the vulnerable.

It’s time to show who we are as residents of a diverse and welcoming state, one that we can all be proud to live in.   

Letter to the Editor: Halls Road Improvements Committee’s Proposals are ‘Extreme’, Zoning Should Keep Intensity, Scale of Plans ‘in Keeping with Rest of Town’

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To the Editor:

The question of development on Halls Road is likely to come to a head at the continued public hearing scheduled for Thursday February 27th, 2025 at 6:30 at the Old Lyme Middle School.

The proposed guidelines for that development have been the subject of intense debate.

What began as the Halls Road Improvements committee more than 12 years ago has morphed into a proposed overlay District which allows up to 40 dwellings/acre – a quantum leap from installing sidewalks, lighting, greenery, and signage.

The Halls Road Committee has gone from uncontroversial to extreme, but now the public is catching on.

At the same time, the town of Old Lyme is paying lawyers $125,000 over 2 years to review and help rewrite the town’s entire set of Zoning rules …except Halls Road.

Why had the most contentious and crucial section of those rules, Halls Road, been excluded from consideration as part of this larger professional process, and one that will be guided by impartial questionnaires provided to all towns people?

As an alternate on the Zoning Commission, I have recused myself from voting on Halls Road, so that I can speak like any other townsperson.

The public has been told that the town’s Board of Selectmen are in favor of this redevelopment.  That is not the whole truth.  My wife Jude Read, a selectperson in Old Lyme, voted against the proposal long ago feeling it was too ambitious and far reaching and had lost sight of the original point of the Halls Road Improvements Committee: to make improvements.

The Halls Road Improvements Committee, by their own admission, have told the Zoning Commission that developers will be reluctant to invest if the town refuses to allow parking garages, and 60,000 sq’ buildings directly on Halls Road.

But why should we allow our town to be exploited by developers?

Many who have signed the petition against this effort at redevelopment are agreeable to responsible development.

The prudent response is for members of the Zoning Commission to include these ideas in the larger rewrite and revisions – at an intensity and scale in keeping with the rest of the town.

Sincerely,

Sloan Danenhower
Old Lyme, CT

SECWAC Hosts Talk in Old Lyme Tonight on “US-China Relations: The Storm Ahead?” Pre-Event Reception at 5:30pm

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William J. Holstein will be the speaker at the SECWAC meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30, in Old Lyme.

OLD LYME — On Thursday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m., the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts author and expert on US-China relations William J. Holstein to speak on U.S.-China Relations: The Storm Ahead? The event will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. It will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

After years of building tensions, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to rachet up tariffs against China by up to 60 percent. American consumers and American businesses will feel the pain, and the government of Xi Jinping will almost certainly retaliate against American interests.

Xi is a Marxist nationalist, meaning he believes that Western capitalistic democracies must be overcome.

To that end, China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s campaign to encircle Israel shows no sign of abating. China’s cyberwar against America’s Information Technology systems also has reached new heights. It is a kind of confrontation the United States has never before experienced. What is the way forward?

Holstein was dispatched to Hong Kong by United Press International in 1979 and witnessed the first stirrings of China’s economic modernization in southern China. He was promoted to Beijing bureau chief and studied the Chinese language intensively.

He subsequently became World Editor of Business Week magazine and either wrote for or was on staff at U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, The New York Times, and Chief Executive magazine, remaining engaged in the issues surrounding the emergence of East Asia.

He is the author or co-author of 10 books, most recently co-authoring “Battlefield Cyber: How China And Russia Are Undermining Our Democracy and National Security.” (Prometheus, August 2023.) Another title of interest: “The New Art of War: China’s Deep Strategy Inside the United States.” (BrickTower, 2019.)

SECWAC members are free. Non-Member in-person attendance is $20. Non-Member Visit this link to register.

For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.

Carolyn Wakeman is Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year!

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Tonight at Old Lyme’s Annual Town Business Meeting, Carolyn Wakeman, second from left, was named the Town’s 2024 Citizen of the Year. Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker stands to Wakeman’s left, Selectman Jim Lampos to her right and Selectwoman Judith Read is at far right. Photo credit:Town of Old Lyme.

OLD LYME—At Monday evening’s Annual Town Business Meeting, Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker announced Carolyn Wakeman as the Town’s 2024 Citizen of the Year.

Shoemaker introduced the eagerly anticipated announcement by saying, “This award, “Citizen of the Year,” is presented by the Town of Old Lyme to recognize someone who has gone above and beyond to improve the well-being of others and our community as a whole.  Our “Citizen of the Year” is an individual who has made significant contributions to our community through numerous hours of volunteer work and leadership.  This year’s recipient has demonstrated outstanding service in a multitude of areas: education, social justice, and the preservation of our town’s history. Their values of civic responsibility and community engagement are to be recognized.”

With the identity of the recipient still secret, Shoemaker continued, “When I contacted the people that nominated this year’s recipient, they reached out to others that they worked with, and a multitude of endorsing letters were sent to me.  These letters included many of the same descriptive words: passionate, a true treasure, dedicated, a hard worker, scholar, unwavering commitment, and gardener to name a few.”

Shoemaker then said, “Tonight, it is my honor to announce that those words describe the 2024 Old Lyme Citizen of the Year, Carolyn Wakeman.”

Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year Carolyn Wakeman (left) stands with Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker.

After an extremely surprised Wakeman (she had attended the event believing a friend was receiving the award) had joined Shoemaker at the front of the auditorium, Shoemaker continued, “Every good story has a strong beginning.  Ed Pinn who serves on the Historic District Commission with you informed me that you began your life here in Old Lyme.  He told me your father was once the Postmaster, that you graduated from high school here and then went on to have a distinguished career as a teacher and researcher.  Your research took you to China and then to the University of California/Berkeley, as a professor of journalism and East Asian Studies.  You returned home to Old Lyme in 2005 and Carolyn, we are so glad you did!”

Shoemaker added, “Some might say you came home to retire but your relentless energy was channeled into organizing not one, but several groups and organizations.  By the way, Carolyn did not just organize these groups, she led them.  John Noyes wrote, “She has developed ways for people to collaborate in important endeavors; she has helped create communities.”” 

Noting, “John [Noyes] spoke highly of your dedication to your historical work and the time and energy you commit to tracking original sources and documenting information.,” Shoemaker said, “This was echoed by Jeffrey Andersen, Former Director of the Florence Griswold Museum, who wrote of your idea for the museum to start a series of blog posts that would explore various aspects of the town’s past, using primary source documents in the Lyme Historical Society Archives.  Jeff [Andersen] noted that The History Blog became an indispensable resource for town residents, students, and scholars from near and far.  The Connecticut League of History Organizations awarded the History Blog an Award of Merit in 2013.” 

From left to right, Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year Carolyn Wakeman, Selectman Jim Lampos and Selectwoman Judith Read admire the framed citation of Wakeman’s award.

Another person who commended Wakeman’s work ethic was Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator at the Florence Griswold Museum, who, according to Shoemaker, noted that Wakeman’s “tireless research in pursuit of hard truths has changed how she and others understand this town and its history.” Kurtz Lansing further commented that Wakeman, “Served not only as a Trustee but also as a member of several board committees at the museum … volunteer[ing] for 15 years in the Lyme Historical Society Archives, where you unearthed information about enslavement, and thus this became your next project, The Witness Stones Old Lyme.”

Shoemaker told Wakeman that, “… through the Witness Stones project you have provided middle school students with primary historical documents from which to learn about enslavement.  After their studies, these students write poems to commemorate some of the over 300 people of African and Native American descent who lived here in bondage and whose presence and labor shaped Old Lyme.  Amy also stated that you “courageously engage in dialogue with those of differing perspectives to move the project forward in the interest of truth and history.” 

Citing support for the award from Old Lyme’s Phoebe Griffin Noyes (PGN) Library Director Katie Huffman, Shoemaker quoted Huffman as saying about Wakeman, “It is a privilege to work directly with you on the project … Carolyn’s dedication to this project simply can’t be overstated. She’s known to be the historian of the project, and as such has contributed countless hours of research and expertise toward better understanding the lives of those who were enslaved in historic Lyme, but her skill as a collaborator and organizer are perhaps less well known.”  

Shoemaker explained that both Liz Frankel and Tim Griswold had shared their thoughts about working with Wakeman on multiple projects, saying, “They both note that in your role as Director of the Old Lyme Cemetery Association you have “been a visionary force.”  You have led the restoration of the ancient section of Duck River Cemetery and under your guidance an informative website and a digital burial database has been created. Liz and Tim both note that you have worked hard to improve the way the Board functions. You have made thoughtful revisions to the association’s bylaws, which have significantly strengthened the association and have encouraged fellow Board members to offer their opinions on how the operation of the eight [Old Lyme] cemeteries could be improved.”   

Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year Carolyn Wakeman shares a celebratory smile with Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker and Selectman Jim Lampos .

Tim Griswold also noted that Wakeman was, “An active participant in the seasonal cleaning, straightening and mending of grave markers in the “Ancient Section” of the Duck River Cemetery.  Dozens of volunteers come to the Cemetery to work under the supervision of a professional monument preservationist.”  Griswold stated, “Carolyn oversees these events and, on occasion, she has rewarded workers with a post-work wine and cheese treat.”

Shoemaker than listed some other accomplishments that are “noteworthy, as Old Lyme has benefited from all of them.” These include:

  • The history she pieced together provided an invaluable foundation for the 2025 Florence Griswold Museum exhibition “Their Kindred Earth: Photographs of William Earle Williams.” 
  • Her work to establish the presence of Black history here in Old Lyme also resulted in her organization of three Juneteenth Jazz and Poetry events in association with the Museum, with a fourth installment to take place this spring. 
  • Her leadership of the volunteer members of the Florence Griswold Museum’s Archives Interest Group, which explores local history through the museum’s document collections.
  • Undertaking exhibitions at the Museum related to Lyme’s early medical care and oceangoing families sharing archival materials with the public. 
  • Her collaborative work across local institutions including the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, the Cemetery Association, the Old Lyme Historical Society, and the Historic District Commission.
  • As the researcher and author of The Charm of the Place: Old Lyme in the 1920s (published with the Old Lyme Historical Society) and Forgotten Voices: The Hidden History of a New England Meetinghouse (published with the First Congregational Church and Wesleyan University Press), Carolyn has provided anyone who loves Old Lyme—as she does—with a factual understanding of its past and how that history has shaped the town it is today. 
Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year Carolyn Wakeman (second from left) exchanges a brief word with Selectman Jim Lampos during the post-award photography session.

Marcia McLean wrote, “Carolyn’s contributions to the Town of Old Lyme have not only enriched our understanding of Old Lyme’s past but have also educated us as we set a course for the town in the future.”  

Old Lyme PGN Library Director Huffman added that Wakeman has served, “To help the people of Old Lyme connect with, understand, and learn from its past to become a stronger, more thoughtful, and more compassionate community now, and in the days to come.”

Shoemaker concluded, “Carolyn, it is evident that you love Old Lyme and that is just one of the many reasons we are proud to name you as our 2024 Citizen of the Year.”

Wakeman was then presented with flowers and a proclamation declaring her as Old Lyme’s 2024 Citizen of the Year. 

Editor’s Note: We send hearty congratulations to Wakeman on this well-deserved honor.