Leonard K. Creeron, 61 of Old Lyme, passed away on July 19, 2023, leaving behind his wife Jodi, of 38 years, and their dog, Cindy …
A celebration of life in Lenny’s honor was held by close family and friends.
Visit this link to read the full obituary published by Hartford Courant on Jul. 30, 2023.
Company Became Major Force, Record-Breaker in World of Hyper-Performing Autos
OLD LYME — The following tribute to Reeves Callaway was published on the Callaway Cars website. We republish it here with the full authorization of Callaway Cars.
July 14, 2023
Temecula, California
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Leingarten, Germany
Callaway Cars announces, with deepest sadness, the passing of our Founder and CEO, Ely Reeves Callaway III, on Tuesday, July 11, at his home in Newport Beach, California, from injuries sustained after a fall.
Reeves was a legendary figure in the world of high-performance automobiles. Entirely self-taught, Reeves founded the company in 1977 from his garage in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
His first product success was an aftermarket turbo kit for BMW, which renowned automotive journalist Don Sherman reviewed favorably that year in Car and Driver. The rest was history as Reeves, a Formula Vee champion driver prior to becoming a constructor, moved with his customary speed to open Callaway Cars’ first headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Over the four decades since, Reeves and Callaway Cars have continued to earn top accolades from media, the automotive industry, and the global motorsports world as a pioneer of “Powerfully Engineered Automobiles”. His unique performance and design innovations have delivered track and road-going successes for global marques, including BMW, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Mazda and General Motors, who looked to Callaway’s innovation, creativity, agility, and performance to help accomplish their goals.
Reeves is perhaps best known for his work with Corvette, a deep and high-level relationship with the American sports car manufacturer that began in 1987 and culminated with two industry firsts:
• The Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette “B2K” designation, a factory code to signify the GM stamp of approval to permit sale and distribution of the Callaway Corvette via the Chevrolet Dealer network which, in turn, earned Callaway Cars the rare honor of becoming designated a Specialty Vehicle Manufacturer.
• The second was a world-first record: in 1989, Callaway Cars built a Twin Turbo Corvette, dubbed “The Sledgehammer” that blew away all the competition by setting a production-car top speed record of 254.76 mph. Not until 2010, 21 years later, did Bugatti break Callaway’s record by achieving a 267.85 mph in a Veyron Super Sport.
In 1994, Reeves launched a Germany-based racing unit, Callaway Competition, with partners Ernst Wöhr and Giovanni Ciccone. International recognition was achieved by their successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and later a European GT racing team which ultimately led to authorization by GM to construct and homologate C6- and C7-generation GT3 race cars for international competition.
Reeves was one of the last and most successful one-man, single-vision practitioners of hyper-performing internal combustion automobiles. It’s a rare-air field that includes the likes of Ettore Bugatti, Ferry Porsche, and Enzo Ferrari, to name a few.
Reeves’ vision, creativity, and innovation encompassed not only automotive engineering, but aviation and aerospace as well with Callaway Carbon, Inc.
A longtime helicopter pilot and Board Director for Kaman Corporation, Reeves was in recent years a founding adviser to a hydrogen-powered and composite-intensive, blended-wing aircraft start-up with funding from NASA and the Air Force.
“Thanks to Reeves’ visionary entrepreneurial spirit, Callaway Cars will continue to innovate and grow in the 21st century, inspired by his unique, extraordinary vision, and by his personal example of integrity, resourcefulness, and leadership as our founder,” says his son Peter Reeves Callaway, the company’s President. “Dad’s passion for making beautifully designed and crafted machines can be seen in each and every project, and we remain devoted to executing to the highest standards, in true Callaway fashion. He was rarely found doing anything other than working towards the next milestone for the company. He was a charismatic leader with a sense of humor that we will all remember through various “Reeves-isms”. I feel fortunate to have grown up working with him and the company.”
Mike Zoner, the Chief Operating Officer of Callaway Cars, remembers him:
“I have had the privilege of working with Reeves and helping him innovate for over 35 years. Reeves always strived to make the finest vehicles and products, and then improve them. His support of our customers, partners, and team members was unwavering. We shall carry his vision and mission forward and continue to grow the company he founded and built into innovative future products that he would applaud as we honor his legacy.”
The first son of Ely Reeves Callaway, Jr., the founder of Callaway Golf, and brother of publisher Nicholas Callaway, Reeves proudly epitomized the entrepreneurial Callaway family tradition of making the finest goods that enhance an individual’s enjoyment, performance and lifestyle.
A true gentleman, he was the devoted father of four and grandfather of two.
His large circle of friends, colleagues and admirers around the world will mourn his passing and miss him deeply.
Further communiqués from Callaway Cars will be forthcoming.
For inquiries, please e-mail: info@callawaycars.com
Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read an obituary for Mr. Callaway by Neil Genzlinger published by ‘The New York Times’ and titled, Reeves Callaway, Maker of Really, Really Fast Cars, Dies at 75
OLD LYME — David Michael Hickie, 56, of Old Lyme, passed away July 10, 2023. He was born Oct. 26, 1966. David was a beloved husband to Suzanne Wnek, and a loving father to Kate and Quinn. …
Dave was incredibly generous, kind, and gracious. Once you met him, you never forgot him. He genuinely cared about his children’s interests and encouraged them to live their life with kindness and curiosity. He often took an evening swim with his daughter Kate at their beloved White Sands Beach no matter the weather. Most recently Dave was able to share the experience of his son Quinn’s first legal pint of Guinness in Ireland …
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Rd., Old Lyme. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you perform an act of kindness in Dave’s memory. Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.com for tributes and directions …
Visit this link to read the full obituary published by The Day on Jul. 13, 2023.
Mary Dunn, of Essex, CT and Vero Beach, FL died on July 5th after suffering complications from a massive seizure. She was 76 years old.
Mary was born and raised in Camden, S.C., the daughter of Roderick H. Cantey and Barbara (Zemp) Cantey. She attended high school at Ashley Hall in Charleston, S.C. She adored her time there, and credited the school for fostering her avid interest in theater. She scored 1600 on her SATs and in 1964 was accepted to Radcliffe, but her father insisted on Virginia’s Sweet Briar College instead. She majored in military and diplomatic history there and appeared in a number of theatrical productions – most notably Antigone. But she was rocketed into the fourth dimension when she traveled to the Sorbonne in Paris for her junior year abroad. Food, fashion, beauty and art were hers for the devouring. She pranced around in mini dresses and false eyelashes, emulating Twiggy, smoking Gauloises cigarettes and having the time of her life. She was even briefly engaged to an Englishman.
After graduating from Sweet Briar, she settled in Manhattan landing her first job as an ad trafficker for NBC. It was this job that introduced her to her husband of 53 years, an ad executive for Grey Advertising at the time – Toby Dunn.
She left NBC to join TIME magazine as a picture researcher and from there went onto become one of the founding staff members of PEOPLE magazine. In fact she got to PEOPLE before there was a PEOPLE, and was there when the first 35 cent issue came out, dated March 4, 1974.
Her role as picture editor for the magazine was crucial to its success. With her colleagues in the photo department, she attracted the world’s best photographers and practically invented a unique style of story-telling in black and white photography (and later color). She was smart, tough, funny, creative, a good negotiator, worthy of respect and trust, and serious when she had to be. She had fresh ideas for photos even after 14 shoots with Farrah Fawcett. She had the patience and knowledge to get a good cover out of difficult subjects. She’s also credited with PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue, as it was she who exclaimed it humorously in the layout room looking at a picture of Mel Gibson in 1985.
When Mary left PEOPLE to become the Director of Photography for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY in 1994, PEOPLE was one of the most successful magazines in the world. Her contribution was inestimable. In addition to dedicating the last decade of her 30-year-TIME INC. career to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, Mary covered Olympics ceremonies in Lake Placid and Tokyo. Upon her retirement, Jess Cagle, EW’s then Editorial Director, described her as an elegant, southern spitfire who spoke her mind freely.
Mary suffered a brain aneurysm in 1999 shortly after her retirement, the after-effects of which periodically affected her. She was fortunate to spend much of her life in Manhattan – a city she adored for all of its rich offerings – and she spent the last 24 years traveling, wintering in Harbour Island in the Bahamas, and enjoying a slower, less hectic pace of life with her two cats always by her side.
She is predeceased by her brother Roderick H. Cantey Jr. (Roddy), and survived by her husband, Henry E. Dunn III (Toby), daughter Muffie Dunn, two sisters Barbara Cantey and Claudia Bell, sister-in-law Janice Cantey, son-in-law, Patrick Sweeney and three grand-stepchildren: Brooke, Caroline and Finton Sweeney.
A graveside service is scheduled at 4pm on Saturday, July 15th at Quaker Cemetery in Camden, SC followed by a reception at The Steeplechase Museum. There will be a memorial service in Old Lyme, CT later this summer. As Landon Jones, former managing editor of PEOPLE put it “We loved Mary and all she represented — smarts, charm, high spirits, and a kind heart.” She will undoubtedly be missed by all who had the good fortune to know her.
OLD LYME — Bruce Michael Dooley Sr., 80, of Lone Pine Trail., died peacefully Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital after a short illness surrounded by his loving family …
Visit this link to view the full obituary published by The Day on Jul. 6, 2023.
