Lynda Crawford Abshire, 82, Died; Gifted Musician, Westporter
Lynda Crawford Abshire passed away in Westport, CT on Wednesday July 20, 2022 after a long struggle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Lynda was born in Pecos, TX on March 5, 1940, and was the only child of Jo and Vernon Crawford.
A sensitive and gifted musician, Lynda graduated from the University of North Texas in 1962, majoring in Music. She went on to earn two masters degrees in arts-related disciplines.
In addition to keyboards, Lynda was also an accomplished recorder player and classical singer, specializing in baroque recorder and chamber choral music. While living in Atlanta, Lynda sang with Robert Shaw's Atlanta Symphony Chorus. After moving to Westport, CT from Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2009, Lynda joined the Southern Connecticut Camerata, with whom she sang in many public concerts. She also performed frequently in the Connecticut area with the Dolce Ensemble.
Lynda also enjoyed performing as an actor with community musical theater groups. In 2012, she performed the role of Joanne in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company" with the Westport Community Theater, which Lynda described as, "The role of a lifetime."
Lynda was a lifelong Democrat and the longstanding companion of Sandra Wagenfeld of Westport, CT. Lynda is survived by her sons Gary Vern Abshire and Michael Krystian Abshire, as well as by her former husband, Robert Abshire, all of Fort Worth, Texas. Lynda specifically wished to express her deep gratitude to Wendy Awa, David Lassow, Martha Scales, and Valerie Wagenfeld for the devoted care they have given her during her illness.
William Bradford Sowik, Staples Grad, Air Force Veteran, Died
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of William Bradford Sowik on July 13, 2022. He passed away peacefully after a 5 year battle with cancer.
He will be deeply missed by his wife of almost 50 years, Sherri, his sons, Jason (Samantha) and Jeremy (Olivia) and grandchildren Kingston and Noah; sister Sharene Chiaia (Louie), and his cousins Frank and Ellen, nieces and nephews and many extended family members.
Born and raised in CT, Bill spent many summers out at Cockenoe Island, graduated from Staples High School and graduated from UConn with a degree in Environmental Sciences. He was a veteran of the U. S. Air Force. He jogged for many years and enjoyed playing golf and had the highlight of hitting a hole in one in 2012. He worked for many years for the State of CT monitoring air quality as a field technician at the DEEP.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT on Saturday, August 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will always be grateful to the staff of Dr. Joseph McLaughlin at the John DeQuattro Cancer Center and Bill's hospice team as well as family and many friends who were there for us.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made online to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (www.pcf.org). If mailing, the address is 1250 Fourth Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Please reference Bill's name "in memory" in either the online or sent donation. Inform them of your name and address so they can notify the family of your donation. Also, donations can be made to Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut to enable donations of medical supplies for people who need them at www.echn.org. Please write checks out to VNHSC Hospice and send to VNHSC Hospice, 8 Keynote Drive, Vernon, CT 06066. For complete obituary and online condolences, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com.
Trish Robinson, 64, Died; Former Westporter
Patricia (Trish) was born in Norwalk and raised in Westport, Connecticut. In 1977 she followed her parents out of Connecticut to settle in California, living in the South Bay for 44 years.
Trish will be remembered for her love of animals, nature, photography, Patriots football, NASCAR, enjoying time spent with family, and her great cooking. She is preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Mary Lou Breisler, and her sister Gretchen. She is survived by her partner of 26 years, Mark, siblings Joseph (Jamie) and Penny (Bruce), and daughters Jessica (Steve), Kimberly and Ashley. Trish will be sorely missed by her family and friends.
A memorial service is planned for Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Pacific Crest Cemetery 2701 182nd Street, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 @ 10:00 AM.
Lois Schine, 95, Died; Engineer, RTMer, Traveler, Westporter
Lois Gildersleeve Schine of Westport passed away at her home on July 7, 2022 surrounded by her family. Lois was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, NY to Daniel W. Gildersleeve and Florence Grimm Gildersleeve. The Gildersleeve family came to Massachusetts from England in 1635 and eventually settled in Connecticut.
Lois was a pioneer in her day. She graduated second in her class with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1947 from Pratt Institute, where she was the only woman in the Mechanical Engineering program. She was elected to Tau Beta Pi (an Honorary Engineering Society) with a special designation as an "Honorary Member" because it was a male-only fraternity at the time. In the 1960's, Tau Beta Pi finally began inducting women and Lois was retroactively named a full member in recognition of her accomplishments. While at Pratt, she was a Founding Member of the Society of Women Engineers which is now a large international organization.
After college Lois worked for General Electric in Advanced Engineering and Research. GE was one of the few companies that would hire female engineers in the 1940's and 1950's. She also taught engineering courses at Bridgeport University.
Lois met Leonard Schine, an attorney, when he hired her as a consulting engineer. In 1951, they married and had five children in rapid succession. They made their home in Westport, CT and Lois remained there for the next 70 years. While raising the children, Lois continued her education and received a Masters Degree in Administrative Engineering from New York University.
When the children were of school age, Lois went back to work as an engineering consulting. Eventually she shifted careers and became Director of Volunteer Services at Bridgeport Hospital supervising 700 volunteers. She was President of the CT Association of Directors of Volunteer Services and President of the New England Association of Volunteer Directors.
In 1988 she moved on to become Executive Director of the Westport/Weston Chamber of Commerce, a post she held for sixteen years.
In addition to her professional career, Lois contributed much to community life in Westport and the surrounding area. Among her many civic activities, she was a Trustee of Sacred Heart University for 37 years, a Board Member of the Near and Far Aid Association, a member of the Westport Rotary Club, a Board Member of the Westport/Weston YMCA and she served on the Westport RTM for 20 years. She was particularly proud of her work helping to create Winslow Park and having the Planning & Zoning Committee designate it as its first "Open Space Zone".'
Lois was an intrepid traveler who visited far corners of the world. She was an avid skier and reluctantly gave up the sport at 85 years old. She also played tennis and pursued ice dancing. Her child raising philosophy can best be summed up as "survival of the fittest", as she took her five children skiing, white water rafting, helicopter skiing, sailing, and on safaris exposing them to a wide range of people, places and experiences.
She is survived by her five children and their spouses, Leslie Schine (Nils Nilsen), Daniel Schine (Patty Sullivan), Lindsay Schine (Michael Klingher), Lauren Schine and Edward Schine (Brigitta), and her ten grandchildren Caleb, Christian and Thomas Schine; Cody Nilsen; Ben, Nathan and Natalie Klingher; Tyler and Kyle Schine; Shannon May; and her beloved dog, Kirby. Lois was predeceased by her husband, Leonard Schine, her grandson, Jonathan Schine and her sister, Joyce Feigenbaum.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Leonard and Lois Schine Scholarship Fund at Sacred Heart University or The Aspetuck Valley Land Trust.
https://alumni.sacredheart.edu/leonard-schine-memorial-scholarship
https://www.aspetucklandtrust.org/capital-campaign-online-donations
A memorial service will be held in the Fall.
The Spear Miller Funeral Home in Fairfield has handled the arrangements.