Janet Kinnally, 80, Died; Longtime Westporter, a “loving, kind soul”
Obituary:It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of my mother, Janet Kinnally at the age of 80 on May 6, 2022. She was a loving, kind soul that cared deeply about her family and friendships. I don’t think I ever met a person who did not remember her with great affection and fondness.
She grew up in London England during the war, and her family of five girls were displaced for a number of years - she lived in a convent for 5 years. When she returned back home, her father suddenly passed away when she was 15 and she needed to work to make money and worked in many jobs including as an usherette - when she met The Beatles. She worked in England up until she moved to the States to help her sister who had recently moved to CT.
While on a work visa, she met my father at an insurance company at the age of 23. It was love at first sight for my father. They dated for several weeks until she told him she had to go back to England. My father wrote to her when she returned home and said he would like to visit and came to England, but bought two tickets back to the States. He asked her to move back and stay with his family. The rest is history. They got married in 1967. They had a true love story. The ones you read about in books, that you wish you had; that was their love and affection for each other. They held hands and walked everyday at the beach or her favorite place, Sherwood Island, until my mom could no longer walk a few months ago. They were married for 55 years and she was my dad’s one true love.
My mom and dad moved to Westport, CT in 1967 and gave birth to me in 1969, her one and only child. We had a special bond. She said to me that I taught her what true unconditional love was. I understand what she means, now that I have two children (boys - ages 16 and 11) of my own. And she loved her two grandchildren, Mikhail and Andrew, more than anything.
My mom was also a life long health and wellness pioneer. She seeked out Eastern and holistic healing modalities in the 80’s on throughout her life. She worked for a chiropractor, a naturopathic doctor and as a caregiver for end of life patients. She loved nature, gardens, the ocean, and animals and even was a dog walker. She loved helping others. She was truly an amazing woman who inspired me daily.
My mom and dad enjoyed traveling around the world and every year met up with her sister and brother in law to travel to a different destination around the globe together for 30 years. They had a lot of fun and always had many stories to share of their adventures and of the amazing people they met around the world.
I moved to CA in 1996 and moved back to Westport, CT in 2012 with my husband Andrey and my two boys, due to wanting to be close to my parents as my mom’s health declined from dementia/Alzheimer’s. We lived together until the end of her life.
I feel very grateful that we had the last 10 years together, so she could spend time with me and my children. We have many special memories together, but the one’s I remember the most are singing at the dinner table and afterwards dancing to the music from the 50’s and 60’s or doing karaoke at our house during the holidays with our extended family. We would have a big party every year and my extended family talked about how much fun it was every time we came together.
My mom will be greatly missed by our family everyday, but her love and her life lessons and generosity of spirit will live on in us forever!!!
Please make donations in her honor to the Westport Senior Center or Alz.org an organization providing support, care and research for Alzheimer’s.
Mitchell's Westport Transformed Into A Paris Runway For Near & Far Aid Gala Fashion Show
The charity Near & Far held their 27th annual spring fundraiser last Saturday, the highlight of which was a fashion show with professional models and volunteers wearing designs from the world's leading fashion houses. Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Mitchell's is know for their lines of the hottest in fashion provided clothes and accessories for both women and men and the show featured designers including Dolce & Gabbana, Brunello Cucinelli, Michael Kors, Zegna, L'Agence, Peter Cohen, Valention and many other luxe designs and brands.
Prior to the show an exciting live auction raised a substantial sum which goes toward the one million dollars in grants the well-known charity provides to the 108 local Fairfield County agencies which they support and upon which they rely. To help Near & Far Aid's mission, "Targeting Poverty and Changing Lives" you may contribute here: https://nearandfaraid.org/donate/
Morning Weather Report
Today
A slight chance of drizzle or light rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. East wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%
Tonight
A slight chance of drizzle or light rain. Areas of fog after 10pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%
Tomorrow
A chance of drizzle with a slight chance of light rain before 11am, then a chance of light rain, mainly after 2pm. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%
Tomorrow Night
A chance of drizzle or light rain. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%
Richard Hannes PhD, 80, Died; Former Westporter, “an intelligent, playful, warm soul that loved his family”
Obituary:
It is with a heavy heart that I write about the passing of my father, Richard Hannes, an intelligent, playful, warm soul that loved his family, enjoyed the company of his friends, appreciated a spirited debate and dazzled academically.
A self-proclaimed royal smart person, he was an actual rocket scientist, holding a PhD in mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, a master's degree in computer science and a master's degree in physics.
Rich began his professional career as a professor at the University of Hartford in the 1970's before contributing his intelligence working on multiple foundational projects that fostered our nations national defense in the 1980's and 1990's as a civilian computer scientist at United Technologies Norden Systems and later on at Sikorsky Aircraft before concluding his career at Verizon Wireless.
His brilliant brain never ceased to dazzle his peers and colleagues. To see him in action was to realize that he had an intellectual super power. He could skim a new computer programming book over a weekend, re-read it over a week's time and apply the subject as if he were well seasoned in the subject that he had just picked up. As an adult I witnessed with wonder my father in action as I could never master the subjects that he could pick up in a week and apply immediately.
As down to Earth as one comes, he rarely went by Dr. He was Rich and he was dad. In his youth he felt at home on a basketball court, mastering a hook shot and shooting with both hands. He has a love for HIS Knicks of 1969 and 1973 and that glory of the past seeded a belief that each new season would be a turnaround season (not so much the Jets). At home at Yankee Stadium old and new, he was readily recognizable wearing his number 7 aging into the mantle of the senior bomber at the stadium playing witness to some of the great games of the turn of the century dynasty Yankees with his son, David.
Richard loved reading, with an affinity for science fiction novels, a fondness that he passed on to his daughter, Sheri. He was a fan of the original Star Trek from the time of its debut and enjoyed a good sci-fi adventure. He was a movie enthusiast with an appreciation for new technologies that matched his interest. With every new generation of large screen TV he wanted one and would come to own one.
Rich was cultured; he enjoyed dining out with his wife, Janie, of 52 years, and appreciated music from the Beetles to the Doors to folk musicians the 1960's that epitomized his young adulthood. He enjoyed live concerts of the Levitt Pavilion with Janie and Barry, his friend of decades, and would frequent the summer plays performed at the Playhouse in Westport Connecticut, where his resided from 1979 until 2018. It was here where he raised their two children, Sheri Hannes Norton and David Hannes to adulthood.
A family man at his core he welcomed back his family both immediate and extended hosting Passover and Thanksgiving reunions annually for 40 years. His favorite days were those the house was full again with the return of his family; Sheri and her husband Tad Norton, grandchildren Erin and Jessie and later on David with his wife Shawn Whitney, grandchildren, Jacob and Jenny.
Rich's story would not be complete if one were not to mentioned that he struggled with his health in his later years, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the outset of the millennium, it would be a shadow that followed him for the duration of his later life. He fought the disease with a brave front, toured the world with his wife while he had the physical capacity to travel. Even as the disease continued to stake claim to his body, his heart continued to evolve into the soft warm soul we would come to know him for. He loved his family, appreciated his friends and spoke his mind right up until the end.
One of the smartest people I have ever met, Richard Hannes, you've been my father, my friend and my go-to life advisor at every phase of my life. You were the first one I thought to consult with whenever I had a problem in life regardless what the issue may have been. You almost always had the answer. I'll always be grateful for having you in my life as a father. It's as if you were hand selected for me. You were my rock. I love you dad. I'll miss you forever. Your recent suffering has come to an end, may you rest in peace.