Wendy Petty Announced as next Director of Westport Center for Senior Activities
Contributed photoFirst Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker announced today that Wendy Petty has been appointed as the Director of the Westport Center for Senior Activities (WCSA), effective February 1. The WCSA is an operation of the Town of Westport's Department of Human Services under the supervision of Westport's Human Services Director Elaine Daignault.
Wendy, a Fairfield resident, comes to Westport with a depth of experience and commitment to the senior community. She served as the Weston Senior Activities Center Director for the past 11 years and worked in Weston's Department of Social Services and corporate settings.
Under Wendy's leadership, Weston's Senior Center saw significant growth that helped to expand the center's offerings through fundraising, capacity-building, and advocacy. She has a strong history of establishing partnerships with local organizations, volunteer networks, colleagues, and social services agencies to realize innovative social and recreational opportunities for seniors.
First Selectwoman Tooker said, “Wendy's collaborative approach makes her an ideal candidate to lead the WCSA after the retirement of long-time Director Sue Pfister.”
Originally from Southern California, Wendy and her husband Jim raised their children in Weston, CT, and recently moved to Fairfield. She has a B.A. in Counseling and Human Services from Notre Dame de Namur University.
In addition to her specialty in senior services, Wendy is proficient in non-profit operations, team leadership, grant and program development, and budget administration.
“I am very happy to welcome Wendy to Westport's Center for Senior Activities,” said Tooker. “She brings professional expertise, operational management, and local knowledge to the Human Services team and, most importantly, to the WCSA.”
Added Petty, “I am very excited to join WCSA's team and look forward to building on their success as an exemplary hub for local seniors. Together, we will continue to provide the best possible care and service to the senior community.”
In her free time, Wendy enjoys running, taking long walks with friends, and spending time with family. Wendy and Jim are also active in the local car enthusiast community and enjoy weekend rallies on the beautiful back roads of Connecticut.
In addition to Wendy's appointment, effective February 1, 2023, First Selectwoman Tooker promoted Holly Betts to Assistant Director of WCSA and Jason Wilson to Program Specialist, effective January 1, 2023.
“The Senior Center's success can be attributed to a variety of factors, including a Town administration that prioritizes seniors, participants who both contribute and drive programming, and our professional staff members who facilitate connections and run the programs day in and day out,” said Daignault. “Under Sue Pfister's leadership, the WCSA's dedicated team helped to build the center of Westport's dreams.”
Daignault added, “Today, we prepare for a new era of growth and prosperity for our most esteemed senior residents. I could not be more excited to welcome Wendy to the team.”
Morning Weather Report
Today
Rain, mainly before 2pm. Patchy fog. High near 41. Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight
A slight chance of rain before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers between 11pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Northwest wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tomorrow
Partly sunny, with a high near 44. West wind around 7 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 26. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
RTM Called to Review Planning and Zoning Decision on Changes for Saugatuck
Town Clerk Jeff Dunkerton and Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Moderator Jeff Wieser notified the public today that the RTM will hold a special public meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 PM via ZOOM to review the Planning and Zoning Commission’s December 12, 2022 decision regarding Text Amendment #819 (to create a new zoning district, §24C, General Business District/ Saugatuck Marina (GBD/SM) and Map Amendment #820 (to modify the Westport Zoning Map to rezone eleven (11) properties from General Business District (GBD) to proposed §24C, General Business District/Saugatuck Marina (GBD/SM).
Pursuant to the Westport Town Charter C10-4, “any action by the Planning & Zoning Commission adopting, amending or repealing any zoning regulation or fixing or changing the boundary of any zoning district, or a negative 8-24 report by the Commission shall be subject to review by the Representative Town Meeting…”
Text Amendment #819 and Map Amendment #820 were adopted by the Planning & Zoning Commission on December 12, 2022 and the legal Notice of Decision was published on December 16, 2022. On December 22, 2022, petitioners submitted a request to the Town Clerk to place the item on the RTM Agenda for its review.
RTM Committee(s) will hold public meetings on Thursday, January 5, Tuesday, January 10 and Thursday, January 12 (if necessary) via ZOOM – details available at https://www.westportct.gov/about/advanced-components/meeting-list-calendar
The January 17, 2023 public hearing will be held via ZOOM with further instructions to follow. It will also be live streamed on the Town’s website at www.westportct.gov, and accessible on Optimum Government Access Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020.
John “Jack” Mohr, 96, Died; Staples Class of 1944, Veteran, “the most genuine of human beings”
(May 10, 1926 - December 8, 2022) John Day Mohr passed away on December 8, 2022 in Unionville, Pennsylvania, where he and his late wife Nancy lived for most of their 65 years of marriage. Born in New Rochelle, NY, John, also known as 'Jack,' was 96 years old.
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Franz J Mohr, he grew up in Westport, Connecticut and graduated from Staples High School in 1944. Soon after graduation, and at the age of 17, he cleverly managed to enlist in the precursor to the US Air Force, the Army Air Corps, where he became a navigator in a B-29 bomber. He was called to active duty the following November, shortly after his father died while serving in the Coast Guard.
After the war, John was accepted to the architecture program at Middlebury College, but never attended, as two longtime buddies convinced him to join them on a road trip to Mexico in a 1928 Packard. Once there, GI Bill in hand, John enrolled in Mexico City College, where the head of the English department, formerly a tenured professor from UCLA, took an interest in his writing and convinced him to pursue a major in English. After completing his freshman year at Mexico City, he returned to the States at his family's request, ultimately earning a BA in English from Kent State University in Ohio.
After college he found work in the advertising department of a Connecticut garment company. Shortly thereafter, he moved on to be a copywriter for Madison Avenue ad agency titan, J. Walter Thompson, where he met Nancy. Not long after their marriage in 1956, they decided to leave New York and move to the rolling hills of Green Spring Valley, Maryland, an easy commute to Baltimore where John had landed a new copywriting position. It was there that their family started to grow and where they put down roots that still remain to this day. Six years later, the Mohr family moved to Pennsylvania when John began to work for ad agency N.W. Ayer in Philadelphia. They eventually purchased a farm in Chatham, Pennsylvania replete with five children and an ever-expanding menagerie of farm animals, horses, cows, ponies, chickens, pigs, dogs and even a donkey.
In 1974, wishing to escape encroaching development, they sold the farm and purchased land in nearby Unionville on which they built a new house and barn using materials salvaged from the large bank barn from the Chatham farm. The Unionville farm would become the Mohrs' home for almost 40 years. During the early years in Pennsylvania, John was enjoying a long tenure as senior copywriter at N. W. Ayer. However, in the late seventies, N. W. Ayer chose to relocate to Madison Avenue. With John and Nancy's attachment to the Unionville area by this time all but permanent, a move back to New York didn't appeal. So, the devoted father of five began his now legendary daily commute from Unionville to Manhattan. At N. W. Ayer, his ad campaigns included AT&T, 7-Up, Carrier Air Conditioning and Shorts Airplanes. This went on for the better part of seven years before John finally hung up his advertising spurs to happily tend to the rolling pastures and woods of Sevynmor Farm. It was also not uncommon for John to revisit his fascination with the world of flight, taking the occasional flying lesson or attending an air show.
With a deep appreciation of the open country and rolling hills of Chester County, John and Nancy became deeply involved in land conservation. As advocates and supporters of the Brandywine Conservancy, they were among the first in the community to place their land under conservation easement. As a supporter of farming and open space, John was also one of the first members named to The Chester County Agriculture Development Council. When a local newspaper inquired of his ag credentials, he described himself as a 'casual pig farmer.' Always the copywriter.
And always, to those who knew him well, among the most genuine of human beings they ever knew.
John lost his loving wife, Nancy L. Mohr, on August 14, 2021. He is survived by his two daughters and three sons, Timothy Day Mohr (Sherman Todd), Wendy Carlyle Mohr Morris (Cooper Morris), Jonathan Day Mohr (Jan Haskell), Margot Mohr Teetor (David Christopher Teetor), Peter Day Mohr, thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Joan Day Mohr and is predeceased by his sister, Judith Borden, and her husband, Don Borden. In lieu of flowers, the family would love for you to consider making a donation in the memory of John Day Mohr to the New Garden Flying Field, Future Aviators, 1235 Newark Road, Toughkenamon, PA 19374. Arrangements by Kuzo Funeral Home of Kennett Square, PA. To view his online tribute and leave a message for John's family, visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com.
Published by The Daily Local from Jan. 3 to Jan. 8, 2023.