United States High School Yearbooks by County
Edith Holmes Thomson
Edith Mary "Molly" Holmes Thomson, 94, a longtime Greenwich resident, died at home on the morning of Nov. 16, 2010. The second daughter of Margaret Chisholm and Henry Holmes, she was born at home in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Jan. 31, 1916. She graduated from Bay Ridge High School in 1932 and went on to take night classes at Pratt Institute.
Thomson worked at Wanamaker's and then for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. An inveterate traveler, her first solo trip was by ship from Halifax to New York when she was five years old. In 1932, she and her older sister Dorothy went to Bermuda and in 1934 to the Mediterranean, stopping in Casablanca. They also visited family in England. In 1938 she travelled around the world by freighter, stopping in Hong Kong to work for Dodwell shipping agents.
She and her husband, George Rawlings "Rawl" Thomson were married
in Brooklyn in 1941 and resided there until after World War II. They moved to Greenwich with their two children in September of 1949. Once she arrived in Old Greenwich Thomson was active as a den mother of Cub Scout Pack 23 and as a Brownie leader in Troop 55. She also served as president of the Mianus River Garden Club in 1951.
In October of 1955, a family friend employed at Putnam Trust Company Bank of Greenwich persuaded her to work part-time at the newly opened branch in Riverside. When the bank was considering opening a travel department, Thomson was drafted to become its first travel agent, and later was manager of the Riverside branch of the travel department, where she worked for more than 20 years. She was the recipient of the YWCA of Greenwich's Bravo business achievement award in 1978. The award, now called Brava, recognizes women who have excelled in their professional careers.
After Thomson's retirement she joined the Kettle Quilters, housed at First Congregational Church, and quilted with them for about a decade. She and her husband traveled extensively before and after their retirement, often on a "space available" basis on military aircraft.
On one occasion they were gone for several weeks, had a wonderful time, but never got to their planned destination. They loved to improvise, and did it well, their family said. They also took freighter trips to South America and up the Norwegian Coast and numerous cruises and flights to Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, as well as within the U.S. and Alaska and Hawaii.
Thomson and her husband were blessed with a group of extraordinarily bright, able, witty, engaging, active friends, their companions at dinner parties, picnics, outings on Long Island Sound, at Playmaker's events, PTA, doing home construction and landscaping projects, and as participants in many of the community activities that made Greenwich such a special place to be during the 50s, the family said.
Friends speak of her as a "real" lady, but with a twinkle in her eye, and admired her gentleness, sense of humor, competence and efficiency. At a time when many women were primarily homemakers, and prepared foods/meals were not an industry, she took the opportunity to work outside the home, but kept her full-time job as a homemaker, cooking, cleaning and housekeeping and nurturing her family.
Thomson is survived by her two children, Jean and George; her daughter-in-law Jean; three grandchildren: Amy Thomson-Jacobs, Ann and Alexander; and four great grandchildren: Owen, Emma, Oliver and Sophie. She was predeceased in 2003 by her sisters Dorothy and Margaret and in 2010 by her husband of 68 years, George.
There will be a memorial service for Molly and George Thomson on Jan. 15 at the Second Congregational Church in Greenwich. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to Greenwich Green and Clean.
Annette Brugo
Annette Brugo, 77, former Cos Cob resident, passed away on March 25, 2010 in Rio de Janero, Brazil.
She was born in Jenners, Pa. on April 29, 1932 to Antonio and Angelina Neri Rodriguez.
Brugo enjoyed flower arranging, gardening, cooking, Scrabble and playing the accordian.
She leaves her husband of 56 years, Robert Brugo; a daughter, Patricia Labickas and her husband Michael; two sons, Dwight Brugo and his wife Roberta and Christopher Brugo and his wife Jenny; and seven grandchildren: Justin and Kimberly Labickas, Julian and Jeremy Brugo, Lara, Caroline and Graham Brugo. She is also survived by a sister, Joann Flynn; and a brother, Anthony Neri. She was predeceased by a sister, Lucretia Gervais.
A Mass of Christian burial was held on April 6 at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Riverside. Internment followed in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y.
Online condolences may be left at www.castiglionefh.com.
Doris Hope Bruno
Doris Hope Bruno, a longtime resident of Riverside, died on April 4, 2010 at her home at the age of 87.
She was born in Stamford on April 26, 1922 to Joseph and Effie Crosta.
Bruno retired from Clairol and spent her winters in her home in Barefoot Bay, Fla. Her husband August predeceased her in 2007.
Bruno is survived by her three sons: Richard and his wife, Tina of Solana Beach, Calif., Robert of Barefoot Bay, Fla. and Kenneth and his wife, Joann of Stamford; a daughter, Janet Brander and her husband, John of Stamford; and six grandchildren: Kenneth and his wife Jennifer; Keith Bruno; Richard Bruno and his wife, Sara; Lisa Bruno Brown and her husband, Chad; and John Michael and Allison Brander.
She is also survived by four great-grandchildren: Tylar, Jordyn and Dylan Brown and Keith Bruno, Jr.; four sisters: Elsie Carretto of Stamford, Myrtle Kiesezkiewicz of Rhinebeck, N.Y., Genevieve Zurzola, also of Stamford, and Gloria Santoro of Stratford. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by two sisters, Evelyn Vanech and Dorothy Crosta.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on April 7 at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Riverside. Internment followed in St. Mary cemetery in Greenwich.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the National Parkinson's Foundation, 1501 N.W. 9th Avenue/Bob Hope Road, Miami, Florida 33136-1494.
Dorothy Hughes Cody
Dorothy Hughes Cody, 82, of Greenwich, died peacefully on March 30, 2010.
She was born in Greenwich on Jan. 17, 1928 to James Hughes and Josephine Cahill Hughes.
Her main focus in life was making a home for her husband and children. She also enjoyed a career in recreational therapy at the Greenwich Laurelton Nursing Home, where her good humor and light heart endeared her to the residents and staff.
Cody loved to travel with her family and had an affinity for the outdoors.
She is survived by two daughters, Sharon and her husband George O'Loughlin and Beverly and her husband Brodie Johnson; a son, James and his wife Joann Cody; six grandchildren: Brian, George, Daniel, Ian, Caroline, and James; a great-grandson, Aidan; and her brother-in-law, William Patrick Cody and his wife, Mary Cody.
She was predeceased by her husband, George Cody; a daughter, Deborah; and a brother, James Hughes.
Funeral services were held at St. Michael's Church in Greenwich on April 3. A Christian burial followed at St. Mary Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, 238 Jewett Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06605.
Stephanie N. Filanowski
Stephanie N. Filanowski, a lifelong resident of Greenwich, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2010 at her home.
She was born in Greenwich on May 24, 1917 to John and Nellie Rupp and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1935.
She attended nursing school and specialized in infant care until she married
in 1947.
Filanowski was a former member of AARP in Western Greenwich.
She and her husband, Henry, went on many trips throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. She also enjoyed cooking, dancing, reading and gardening.
Filanowski was a devout Catholic and member of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, where she was a longtime member of the St. Paul's Women's Guild. She was also a member of several Polish organizations.
She is survived by her two sons, Keith Filanowski of Greenwich, and Kevin Filanowski of Chattanooga, Tenn. She is also survived by two brothers and their spouses, Frank and Josephine Rupp of Greenwich, and Edward and Jean Rupp of Crossville, Tenn.; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on April 6 at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church. Internment followed in St. Mary's cemetery in Greenwich.
Betty M. Fletcher
Betty M. Fletcher, 83, longtime Greenwich High School chemistry teacher and Greenwich resident, passed away peacefully at Greenwich Hospital on Friday, April 2, 2010 surrounded by her family.
The daughter of Roy and Frances Schofield, she was born and raised in Beloit Wisc., before moving to Riverside in 1956.
She received her bachelor's degree from Beloit College and her master's degree in science from Vassar College.
Fletcher was a chemistry teacher at Greenwich High School for 20 years and continued to be a part of the science department staff until June of 2009.
She was also the advisor to the Greenwich High School Compass yearbook from 1986 - 2005. The award-winning yearbook was the largest high school yearbook in the nation. She was also employed by Dupont prior to her marriage.
She left behind a legacy of outstanding publications. She will be remembered as a gracious and kind woman of warmth and inspiration who excelled at teaching generations of children.
Fletcher was an active volunteer for various school and church organizations, including the PTA and The Junior League of Greenwich.
She is survived by her sister, Evelyn Thornberry; her two children, Patricia Berberich and husband Edward and Peter Fletcher and his wife Joyce; and five grandchildren: Edward Berberich Jr., Danielle Berberich Guilmette, Magnus Berberich, Stephanie Berberich and Jacob Berberich. She was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth Fletcher, with whom she shared the love of photography and travel.
Funeral services were held on April 8 at the Fred D. Knapp & Son Funeral home. Interment was private.
