United States High School Yearbooks by County
MARTIN P. LASLO JR.
Martin P. Laslo Jr. of Darien, a former Stamford resident, died Monday, Oct. 16, at Stamford Hospital. He was 90.
Born Feb. 6, 1916, in Stamford, he was the son of the late Martin and Theresa Laslo.
Mr. Laslo was a lifelong member of St. Benedict Church in Stamford. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
He is survived by many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth Matlak Laslo; two brothers, Stephen and John Laslo; and two sisters, Rose Demino and Margaret Papsun.
A Mass of Christian burial was held Saturday, Oct. 21, at St. Benedict Church. Burial followed at St. John Cemetery, Darien.
The Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, Darien, handled the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
LAUREN FAXON BROOKS
Lauren F. Brooks of Old Greenwich died Thursday, Oct. 12, of metastatic breast cancer. She was 57.
Originally from Palo Alto, Calif., Mrs. Brooks graduated from Cubberley High School and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where she was a member of Delta Chi Omega.
She met her husband, Torrey, while she was the registrar at the Stanford Business School. They married
in the Napa Valley and moved to Greenwich in 1985.
Mrs. Brooks was a member of the Greenwich Board of Realtors for 17 years. She was the founder and president of Brody Realty, and was a member of the Greenwich Country Club.
For the past eight years, Mrs. Brooks was an active board member and vice president of education of Time for Lyme Inc., a Greenwich-based non-profit organization dedicated to education and research regarding Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. She was instrumental in creating and disseminating educational materials regarding tick-borne diseases, both for local and national use.
Mrs. Brooks worked with the local chapter of the American Red Cross to create a tick removal kit which is now distributed.
The Brooks family were the owners of the Darien News~Review and the other Brooks Community Newspapers until 1998. She was the daughter-in-law of B.V. Brooks, who was the president and publisher of the newspaper company.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Brooks is survived by her mother, Ernestine Faxon of Palo Alto; two sons, Brody and Brandon, both of Old Greenwich; two sisters, Robin Yurash and Teri Peters, both of California; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mrs. Brooks was predeceased by her father, Bill Faxon.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Time for Lyme Inc.,
designated for the Lauren F. Brooks Memorial Fund at P.O. Box 31269, Greenwich 06831.
For additional information on Mrs. Brooks, visit www.laurenbrooks.org.
THELMA G. BRESLIN
Thelma G. Breslin, a resident of the Darien and Stamford area for the past 15 years, died Tuesday, Oct. 17 at St. Camillus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. She was 91.
Born Sept. 19, 1915, in Passaic, N.J., she was the daughter of the late Hubert and Rosina (Cogan) Groenendyk.
Mrs. Breslin worked as a registered nurse at Preakness Hospital in Wayne, N.J., from 1949 to 1976. She served with the U.S. Army Nurse's Corp as a Captain during World War II.
She was a parishioner of St. John Church in Darien.
Mrs. Breslin is survived by a son, Frank J. Breslin of Lincoln, Mass.; a daughter, Diane B. Ryan of Darien; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband.
A Mass of Christian burial was held Saturday, Oct. 21, at St. John Church, Darien. Burial was private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Darien Senior Center, P. O. Box 2144, Darien 06820.
MARY VINCENT BACHMAN
Mary Vincent Bachman, a 53-year resident of Darien, died Sunday, Oct. 22, at home. She was 79.
Born June 5, 1927 in Stamford and raised in New Canaan, she was the daughter of the late Thomas C. and Mary (Foley) Vincent Jr.
Mrs. Bachman graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Stamford and McKeown Business School. She was a parishioner of St. John Church in Darien
She is survived by her husband, Edward C. Bachman of Darien; two daughters, Mary Ellen Hart of Fairfield, and Susan Keane of Darien and eight grandchildren. She is also survived by three sisters, Margaret V. Donnelly of Norwalk; Patricia Murphy of Tequesta, Fla. and Ellen Nargi of Valdosta, Ga. She is predeceased by a son, Edward (Ted) Bachman; three brothers, Arthur, Thomas C. and Robert Vincent; and a granddaughter.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John Church, 1986 Post Road, Darien on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien. The Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, Darien, is handling the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Southwestern Connecticut, 1029 East Main St., Stamford 06902.
David Rudd Arnold
David Rudd Arnold of Darien died Thursday, May 4. He was 89. Born June 26, 1916, in Galesburg, Ill., he was the son of the late Ray Mortimer Arnold and Helen Rudd Arnold. Mr. Arnold was a 1937 graduate of Knox College and was a Phi Beta Kappa. He attended Harvard Business School and graduated in 1939 with an master's of business administration. He was a certified public accountant. In 1980, Mr. Arnold retired from Continental Can Corp., where he was a senior vice president of the Financial Group. He was active as a trustee at Knox College.
He served as a director of the Mission Society in New York City, and for the Bank of Virginia, as well as several small start-up companies. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corp. An active tennis player, Mr. Arnold was a member of the Wee Burn Country Club and was well known on the court with the Senior Men's League. He was also a member of the Union League Club, the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and a member of First Congregational Church in Darien. Mr. Arnold is survived by his wife of 36 years, Joan; a son, Steven Arnold of State College, Pa., two daughters,
Nancy Arnold Wilson of Dallas and Judith Arnold Conner of Winnetka, Ill., a stepson, the Rev. Rene Carrillo of Penn Yan, N.Y.; a stepdaughter, Nina Preyre of Madrid, Spain; a brother, Hugh Hudson Arnold of Greeley, Colo.; five grandchildren and a great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held Monday, May 15 at 1:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Darien, 14 Brookside Road. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Library Acquisition Fund of Knox College, 2 East South St., Campus Box K 230, Galesburg, IL 61401.
John Townsend Sammis
John Townsend Sammis of Gilford, N.H., a former Darien resident, died Monday, May 1, at his home after a battle with cancer. He was 63. Born June 22, 1942, in New York City, he was the son of Fred R. and Ruth Townsend Sammis. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1964. Mr. Sammis worked in publishing, writing, and editing in New York, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. He produced more than 650 books, including the Sea World Books series, the National Football League Productions series, a Warner Brothers animation series, the co-authored autobiography of Earl Weaver, and a wide range of coffee-table sports books.
He was a longtime Norwalk resident before moving in 1998. Mr. Sammis pitched the only no-hitter in the history of Darien High School. He led his team to multiple victories in the Panda Bowl general knowledge contest at Gilford Elementary School. He is survived by three daughters, Kristy Sammis of San Francisco, Healy Rawston of Marshfield, Mass., and Samantha Sammis of Norwalk; a sister, Kathy Sammis of Buxton, Maine; his fiancee, Jane Richardson of Boston; a grandson and two nephews.
He was predeceased by his wife, Linda Sincock Sammis. A memorial service will be held Sunday, May 7, at 1 p.m. at Margate Lakeside Resort, 76 Lake St., Laconia, N.H. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Att: Section of Nephrology, c/o Office of Development, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756. Wilkinson-Beane Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, is in charge of the arrangements. For information and to view an online memorial, visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com .
