Sean Michael Stutman, age 7, of Newtown, ascended to heaven on July 15, 2022.

Sean was a magnetic figure — building community, spreading love, and inspiring people wherever he went. The name Sean means “gift from God,” and that he was!

While Sean was born with Down Syndrome, he and his family quickly determined it was not going to limit him in any capacity and started down an unclear but hopeful path, surrounded by family, friends, and faith.

Starting at age 2, Sean undertook an intensive daily physical and intellectual program under the guidance of IAHP.org that enabled him to do some pretty astounding things by age 7 that even many adults will never accomplish. For example, one of his dreams was to go backpacking as his older Boy Scout brothers had. To this end, Sean recently completed a 6-mile round-trip overnight backpacking expedition with his dad and some of Sean’s friends along the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut, sleeping out overnight in the wilderness, lounging in the Housatonic River, and even withstanding a massive thunderstorm in the middle of the night!

Sean also knew the capital of each of the 50 United States as well as the capitals of most countries around the world, including those in South America, Europe, and Asia. His geography prowess even led him to win a homeschool “Capital” Bee, at age 6, competing against middle school and high school participants.

His physical and intellectual development was inspired by lots of consistent hard work including running a mile six days a week, doing 30 laps on monkey bars each day, and other activities, such as belly-crawling and gymnastics. And he loved playing sports, from tennis to soccer, and basically anything to do with a ball. He also supplemented his running with hiking and walking, whether on the many Newtown trails he frequented, down Newtown Main Street, or around Fairfield Hills.

Sean was also a very faith-filled person, attending mass at Saint Rose or elsewhere every week of his entire life. He loved conducting his own services at home, along with siblings and friends, with his play Mass kit.

You can read more about Sean’s amazing journey here: https://tinyurl.com/seanstut1, and here: https://tinyurl.com/seanstut2.

Sean is survived by his loving parents, Michael and Karen; his brothers, Ryan and Danny; and his sister, Anna. He is also survived by Oma and Opa, Nana, Aunt Rose and Aunt Jodi, Aunt Maureen and Uncle Andy, Aunt Brianne and Uncle Frank, Aunt Angela and Uncle Chris, Uncle Dave, and many amazing cousins whom he loved dearly.

In the midst of this unexpected and unfathomable circumstance, Sean’s family wants to honor him by staying true to the hopeful path that they and Sean embarked on several years ago. With that spirit, a memorial fund, Sean’s Path, has been created to spread, in tangible ways, Sean’s legacy of love, faith, adventure, and breaking boundaries. Funds will support initiatives, causes, and organizations that have fueled his unique path. We expect Sean’s Path to be an ongoing fund/nonprofit in the future, and are using GoFundMe to seed its initial inception as longer-term plans develop.

In lieu of flowers, learn more, contribute, and share your ideas about Sean’s Path at: https://tinyurl.com/seanspath or gofund.me/3517833c.

A wake will be held at Saint Rose of Lima Church on Friday, July 22, from 4 to 7 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated also at Saint Rose on Saturday, July 23, at 9:30 am, followed by private interment in Saint Rose Cemetery. The Mass will be live streamed at strosechurch.com/live-stream.

Funeral arrangements are in the care of Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown.