Daniel W. Desmond

Native Newtown Resident

Daniel “Dan” W. Desmond, 74, of Wilmington, N.C., formerly of Newtown, died December 3, at Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center. He was born August 1, 1935, in Danbury, the son of Dr Waldo F. and Miriam Wales Desmond, and grew up on Main Street in Newtown, living opposite the C.H. Booth Library.

Mr Desmond attended Miss Farrell’s Nursery School on South Main Street, and Hawley School through the seventh grade. He was among the sixth grade students bused to one-room schoolhouses in town, due to crowded classrooms at Hawley School.

While in Newtown, Mr Desmond was active in sports year around, and boasted as having the fastest pre-soapbox racer in town. He was also a regular at the Edmond Town Hall Bowling Alley, both working as a pinsetter and participating in the leagues.

Mr Desmond graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, and Lafayette College in Easton, Penn.

He and his wife, Lydia, relocated to Wilmington from Charlotte, N.C. Prior to that time they had lived in Houston, San Francisco, and New York City. He was a stockbroker for 41 years, registered with the NYSE and NASD, before finally retiring from Scott & Stringfellow, Inc, Wilmington. During his time in Charlotte, he enjoyed working as a volunteer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission.

In Wilmington during his retirement he was a tireless volunteer for some wonderful, energetic, and influential organizations and the people involved with them. These would include Investors Roundtable, Adult Scholars Leadership Association, Center for Lifelong Learning at University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), The Plato Group, and the CEN mentoring program through the Cameron School of Business at UNCW. During this time he also spent many hours as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. He was also a member of the Surf Club, Wrightsville Beach.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years; two daughters, Sarah D. Paterson of Menasha, Wis., and Elizabeth Kline of Wilmington; and three delightful, beautiful, and caring grandchildren, Mackenzie and Tucker Kline and Joshua Desmond Paterson. He is also survived by a sister, Susan D. Stover of Carbondale, Colo.

A funeral service was on December 7 at Wrightsville United Methodist Church, with the Reverend Bob Bauman officiating. Interment followed in Oleander Memorial Gardens.

The family would like to express a special note of thanks to Dr Billy McNulty, Dr Jon Staub, all the employees of Lower Cape Fear Hospice, and Nellie and Libby of Choice Caregivers.

Memorials may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Triangle Eastern NC Chapter, 7721 Six Forks Road, Raleigh NC 27615, for Tucker Kline (grandson), or to Loomis Chaffee School, Daniel W. Desmond Fund, 4 Batchelder Road, Windsor CT 06095, or the Wrightsville United Methodist Church, 4 Live Oak Drive, Wrightsville Beach NC 28480.

The Newtown Bee       December 11, 2009