Charles Millard Goodsell

Former Town Assessor

Charles Millard Goodsell, 100, died September 18 in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was born February 6, 1907, in Cheshire. He was married to Frances Copeland Steven of Newtown in 1930, who was a math teacher at Newtown High School and later its first guidance director. He was then married for 28 years to Juliette Rocheleau after his first wife’s death in 1971.

Mr Goodsell attended Crosby High School in Waterbury, graduating as valedictorian in 1925. He worked as a clerk for the Alling Rubber Company in Waterbury and later transferred to Danbury as manager of that store. In 1929 he joined the Prudential Insurance Company and remained with the company for 25 years.

In October 1954 the Town of Newtown appointed Mr Goodsell to be its first one-man assessor for the town, a position that had previously been handled by a three-man board. He worked for the town for 25 years in that position. He was also appointed to the building committee for Newtown Middle School.

Mr Goodsell was a charter member of the Newtown Town Players theater group and both acted and directed with the organization. He was also director of the Waterbury YMCA Foot Lighter theater group for many years. He enjoyed singing and was a member of the Mendelssohn Men’s Chorus in Waterbury and was a soloist in several Congregational churches.

For many years, he and the family spent the summers in Delta, Ontario, at Frances’s parent’s cottage. Mr Goodsell moved to Florida in 1970 and recently lived in his home in Palm Beach Leisureville with a caretaker.

He is survived by his son, Millard, and his wife, Irene; grandson, Charles Mack Goodsell and his wife, Amy; granddaughter Anne Goodsell Love; two great-grandsons, Conor and Garrett Love; and two great-granddaughters, Chelsea and Sarah Goodsell.

Memorial services will be held at the convenience of the family.

Memorial donations may be made to the Frances Goodsell Scholarship at Newtown High School, Newtown CT 06470; Delta United Church, Delta, Ontario, Canada, K0E 1G0; Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach FL 33407; or Boynton Beach Congregational Church, 115 North Federal Highway, Boynton Beach FL 33435.

The Newtown Bee     September 28, 2007