Boyd Hanauer

Boyd Hanauer, 82, beloved husband of Barbara (Dailey) Hanauer, died April 8, after a long illness. Mr Hanauer was born in Hartford in 1920, the only child of Emma Manning and Ignatz Hanauer.

Mr Hanauer was raised in Weston and lived in Savannah, Ga., before settling in Newtown after his marriage to Barbara in 1955.

He is survived by two grandnephews; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Gilbert and Betty Dailey of Brooklyn, Conn.; and nieces and nephews by marriage, Aileen and John Saari of Stonington, Bonnie and Mike Mooney of Brooklyn, Richard and Shirley Davis of Danielson, and Brian Dailey of Moosup. Boyd is also survived by devoted “surrogate” nieces and nephews, Susan and Ron Berube of Brookfield, and Gary and Linda Frenette of Woodbury. All who called him “Uncle Boyd,” including his many grandnieces and nephews and his godchildren, will miss him terribly.

He worked as a project manager for the Connecticut State Public Works Department until his retirement. Among his many job sites was Newtown’s Fairfield Hills Hospital. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army Air Corps as both a navigator and bombardier assigned to squadrons in the South Pacific. Flying was an avocation of Boyd’s during his years in the southern states, but he was best known for his love of vintage racecars. During the 1950s and 1960s he was a well-known figure at racetracks and fairgrounds along the East Coast driving his prewar Miller. Later he drove his famous Ford V8/60 Midget, which he had built in 1937.

Boyd was instrumental in establishing the Atlantic Coast Old Timers Auto Racing Club, an organization of car owners and drivers dedicated to preserving and exhibiting vintage American racecars throughout the Northeast. Boyd was the club’s first antique racing director, a position he capably held for 14 years until 1997.

Calling hours were scheduled for Thursday, April 10, from 5 to 7 pm, at Carpino Funeral Home, 750 Main Street South, Southbury.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, April 11, at St Rose of Lima Church, 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, at 11 am. Burial will be in St Rose Cemetery.

Donations in Boyd’s memory can be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Connecticut, 237 East Aurora Street, Waterbury, CT 06708.

The Newtown Bee             April 11, 2003