Circle Of Life Completed For Prominent Citizens In 2007

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown noted the deaths of several prominent citizens and familiar faces in 2007, among them Joseph Steven Hubina, who died in January. “Joey” was well known to patrons of the Big Y on Queen Street, where he was employed.

Also in January, the passing of Louise M. Hubbell was noted. Mrs Hubbell was a founding member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Newtown, owned the Newtown Package Store for ten years, and served on the Board of Directors for the VNA of Bethel and Danbury. 

Former superintendent of Newtown Schools Win Ballard died in January. Mr Ballard served on the Legislative Council from 1990 to 1997, and chaired the building committee for Newtown Middle School and the Newtown Economic Development Commission. He was a member of the Lions Club for many years. Mr Ballard also served on the Parks and Recreation Commission, and from 1999 to 2000 he served on the Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee.

In February, Dwight W. Carlson, a lifelong resident and retired sergeant with the Connecticut State Police, died. Mr Carlson was the first president of the Newtown Jaycees.

Newtown resident Ann Beisel MacNaughton died in March. Mrs MacNaughton was a well-known sporting artist, painting dogs, horses, and foxes. She was fundamental in the creation of the Fairfield Bridle Trail System.

Also in March, Lawrence Milton Cole, Sr, died. For more than years, Mr Cole raised the flag on the Main Street flagpole every day and took it down each evening.

Carl S. Swanhall died in March. Mr Swanhall, a Korean War veteran, was a 35-year member and past president of the Newtown Lions Club. He received a lifetime membership from the International Association of Lions Clubs. He was instrumental in the formation of the Leo Club at Newtown Middle School. Mr Swanhall served on the Newtown Board of Tax Review, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and was one time the constable for the Town of Newtown.

Emilio Ralph Ballerini, a resident for many years, died in April. Mr Ballerini built more than 200 homes in Newtown and was a familiar face as the manager of Medridge Farms, owned by the Wassermans.

Newtown Ambulance Association member and EMT-1 Marilyn Kreusser Matschke died in April. Ms Matschke responded to more than 1,000 calls.

A bit of Newtown history passed on with the death in April of Grace Louise Tiemann Weir. Mrs Weir was a descendent of the historic Newtown Beers and Tiemann families.

Former Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Department chief and life member of the department, Kashmir P. Whit, died in July.

Norman R. Begin taught French and Spanish for 42 years at Newtown Middle School before retiring in 2007. He died in July.

August saw the passing of Lilly A.H. Goosman. A 1937 graduate of Newtown High School, Mrs Goosman was very active in the community. She was the organizing member and first president of the Women’s Auxiliary of the United Fire Company of Botsford. She was instrumental in getting the Salk polio vaccine to Newtown and was a Red Cross swimming and life-guarding instructor. She also played a big part in bringing Planning and Zoning laws to town and served five years on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mrs Goosman was a founding member of the Newtown Ambulance Association, an EMT, and a member of the Ambulance Driver Corps. She was a member of the first Charter Revision Commission and a member of the Newtown Business and Professional Women’s Club. In 1975, Mrs Goosman became a justice of the peace and performed many marriage ceremonies.

Miriam Schulze, a former Newtown resident who taught French at Newtown High School from 1954 to 1970, died in August at the age of 101.

Charles Millard Goodsell, 100, died in August. He was the first one-man assessor for the Town of Newtown, a position he held for 25 years. He was on the building committee for Newtown Middle School.

In October, Dr H. Jonothan Greenwald died. Dr Greenwald established the Department of Humanistic Studies and Philosophy at WestConn, which he chaired until 1978.

Newtown bid farewell to David F. French, Jr, in November. Mr French, a 1984 Newtown High School graduate, was president of the Newtown Fish & Game Club.

Also in November was the death of committed community member, Edward T. Osterman. Mr Osterman served on the parish council at St Rose; was past president and member of the Board of Directors for Newtown Housing for the Elderly, and a member of the Newtown Rotary Club since 1986. He was involved in many Rotary District committees and with the Rotary’s Group Study Exchange. He also served on the board of the World Help Foundation.

Joy Lindholm Martin died in November. She was a former deputy sheriff for Fairfield County and manager of Edmond Town Hall during the 1980s. Mrs Martin was a member and past moderator at Newtown Congregational Church, and a member of the Newtown Democratic Town Committee, the League of Women Voters, the Scholarship Association, and the Newtown Tennis Association.

From 1964 to 2005, William Debost Downing lived in Newtown. Mr Debost, who died in November, was the chairman of the first Board of Ethics in Newtown, a scoutmaster for Troop 70, and on the board at Cullens Memorial Youth Center.

Dr Charles E. Ray, who practiced dentistry in Newtown from 1955 to 2006, died in November.

In the last month of 2007, Thomas J. Cunningham, a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a former Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Department member, and one of the first Newtown Ambulance Association drivers, died.

The unexpected death in December of William “Yo” Ready touched many lives. Known simply as the “Tricycle Man” to residents who watched him pedal his broad-wheel trike up and down Church Hill Road, laden with bottles and cans, he was an icon in Sandy Hook Center.

The commitment to town and family of these notable Newtown residents who died in 2007 will not soon be forgotten.