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Shashi K. Shah, 90

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Shashi K. Shah, a long-time New Canaan resident and former professor at the US Merchant Marine Academy, passed away at Stamford Hospital on June 21, 2025 after a long illness.  He was 90 years old. 

Professor Shah was born in Calcutta, India, and came to the United States in 1954 with the intention of studying to become a chemical engineer.  He made his way westward and eventually landed in Provo, Utah.  While there, Professor Shah enrolled at Brigham Young University, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 1957 and his Master’s Degree in 1959.  Although he left Utah after he finished his studies, Professor Shah was forever grateful to the BYU community for welcoming him with open arms and providing him with the means to launch a successful career in business and academia. Arriving in New York City at the beginning of the 1960s, Professor Shah worked at a number of companies, including CBS, McGraw-Hill and Lever Brothers.  During this time, he met the love of his life, Sumitra Shah, a graduate student of economics at Columbia University.  Shashi and Sumitra were married on February 7, 1963, and moved to Rego Park, Queens, where they started a family.  The Shahs’ son, Sanjit, was born in 1965. In the 1970s, Professor Shah became CEO and a director of Information Centers of America, Inc., popularly known as “Tra-Vel.”  He received his MBA from NYU in 1979, and his Ph.D. in business from the City University of New York in 1986.  These degrees provided Professor Shah with the foundation to transition from the business world to academia.  He taught at Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Hofstra University and Seton Hall University before he found his true home at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. During his time at the USMMA, Professor Shah was instrumental in helping the Academy modernize its teaching facilities.  He also started an IT security program for the midshipmen and worked with the NSA and the US Military Academy to raise funds to develop two IT security labs.  Professor Shah retired from the Academy as a full professor in December 2010.  Upon retirement, Professor Shah and his wife moved full-time to New Canaan.

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John Paul Emert, 82

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John Paul Emert, of New Canaan CT and Nantucket MA, died July 17, 2025, at age 82.  The son of E. Paul Emert, a stockbroker, and Mary Shields Emert, a homemaker, John was born September 5, 1942, and grew up in Chatham, NJ. He received a BA with honors from Amherst College, an LLB from Stanford Law School, and an LLM from New York University Law School. He became interested in political and economic issues relating to developing countries, and while in college and law school participated in study groups travelling in Chile, Mexico, and Brazil. He learned to speak Spanish and Portuguese.  During law school in 1965, John participated in a civil rights campaign in Mississippi to integrate public facilities, such as libraries and restaurants. After law school, John joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Uganda, an East African country that had recently gained independence and needed teachers.

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Arthur E. Trotman, 85

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Arthur E. Trotman died on July 14, 2025 at the age of 85. He is remembered for his thoughtful leadership in business and for his work with churches and charities in the service of social justice. Universally seen as a people person, he was an optimist with a unique ability to champion causes and gain ardent followers. Born in New Haven, CT to Ruth Hessler and Stanley Trotman, Art graduated from Hopkins Grammar School, Choate School (‘57), Yale University (‘62) and Harvard Business School (‘64.) At first, all he wanted was to be a baseball pitcher. He loved working with the pitching coach during summers at Camp Lanakila in Fairlee, VT and at home with his American Legion team.

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Marjorie Lawlor Cassidy, 96

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Marjorie Lawlor Cassidy, longtime resident of New Canaan, Block Island RI, and Vero Beach, FL passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 12 in Darien, CT at the age of 96. Born in Waterbury, CT to Mary (Hodson) and William K Lawlor in 1929, she was a graduate of Saint Margaret’s school at Middlebury CT and Manhattanville College. Marjorie was married to Thomas Cassidy in 1954. They moved to New Canaan in 1960 where they raised their five children and were active members of the community and St. Aloysius Church.

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Timothy Perot Greer, 68

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Timothy Perot Greer, age 68, of New Canaan, CT passed away peacefully on July 2nd , 2025, in Islesboro, ME, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was born on April 16th, 1957, in Seattle, WA to Dr. Alexander and Dorothy Greer. 

Tim grew up in Spokane, WA where he attended Saint George’s School. His winters consisted of competitive ski racing around the Pacific Northwest, but most notably in Sun Valley, ID. Tim graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Yale University in 1979 and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1982, where he was a recipient of The Graham Foundation Scholarship Thesis Award. Tim’s early architectural career included roles at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Gwathmey Siegel, Philip Johnson / John Burgee, and Butler Rogers Basket in New York City, as well as Roger Ferris & Partners in Westport, CT before Tim founded his own firm, T.P. Greer Architects, in New York, NY and New Canaan, CT in 2010. 

Tim had a tremendous passion for his work and always said that he never wanted to retire because he truly loved what he did.