NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/category/new-canaan-n2000ews/obituaries/page/41)
Send obituaries, including a photo, directly to editor@newcanaanite.com for publication.
William L. Kelley, 85, of Brooklyn, CT, passed away on March 4 after a lengthy illness with his adoring family by his side. Bill was born on June 11, 1936, in a farmhouse built by his father on Crystal Street. Bill was predeceased by his parents Nardine (Macchio) Kelley and Anthony Kelley as well as his eight brothers and one sister. He was a graduate of New Canaan High School. Early on he worked as a mechanic and for Hocon Gas.
Charles Philip Morton II, born May 28, 1946, in Norwalk CT, passed away peacefully at age 75 on Feb 25, 2022, at home with his fiancé Annie (Jordan) Appling, in North Truro, Mass. He is survived by Annie and his brothers, Paul and Peter Morton, sister-in-law Jill, nieces Kirstin, Sydney and Kayla, nephew Aidan—and cousins Jim, Judy, and Jane Scribner. He is preceded by his loving parents Charles and Mary of New Canaan, CT. Phil was beloved and called family by many friends, lodge brothers, and other loved ones. Phil was a graduate of New Canaan High School class of 1965 and Norwalk Community College.
Police on Saturday arrested a 49-year-old New Canaan woman and charged her with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct. At about 6:09 p.m. on Feb. 12, officers were dispatched to a White Fall Lane house in regards to a domestic dispute between the woman and another person at the residence, according to a police report. Following an investigation, police brought the two misdemeanor charges against the woman. It’s unclear what the dispute involved, how it turned physical, whether the arrested woman is related to the victim or what were the extent of injuries.
Stephen Edward Benko Jr., 71, of New Canaan, died Feb. 12 at Stamford Hospital after a brief battle with cancer. He was 71. Born Dec. 28, 1950 to Madeleine Murphy Benko and Stephen Edward Benko Sr., Steve grew up in an Orchard Drive house that his father built with wood salvaged from an old barn on what would become the Saxe Middle School property, and later built his own house on nearby Douglas Road.
Steve Benko, a lifelong New Canaan resident known to local families through five decades as head of the town Recreation Department, died overnight, officials said Saturday. A former chief of New Canaan Fire Co.,#1, he died “after a very courageous, but mercifully short, battle with cancer,” the organization’s president, Rob Mallozzi, said in an email to Fire Company members. “His family was by his side.”
“It is a day of profound sadness to our Fire Department and Company and our entire town,” Mallozzi said. “Please keep the Benko family in your prayers.”
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan issued this statement Saturday: “New Canaan lost one of its most dedicated and long-serving Town employees Friday night when Steve Benko passed away at Stamford Hospital surrounded by his family after a short battle with cancer. Steve served 50 years as Recreation Director of the Town of New Canaan and was a mentor and friend to generations of youth, Town employees, Fire Co.