Sydney Fulford, 94

Sydney “Nana” Snell Fulford passed away peacefully and with grace, surrounded by loving family, on January 17, 2025. Born in Brooklyn Heights on January 27, 1930, she was days away from her 95th birthday.

Sydney Fulford. https://hoytfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1878/Sydney-Fulford/obituary.html#tribute-start

Sydney was ready to depart, though torn between leaving her beloved family and joining the love of her life, Bill Fulford, who she met in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. After flipping a sailboat together on Lake Saint Clair, they soon married and started a family. Sydney grew up in Great Neck, NY, and was a graduate of Wheelock College. After teaching for several years in Michigan, her young family moved to Connecticut in 1960 to be near Sydney’s parents, Donald and Priscilla Bowns Snell. They settled in New Canaan, where Sydney lived for 65 years. She was a familiar sight walking the streets of town with one of her English cocker spaniels, accepting dog treats from storekeepers along the way.

With a master’s degree in education from the University of Bridgeport, Sydney became a kindergarten teacher, and over nearly four decades introduced legions of five-year-olds to shoe-tying, time-telling, and classroom guinea pigs. She taught at Fox Run School in Norwalk, and upon retirement was an active member of a group of former teachers, the Foxy Ladies. Married to a teacher, Sydney left a legacy of commitment to education in helping to raise two generations of teachers, including two of her three children (who also married teachers) and five grandchildren.

A proud member of the Hannah Benedict Carter chapter of the daughters of the American Revolution, Sydney worked avidly on genealogical research to her last days. She traced 14 members of her family to the American Revolutionary Army, and many others to colonial history. She enjoyed representing the DAR while marching in the Memorial Day Parade each year.  

More than anything, Sydney was devoted to family, at her happiest when surrounded by multiple generations. Affectionately dubbed “The Matriarch,” Nana—a dedicated Rams fan—cheered on the sidelines of countless soccer, hockey, baseball, and field hockey games, along with gymnastics meets. She cherished family reunions on Ocracoke Island, NC, where she vacationed with family over many decades. She also loved walking in all weather, consuming ice cream sundaes, collecting shells, reviving friends’ ailing plants, snacking on Cheez-Its, cheering for handsome NFL quarterbacks, caring for birds and small animals, joking with longtime friend Walter the mailman, and celebrating her country. She was able to live at home thanks to the loving care of helpers Pat Saxe and Carol Sikora.

Sydney is predeceased by her husband William Fulford, brother Roger Snell (Elsie Snell), and grandson William Fulford III (Ashley Potvin). She is survived by sisters Priscilla White and Prudence Bennett; sons John Fulford (Katharine Harmon) and William Fulford, Jr. (Maureen Fulford); daughter Priscilla Falcone (Stephen Falcone); six grandchildren, Jonathan Fulford (Raven Fulford), Patrick Fulford, Caroline Dolan (McManus Dolan), Bridget Falcone, Matthew Falcone, and Avery Fulford; great-grandchildren Winslow Fulford and Murray Fulford. Additionally, she counted among her relatives the family of Suzanne and Douglas MacLehose and sons Thomas, Daniel, and Robert. Sydney was a member of St. Aloysius Church, confirmed as Sydney Ann as an adult

A memorial service will be held at St Aloysius Church (21 Cherry Street, New Canaan) on February 22, 2025. The family will be present for visiting at 10 a.m., with a mass following at 11 a.m. Burial will be limited to family only. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Will Fulford scholarship fund at A Running Passion (arunningpassion.org), a charitable organization founded in memory of Sydney’s grandson.

[This obituary appeared on the Hoyt Funeral Home website.]