Obituary: Carol Quimby Heath, 89, of Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — Carol Quimby Heath, 89, of 200 Leeder Hill Drive in Hamden, CT, passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 20, 2016. Born on Sept 13, 1926, she was the daughter of the late Arthur and Marguerite Lewin Quimby.

She grew up in Cleveland, OH, where she received her early musical training at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She majored in music at Smith College, where she was concertmaster of the orchestra, first violinist of the Smith Trio, and chief bell ringer of the Harkness Carillon. She also spent summers at the Yale School of Music in Norfolk, CT, where she met her husband of 58 years, the late Fenno F. Heath, Jr.

Together, they became a prominent musical couple in New Haven, CT. He was Director of the Yale Glee Club and she was a beloved music teacher at Worthington Hooker School, having trained in Hungary to become one of the leading Kodály music specialists in the country. She published a series of classroom songbooks called "The Song Garden" and was the founder of the New Haven Country Dance series, still in existence today.

Mrs. Heath was an avid gardener, knitter, weaver, master puzzler, genealogist, prize-winning quilt maker and contra dance fiddler. She loved the hills of New Hampshire, where her parents were born, and spent many summers there in the cabin she built, called "Fern Hill." She leaves her dear brother, William Colton Quimby, and her sisters-in-law, Charlotte Houde Quimby and Lillian Quimby. Additionally, she leaves her children and extended family: Sarah Sedgwick Heath (Franz Thomas Douskey) of Hamden, CT, Lucy Heath McLellan (Robert Keene McLellan) of Lebanon, NH, Peggy Heath Ogilvy (Dan Hertzler) of Windsor, VT, and Fenno Follansbee Heath III (Paris Stamos Heath) of Woodbridge, CT. She also leaves six grandchildren, Heather Anna Ogilvy (Matthew Thomas O'Malley) of Venice, CA, Sedgwick Hunter Najarian (Michael Kenneth Najarian) of Braintree, MA, Benjamin Westgate Ogilvy of Arlington, MA, Quinby Heath McLellan and Eliza Keene McLellan of Lebanon, NH, Maxfield Westgate Heath (Natalie Plaza Carballo) of New Haven, CT; and one great grandson, Bode León Najarian of Braintree, MA. Carol will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

A Memorial Service will be held for friends and family on Sunday July 31st at 11:00 a.m. at Whitney Center (North Building), 200 Leeder Hill Drive, Hamden, CT, in the 6th floor common room. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to send a donation to either of the following: the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36104 (www.splcenter.org), or Running Strong for Native American Youth, 8301 Richmond Highway, Ste 200, Alexandria, VA 22309 (http://www.indianyouth.org). BEECHER & BENNETT, 2300 Whitney Ave, Hamden in care of arrangements.

To leave online condolences, visit Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home here.

From Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home