Obituary: Caryl Kleinknecht Lucchesi, 93, Of Newtown

Information and Photo Courtesy Green Funeral Home

NEWTOWN, CT — Caryl Kleinknecht Lucchesi, 93, formerly of Newtown and Bridgewater, passed away on Dec. 23, 2023. She was the wife of the late John A. Lucchesi Sr. for 68 years.

She was born Jan. 24, 1930 to the late Carl and Ruth Ellen (Grutz) Kleinknecht in Bridgeport.

Survivors are three daughters and two sons: Kimberly Marshall of Fairfield; Caryl Ann Lucchesi (Al) of Danbury; Susan Durkin (Andrew) of Pawling, NY; John A. Lucchesi Jr. (Janice) of Danbury, and David C. Lucchesi (Pamela) of Brookfield. Her grandchildren: Micaela, William, Gregory, and Matthew Marshall; Molly, Drew, Brian, and Craig Durkin; John, Michael, and Joseph Lucchesi; Christopher David; Jennifer, Alexandra, Olivia, and Eva Lucchesi. She is also survived by her sisters Joan E. Kleinknecht of Fairfield, and Ruth Schobe of Florida.

Besides her parents and husband, Caryl was predeceased by her daughter, Nancy Ellen, who died at birth; her sister, Nancy Smith of Fairfield; brothers: William and Carl Kleinknecht Jr. of Florida; and grandson, Jonathan David.

Caryl graduated from Lauralton Hall in Milford, and Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry. Following graduation, she worked as a medical technologist at Danbury Hospital and became a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.
After her marriage and while raising her family, she was actively involved in the family business, Barrett Roofing, and found time for school, church, and community affairs.

Caryl was a co-founder of FRIENDS of the Danbury Library, a founding member of the Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, and a past president and honorary member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Danbury. She was active in Girl Scouting, Junior Service League, and Danbury Hospital. Caryl was an active member of the Rotary Club of Danbury, a Paul Harris fellow several times, and represented her club at several international conventions.

Caryl was a life member of the United States Power Squadron and attained the level of Senior Navigator with a full certificate and twenty-seven merit marks. She served the organization on the national, district, and local levels. She was a member of the Navigators Club of New York.

Her family was very much involved in boating and enjoyed many trips on the family yacht “The Caryl K” built by her husband, John. Several round trips to Ft. Lauderdale, FL were made where they lived aboard several winters.

Caryl’s hobbies and interests were many. She was a naturalist and had a love and respect for all living things, which she communicated and taught to her children and grandchildren. Other interests were gardening, needlepoint, knitting, bridge, traveling, and she was an avid reader. But her main passion in life was birdwatching. She traveled the world searching for birds to add to her “life list” which was over 6,000 species.

Caryl considered her greatest success as a human being her loving family, their achievements, and watching her grandchildren grow into the wonderful adults they have become, as well as watching her great-grandchildren learn, grow, and just enjoy them.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00am on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at St. Joseph Church, Main St., Danbury, CT with the Rev. Samuel Scott, Pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in St. Peter Cemetery, Danbury.

There are no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Caryl’s memory may be made to Regional Hospice of Western CT, 30 Milestone Rd., Danbury, CT 06810.