Helen "Nell" Fortin of Venice, Fla., a Ridgefield native who had lived most of her life here, died on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, at Bon Secours-Venice Hospital. She was 89 years old and the widow of Richard Fortin.
Mrs. Fortin was born in Ridgefield Feb. 29, 1912, a daughter of the late Nazzareno and Palmina Goffi Birarelli. She attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School with the Class of 1930.
Many years ago, Mrs. Fortin was a waitress at the old Book Barn, a restaurant and book store situated on Wilton Road West at the border of Ridgefield and Wilton.
Mrs. Fortin was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and had served as treasurer for 20 years. For many years, she was a familiar sight selling poppies for the Legion in the weeks before Memorial Day.
That holiday was special to Mrs. Fortin. She and her husband were married on Memorial Day, May 30, 1941 in St. Mary's Church (her brother, Father Dionisi Birarelli, performed the ceremony). Mrs. Fortin's brother, James Birarelli, was the first Ridgefielder killed in World War II, dying in the Tunisian Campaign in 1943 after stepping on a mine. Mr. Fortin served in Europe under General Patton.
"We always put Memorial Day first," she told an interviewer in 1991 on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
In Ridgefield, she was also a member of St. Mary's Church and of its Rosary Society.
Mrs. Fortin, who had lived on upper Wilton Road East for many years, moved to Florida in 1995, the year her husband died.
Her survivors include two sons: Richard Fortin of Nokomis, Fla., and Joel Fortin of Ridgefield; a brother: Charles Biarelli of Trumbull; a sister: Mary Morrow of Nokomis; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services and burial will take place on Saturday at 11a.m. in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, on Friday evening from 5 to 8.
Contributions in Mrs. Fortin's memory may be made to the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, 6 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, 06877—Jack Sanders, The Ridgefield Press, December 2001
Mrs. Fortin was born in Ridgefield Feb. 29, 1912, a daughter of the late Nazzareno and Palmina Goffi Birarelli. She attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School with the Class of 1930.
Many years ago, Mrs. Fortin was a waitress at the old Book Barn, a restaurant and book store situated on Wilton Road West at the border of Ridgefield and Wilton.
Mrs. Fortin was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and had served as treasurer for 20 years. For many years, she was a familiar sight selling poppies for the Legion in the weeks before Memorial Day.
That holiday was special to Mrs. Fortin. She and her husband were married on Memorial Day, May 30, 1941 in St. Mary's Church (her brother, Father Dionisi Birarelli, performed the ceremony). Mrs. Fortin's brother, James Birarelli, was the first Ridgefielder killed in World War II, dying in the Tunisian Campaign in 1943 after stepping on a mine. Mr. Fortin served in Europe under General Patton.
"We always put Memorial Day first," she told an interviewer in 1991 on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
In Ridgefield, she was also a member of St. Mary's Church and of its Rosary Society.
Mrs. Fortin, who had lived on upper Wilton Road East for many years, moved to Florida in 1995, the year her husband died.
Her survivors include two sons: Richard Fortin of Nokomis, Fla., and Joel Fortin of Ridgefield; a brother: Charles Biarelli of Trumbull; a sister: Mary Morrow of Nokomis; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services and burial will take place on Saturday at 11a.m. in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, on Friday evening from 5 to 8.
Contributions in Mrs. Fortin's memory may be made to the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, 6 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, 06877—Jack Sanders, The Ridgefield Press, December 2001
Helen "Nell" Fortin of Venice, Fla., a Ridgefield native who had lived most of her life here, died on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, at Bon Secours-Venice Hospital. She was 89 years old and the widow of Richard Fortin.
Mrs. Fortin was born in Ridgefield Feb. 29, 1912, a daughter of the late Nazzareno and Palmina Goffi Birarelli. She attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School with the Class of 1930.
Many years ago, Mrs. Fortin was a waitress at the old Book Barn, a restaurant and book store situated on Wilton Road West at the border of Ridgefield and Wilton.
Mrs. Fortin was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and had served as treasurer for 20 years. For many years, she was a familiar sight selling poppies for the Legion in the weeks before Memorial Day.
That holiday was special to Mrs. Fortin. She and her husband were married on Memorial Day, May 30, 1941 in St. Mary's Church (her brother, Father Dionisi Birarelli, performed the ceremony). Mrs. Fortin's brother, James Birarelli, was the first Ridgefielder killed in World War II, dying in the Tunisian Campaign in 1943 after stepping on a mine. Mr. Fortin served in Europe under General Patton.
"We always put Memorial Day first," she told an interviewer in 1991 on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
In Ridgefield, she was also a member of St. Mary's Church and of its Rosary Society.
Mrs. Fortin, who had lived on upper Wilton Road East for many years, moved to Florida in 1995, the year her husband died.
Her survivors include two sons: Richard Fortin of Nokomis, Fla., and Joel Fortin of Ridgefield; a brother: Charles Biarelli of Trumbull; a sister: Mary Morrow of Nokomis; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services and burial will take place on Saturday at 11a.m. in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, on Friday evening from 5 to 8.
Contributions in Mrs. Fortin's memory may be made to the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, 6 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, 06877—Jack Sanders, The Ridgefield Press, December 2001
Mrs. Fortin was born in Ridgefield Feb. 29, 1912, a daughter of the late Nazzareno and Palmina Goffi Birarelli. She attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School with the Class of 1930.
Many years ago, Mrs. Fortin was a waitress at the old Book Barn, a restaurant and book store situated on Wilton Road West at the border of Ridgefield and Wilton.
Mrs. Fortin was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and had served as treasurer for 20 years. For many years, she was a familiar sight selling poppies for the Legion in the weeks before Memorial Day.
That holiday was special to Mrs. Fortin. She and her husband were married on Memorial Day, May 30, 1941 in St. Mary's Church (her brother, Father Dionisi Birarelli, performed the ceremony). Mrs. Fortin's brother, James Birarelli, was the first Ridgefielder killed in World War II, dying in the Tunisian Campaign in 1943 after stepping on a mine. Mr. Fortin served in Europe under General Patton.
"We always put Memorial Day first," she told an interviewer in 1991 on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
In Ridgefield, she was also a member of St. Mary's Church and of its Rosary Society.
Mrs. Fortin, who had lived on upper Wilton Road East for many years, moved to Florida in 1995, the year her husband died.
Her survivors include two sons: Richard Fortin of Nokomis, Fla., and Joel Fortin of Ridgefield; a brother: Charles Biarelli of Trumbull; a sister: Mary Morrow of Nokomis; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services and burial will take place on Saturday at 11a.m. in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, on Friday evening from 5 to 8.
Contributions in Mrs. Fortin's memory may be made to the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, 6 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, 06877—Jack Sanders, The Ridgefield Press, December 2001
Inscription
The eastern face of the monument says, "The Birarelli Family. Ostra Italy — Ridgefield, Conn. April 26, 1906."
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