Sarah Mannix

Dies At 92

By Steve Bigham

A Newtown resident tried and true, Sarah Farrell Mannix died Tuesday morning after a lengthy illness. She is remembered by many for being a “Newtown treasure” who leaves behind a legacy of dedication to the community. She was 92.

She was born December 10, 1908, the daughter of the late James and Catherine Farrell. Mrs Mannix grew up in Newtown in the same house she was born in on South Main Street. She enjoyed several different careers here. From her flowers and her school bus to her kindergarten and her toyshop, Sarah Mannix was widely considered to be the first lady of Newtown.

She is survived by many who consider her an extended family member, and by many who say they will dearly miss her.

A longtime member of the Democratic Town Committee, she also served on the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers for 38 years. She was a member of the Spay & Neuter Association, the Country Garden Club, and the Garden Club of Newtown, as well as the Newtown Business and Professional Women’s Club (BPW).

Mrs Mannix lived her entire life on the property along South Main Street where her father, James Farrell, was born. She spent the past nine decades working to help children, plants, and the community bloom. In her greenhouse, Mrs Mannix had a sign that read, “bloom where you are planted.” Indeed, her life reflected that statement.

“The best thing about Newtown is the people – the people you’ve known for years. The way of life,” she said during an interview two years ago. “You have your share of things, good and bad, that go with a town. But still, it’s a pretty nice place to live.”

Mrs Mannix attended various one-room schoolhouses and often rode her horse to and from school. She graduated from Hawley School (then the high school) in the late 1920s, then attended the Connecticut Froebel Normal School, a private school in Bridgeport which trained women to be teachers for kindergarten and the primary grades. Soon after, she started a private kindergarten, affectionately known to townspeople as “Miss Farell’s kindergarten.” She picked up and delivered her students in her own station wagon. After she married Bill Mannix in 1944, Mrs Mannix stopped Miss Farrell’s School and drove a school bus for the next 35 years. Her husband, who worked in the post office, was from New Haven and planned to stay in Newtown temporarily. However, he too soon fell in love with the town and lived here until his death in 1969.

Mrs Mannix was always fond of flowers. In 1954, she wrote for a greenhouse catalogue, and one day a salesman from the company came to visit and offered to sell her a small greenhouse. She jumped at the opportunity and wasted little time filling it with beautiful African violets. She and her husband eventually erected two more greenhouses on the property and grew all different types of plants and flowers. Over the years she spent a lot of time developing her flower shop into a popular business.

Sarah and Bill also made wooden toys that they sold to F.A.O. Schwarz and other stores in New York City. They also made the original letter pieces for SCRABBLE, under the direction of Jim Bruno, who created the game here in Newtown.

Along with her friend, Harriet Strain, Mrs Mannix drove for the Red Cross during World War II, as well as manning the “spotting areas” where townspeople watched for enemy planes.

Even in her later years, Mrs Mannix had her hand on the pulse of the town, even as it grew into something far different from the small town she remembered.

On her 90th birthday, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal honored her with a proclamation which read, in part, “Sarah Mannix has brightened many lives over the years with her beautiful flowers and her equally beautiful smile.”

“She’s certainly a person I respected and looked to for advice, not just about politics but life in general,” Mr Rosenthal said this week. “She had a wealth of history of Newtown and was a true friend. I would say she was about as loyal a person as you’d ever meet.”

As a loyal party member, Mrs Mannix was always a good person to have around. In times of victory, she was there to remind the victors not to get too excited. In times of adversity, it was Sarah Mannix who was there to lend a compassionate hand. “Tomorrow is another day,” she would say.

Betty Lou Osborne knew Sarah for more than 50 years. The two spent many years together as members of the Town Hall Board of Managers. She called her close friend a tremendous asset to the town.

“She was sort of an extended member of our family. She was so much a part of the town,” Mrs Osborne said. “Sarah has a feeling for the town and for the people. It’s rare to have that kind of loyalty. She’s just a very special person.”

Like most, Mrs Mannix had her share of ups and downs, but she was a fighter and a bit of a war horse who always managed to pick herself and the ones around her up to face another day.

“She was a great lady – the matriarch of the Newtown Democrats,” noted Democratic Town Committee Chairman Earl J. Smith. “She was always there in good times and in bad.”

Until recently Mrs Mannix was seen still driving the little red Plymouth she won in a raffle at the St Rose Carnival a few years back. Years ago, Mrs Mannix was often seen driving her motorcycle around town.

In Florida, passersby would often see Sarah on the beach with rod and reel.

“She was quite a gal – always a lot of fun. She was very special to us all,” Mrs Osborne said.

Funeral services will be held Friday, December 29, at 10 am from the Honan Funeral Homes at 58 Main Street and at 10:30 am at St Rose Church for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will take place at St Rose Cemetery in the spring. Friends may call at the funeral home after 9 am on Friday. Following the service, there will be a reception in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall.

Contributions may be made to the Kitchen Fund, c/o Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470.