Obituaries

Caryl Stuart Stratton (September 19, 1939-July 8, 2025)

Published: Jul 23, 2025 8:34 am

Caryl Stuart Stratton, born on September 19, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, passed away peacefully at her cherished home in Woodbury on July 8, 2025. She was 85 years old.

Caryl was a devoted and loving mother to her children: Bridget Hallock Tuttle and her husband Jody Tuttle of Oxford, Sarah Jacqueline Drought and her husband James Henry Drought of Madison, and Susannah Shortt and her husband James Shortt of Newtown. She also leaves behind her beloved cousin, Susan Walker McNulty of Milford.

She was predeceased by her beloved son, John Patrick Hallock; her brother, John C. Stratton; and her parents, John Caryl Stratton and Jessie Stuart Wilson.

Caryl’s legacy lives on through her six grandchildren — Jeremy Peter Tuttle of Wilton, Shannon Stratton Tuttle of Oxford, John Carlson Drought, Daisy Stratton Drought of Madison, James Shortt, and Jesse Shortt of Newtown; and her great-granddaughter, Ayla Tuttle of Wilton. Her family was the light of her life, and she took great joy and pride in each of them.

Caryl built a beautiful life in Woodbury alongside her beloved husband, Dr Leonard Persson. Their home was filled with warmth, laughter, and meaningful tradition — surrounded by the peace of the natural world.

Caryl had a lifelong interest in education. She attended grammar school in Princeton, New Jersey; New Haven, and ultimately in Newtown, where she graduated from Newtown High School in 1957. She went on to earn both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Western Connecticut State University.

An avid genealogist, Caryl traced her ancestry back through centuries of European history. She served as the head of the Connecticut Chapter of the daughters of the American Colonists and was also an active member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the National Society Magna Charta Dames, The Parke Society, the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Caryl also had a need for speed — she was a proud member of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and raced “Rosa,” her 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, at tracks including Lime Rock Park, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Pocono Raceway.

Known for her fierce spirit, sharp wit, and boundless loyalty, Caryl had a gift for finding humor in even the most difficult moments. Her laughter, resilience, and unconditional love touched all who knew her.

Caryl will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her family, friends, and all whose lives she brightened.

Former Newtown resident Caryl Stuart Stratton, 85, passed away peacefully at her cherished home in Woodbury on July 8.

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Sorry Lynn, not letting you get away with this. Yes, we all have the constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully but NO, no one ever said anything about taking that right away. You just made it up.

Expresses Opposition To Proposed Assembly Ordinance

A small Newtown business lost important revenue because of the protest. Traffic was disrupted causing a safety concern. Newtown taxpayers paid for police OT because the PD had to react to the protest rather than be prepared in advance. God forbid, if there was loss of life or property, Newtown could be liable legally for negligence. Your comment sounds like Liberal Woke thinking and apparently you are more sympathetic to protestors than to Newtown. Non-issue? In Kerrville TX the legislative body had the chance to vote for a flash flood siren warning system. They thought it was a non-issue. Now, over 200 people are dead and families are destroyed. No way does the town not get expensively buried in court should it be foolish enough to NOT go down this path.

Assembly Ordinance?

Hi David, I did not ignore anyone. I presented 4 quantifiable advantages and one intangible that an ordinance addressing protests would benefit Newtown. That was my only standard. No one that came to the meeting including the other LC members provided any argument to over come those benefits and remember, the threshold was set extremely low. The only thing the LC was voting on was to "just consider" if an ordinance would be in order. Get over the "stadium" joke. It is scandalous that you don't have the mental capacity to understand it was a joke. Remember when I asked to meet with you for breakfast to see in we could compromise on some of your many complaints? I am sure could have found compromises but apparently the word "compromise" is not a part of your vocabulary. Either is acting like an adult. By the way, the intangible...that was to provide protection for you and your family, God forbid, that you were protesting and someone came barreling through the crowd in a car. My point was you always plan for worst case scenario, not best case scenario. In Kerrville TX, the legislative body had the chance to vote to put a flash flood warning siren in place. Someone like you probably thought they didn't need it. Now over 200 people are dead. Nothing bad could ever happen in Newtown right?

Pisani to Sue Newtown – Part 1

Reservoir Rd. does indeed appear to have an interesting history that I often ponder as I hike the Rochambeau Trail. Early on it was apparently part of a main route from the center of the Borough to Taunton, which went up Mt. Pleasant Rd. and then roughly followed a watershed boundary from Mount Pleasant to Taunton Hill. When the current switchback road was built from West St. to Castle Hill in the 1800s, replacing the indirect route through the campground that Rochambeau used, the part of that original route to Taunton now known as Reservoir Rd. became redundant. But on an 1868 town map and topographic maps from 1892 and 1915, it looks like both routes were still maintained as roads. By the time of the 1934 aerial survey of CT, the connection to Mount Pleasant Rd. (maybe called Reservoir Rd. by then since the reservoir is visible) even had two outlets onto Castle Hill Rd. Since it is only shown as a partial dashed line on a 1953 topographic map, it may have stopped being maintained as a passable through road by then. But on a 1963 topographic map, where the section down to Knollwood Dr. had become a normal road again, the other end is shown as a dashed-line road, still with two connections to Castle Hill Rd., and a structure on the east side where one can still find remnants of a house today. Maybe a longtime resident can add comments about what it looked like in the 1950s and 1960s?

Clarity on Reservoir Road and the Rochambeau Trail

Please stop referring to your fellow Newtowners as the Mob. I was at the Legislative Council meeting where Mr. Pisani insulted the intelligence of a room full of Newtown voters; twice, and not in a satirical way. Plenty of new projects have been given the green light - the repurposing of the Taunton Press property is a welcome addition to Town, a new retail center is under construction on Church Hill Rd there are ongoing plans for the existing Fairfield Hills campus. Newtown is a wonderful place to live. Kudos to the Town officials who have managed to grow Newtown and maintain a small town feel, which may mean saying no to development more often than you would like. There will always be two sides to any proposal - different points of view are welcome and essential - name calling adds nothing to the conversation.

Who is Calling Newtowners Stupid?

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Caryl Stuart Stratton (September 19, 1939-July 8, 2025)

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