JANET DANIELS

DANIELS, JANET (BENHAM) Janet Edwina Benham Daniels, of Middletown and Old Saybrook, and most recently a resident of Essex Meadows, died October 21, 2016. Born February 25, 1926 in Naugatuck, CT to Harry E. and Viola Holaday Benham, Janet graduated from St. Margaret’s School in 1944. She then pledged to the Delta Gamma sorority and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Cornell University in 1948. She married Lewis B. Daniels Jr. of Middletown in 1949. Jan and Lew had four children: Lewis (Danny), Lynn, Jon, and Betsey. They resided in Middletown for many years and were very active in the community, the First United Methodist Church, and the Woodrow Wilson High School athletic boosters. Jan believed in politics and valued the freedom to vote and to express one’s beliefs and opinions. In a time when few women were elected to higher offices, Jan was elected city treasurer for three terms in Mayor Anthony Sbona’s administration in the 1970s and one term in Mayor Sebastian Garafalo’s administration in the 1990s. She also worked as an administrative assistant to Mayor Garafalo for three terms in the 1980s. She was elected to the Board of Education and served on the boards of Middlesex Hospital and the YMCA. Jan worked as a bookkeeper for Kabels Luggage Shop and several area nursing homes. Following her husband’s death in 2000, Jan moved to Old Saybrook and continued an enthusiastic involvement in Republican politics. She joined the Friends of the Acton Library, served on the board of the Estuary Council of Senior Citizens, and was active in the Women’s Club and the First Church of Christ. Jan moved to Essex Meadows in 2009 and for the last few years was a resident in the Health Center. The family would like to thank the staff at the Health Center for their wonderful care. Jan leaves behind her children, their spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren: Lewis and Susan Daniels and their sons Chris and Roger; Lynn and Bill Herlihy, their son Paul, his wife Daniela, and their daughter Alex; their son Rory, his wife Marcy, and their daughter Rowan; Jon Daniels and his children Eliza, Thomas, Tori, and Katy; and Betsey and Jordon Russell and their sons Jordon and Bradley, as well as other extended members of the Daniels family. She also leaves behind many beloved members of the Benham, Mazzotta, Moore, Peck, and Wilmot families. Jan loved sports, sing-alongs, swing band music, bridge club, time at the beach in Westbrook, and time with her family. She was an honest, responsible, and caring person with a smile that warmed the heart. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 20, at 1:00 p.m. at the First Church of Christ of Old Saybrook. Memorial donations can be made to the First Church of Christ, 366 Main Street Old Saybrook, CT 06475 or to an animal welfare charity of choice. To share memories or send condolences to the family, please visit www.doolittlefuneralservice.com