Daniel Coddington

Daniel Baylin Coddington

MILLBROOK - Daniel Baylin Coddington, Baylin, was welcomed to the world

May 6th 1986 on a sunny afternoon in Sharon, Ct. He died the night of his bachelor party, December 21st 2012, when his canoe capsized on the Hudson River during a winter storm.

Baylin attended school in Millbrook, N.Y. He was a committed athlete, ran track, acted in local theater and was a serious student of music, concentrating on clarinet and saxophone, instruments he continued to play and take joy in throughout his life. Attending circus camp as a teenager, Baylin became proficient as a stilt walker, diabolist and juggler, occasionally supplementing his income employing those skills.

Baylin graduated from Connecticut College in 2008 with a degree in ethnobotany and a minor in music performance (instrument, clarinet). After completing college Bays traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad, continuing to work and study what he loved: music, gardening, cooking, sustainable agriculture, learning about permaculture and native plant species.

An intrepid traveler, Baylin took great delight in backpacking and hiking alone through little known areas of the North and South West United States, searching for unmapped hot springs, building gardens, developing friendships and attending the music festivals that were such an important part of his life.

In 2010 Baylin moved to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, where he worked as a musician and met his fiancée, Yulia Tsarenko. From Vietnam they traveled to Russia and then throughout the United States, where they decided to be married.

Baylin cared deeply about family and friends, often altering his plans to help those who needed him. In his short time here Baylin built a surprisingly deep and inspiring legacy based on fierce independence, honesty, integrity and friendship. His joy in music and nature was dwarfed only by his great love of people and the ability to connect with them. His smile lit up rooms and his energy and laughter were contagious. Those who knew Baylin even peripherally, were touched by his spirit, his humor, generosity, kindness and attentiveness.

Baylin packed a great deal into his 26 years. He walked his very own walk. Always. He is survived by his parents, Fletcher and Debra, his brother Ambrose, Grandmother and Grandfather Sylvia and Abe Cohen, his aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, god parents, hundreds of friends around his global community who were indeed family to him, and his beloved bride, Yulia.

Though we miss Baylin profoundly and always will, we remain grateful for and inspired by his example of facing his fears head on, and going forward non-judgmentally, with as much honesty as he could muster in all situations.

Our love goes with you Baylin, forever. May you find peace and continue your great adventures from wherever in this vast universe you may be.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Allen Funeral Home, Millbrook.