Adele Bacon Hatfield

HATFIELD Adele Bacon Hatfield, age 90, died peacefully on January 11, 2007. She was born on Christmas Day in New York City to the late Judge and Mrs. Curtiss Stow Bacon. The family later settled in Middletown, CT, where Adele0s father became the Judge of Probate. Mrs. Hatfield was educated at the Oxford School in West Hartford and the Julius Hartt School of Music in Hartford. As a young woman living in Middletown, she met the love of her life, William Walter Hatfield, who was attending Wesleyan University. They were married in 1937 and built their beautiful home on the banks of the Housatonic River in Devon, where they resided together for 68 years. Mr. Hatfield was called to duty as an officer in the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor and Adele, already a mother of two young boys, did her part in the war effort as a volunteer nurse at Bridgeport Hospital and as a driver for the Milford Motor Corps and the American Red Cross. After the war, the couple resumed their active lives and the family grew to three sons, and one daughter. The Hatfields enjoyed many years of boating on the river and Long Island Sound. Adele had a bug for travel, and she and her husband ventured to many far away places including Russia and China, long before others dared. She had a passion for life, a great sense of humor, and loved to have fun. She took particular delight in being a direct descendant of John Howland, who came to the U.S. on the Mayflower. In addition to her beloved husband William, Adele was preceded in death by her brother, Curtiss Bacon; and her son, William Bacon Hatfield. She is survived by her devoted children, Ross Hatfield and his wife, Cornelia of Stratford, Guy Hatfield of Stratford, and Adele Benham of Sarasota, FL. She will also be missed by her cherished grandchildren, Heather Hatfield of Devon, William Hatfield and his wife, Kathy of Maplewood, NJ, Harry Benham and his wife, Deborah of Germany, Mark Benham and his wife, Abigail of Farmington, Parker Hatfield of Brooklyn, NY, and Jenne Whitelaw and her husband, Kevin of Washington, DC; and eight great-grandchildren. Services will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 11 a.m. at the United Congregational Church, 877 Park Ave. in Bridgeport, where she was a member for 70 years. Interment will be private. Friends may greet her family Friday, January 19, 2007 from 5-7 p.m. at the Shaughnessey-Banks Funeral Home, 5O Reef Road in Fairfield. Memorial donations may be made in Adele0s name to the American Red Cross at 158 Brooklawn Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604-2012. To send an online condolence, please visit www.shaughnesseyfuneralhome.com.