Alexander Domonkos

DOMONKOS On Friday, April 27, at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Alex Domonkos passed away at the age of 91. Born on December 6, 1920 in Bridgeport, CT, to Alexander and Ethel Domonkos, Alex attended local schools before entering the Yale School of Fine Arts. He interrupted his university education to serve as a navy pilot during WWII. A recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals, Alex flew a carrier-based dive bomber from the USS Bunker Hill and took part in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as in the first carrier strikes on Tokyo. After the war, Alex returned to the Yale School of Fine Arts, from which he graduated with top honors. He then joined The Famous Artists School in Westport, where his colleagues included America's top illustrators, painters and cartoonists, including such talents as Norman Rockwell, Doris Lee and Rube Goldberg. Alex also became a member of the Volunteer Fire Department in Redding Ridge, CT, where he lived for a long time with his wife Wini and their children before he eventually moved to Shelton. Alex went on to become a Vice President at Famous Artists School International, helping to establish branch schools in Japan, the Netherlands and also in Monaco, where the Domonkos family spent two years. Following his work at FAS, Alex worked as an arts editor for North Light Press and Dover Press, as a set and background designer for Telemedia and Cablevision, as an art teacher at Sacred Heart University and, until very recently, as an art instructor at senior centers in Stratford, Shelton, Trumbull and Derby. After a long and rewarding life filled with work, art, teaching and a love of both knowledge and precision, Alex leaves behind three children, Bob, Jane and Don; a sister, Joan Delaney; five grandchildren, Irini, Sara, Andy, Sean and Liam; two great-grandchildren, Taylor and Avery; many well-loved nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and their children as well; and a wide circle of good friends, including many of his previous students. Alex's memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the Edward F. Adzima Funeral Home, 253 Elizabeth St., Derby, CT 06418 at 2pm. Online condolences may be made to his family at www.adzimafh.com .