Judith Pless Constable

Constable, Judith Pless
Judith Pless Constable, 86, of Darien, CT, died peacefully at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan on Feb. 9, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's. Born on October 2, 1926 in New York City, she loved stickball, baseball, and "The Lone Ranger" radio show. Judy graduated from Cornell University in 1948 with a B.A. in History, and found her first job at the New York Historical Society, arranging exhibitions and giving school tours. After a bicycle tour of Europe and Britain in 1952, she returned home to earn an M.A. in Education from Hofstra University, and taught sixth grade in Islip, L.I. In 1953, she met Richard Constable at a picnic on Fire Island. They married in NYC on Feb. 10, 1956, moving to Darien in 1962. Although she was a full-time homemaker and mother of three, Judy was a passionate volunteer and community activist. Her contributions include serving on the Darien Housing Authority, where she was instrumental in the creation of the Town Hall Houses senior housing project; acting as Secretary of the Democratic Town Committee; and being a phone volunteer on the Darien Answers hotline. She was a founding member of the Darien-New Canaan Unitarian Society, which met for many years at Ox Ridge School. She also worked tirelessly on many local and national political campaigns, and helped regularly at the Darien Senior Center. She was an avid tennis player, a Metropolitan Opera subscriber for 30 years, and loved travel, gardening, reading, and doing the New York Times crossword. She is survived by her adoring husband, Dick, her children Martha, Tom and Peter, her granddaughter Eleanor, and a sister, Trudy Hutchinson. Interment will be private, at the Unitarian Church of Westport. A memorial celebration will be held at a future date. Donations may be made in Judy's memory to the Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.