Obituary of Carol Wood McGill

Carol Wood McGill died peacefully in her sleep on Friday, January 7, 2011 in her home in Darien. She was the wife of Donald Forbes McGill, who pre-deceased her in 1996. She was born in Pittsburgh, PA on December 15, 1920 to Doris Wood and William Edward Simler, an advertising executive, whose career spanned several agencies in New York. Mrs. McGill spent her childhood between Washington Square in Manhattan and Paris. During World War II, in January 1943, Carol married Don in a small, private ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The wedding took place during a brief war leave for Don, who was an officer in the Navy. After the wedding, the couple left for an abbreviated honeymoon in Florida, before Don shipped out on his second tour of duty. Don was decorated for this bravery and service as a PT boat captain in the South Pacific. Carol also had a patriotic role during the War, as a volunteer for the Red Cross in New York and Washington, D.C. She also worked for the Office of Civil Defense, in close proximity to Eleanor Roosevelt, who she greatly admired as "her hero and heroine". At war's end Carol and Don lived briefly in Washington; Alexandra, VA; New York City and Long Island, before settling happily in Darien. Their two oldest children � Christine, born in Washington, and Donald, Jr. (Sandy), born in Manhattan � were 8 and 4 when they re-located to Darien. Two more children � Leslie and Bill � were born soon after the move to the suburbs. As an only child, Carol's dream was to have a large family. As a mother of four, she was devoted to her family and family life. A popular mom among her children's friends, she often "adopted" a few stray children over the years. Carol also loved and nurtured 3 dogs and 8 cats over the years making her a "Big Time Mom". A Darien resident for 56 years � Carol spent a large portion of 38 of those years as an energetic community volunteer. Organizations who benefited from her generous volunteer work included the Darien Library, Darien Historical Society, the DCA, the Darien Schools, Person to Person and The First Congregational Church. She was also a big volunteer at Stamford Hospital, where she served for a time s the Director of the Board of women. She was especially found of STAR � the Society to Advance the Retarded � where she devoted countless hours to advance care for the handicapped. Carol's love for life was about the beauty of Darien as a place to raise a family. During some of her last outings, she would exclaim, "What a beautiful town this is!" Her passion and persistence is why she continued to live in Darien. She is survived by Christine Fabie McGill of San Francisco, CA; Sandy McGill of Darien; William McGill of Columbus, OH; Leslie McGill of Norwalk; and five grandchildren; Ian McGill, Elizabeth Fabie, Ryan Fabie Liam McGill and Caroline McGill. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM at the First Congregational Church in Darien, 14 Brookside Road on Saturday, January 15, 2011. In lieu of flowers, donations to STAR Inc., Attn: Mike Petell, 182 Wolfpitt Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851 would be greatly appreciated. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820