Winnie Balboni — a longtime Westporter, whose eye for Westport’s beauty was matched only by her enthusiasm for it — died September 24. She was 101.
Hope Hageman offers this obituary:
Born in Closter, New Jersey on April 16, 1923, Winnie was educated at the American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter she married US Air Force Major Chester George Williams, and gave birth to sons Jeffrey, John and Jason.
She and Major Williams divorced in 1954. He died two years later.
For a time she was a single parent, living with her parents in Springfield.
Winnie married Anthony “Tony” Balboni, a pilot for United Airlines, in 1956, the year that she moved to Westport.
She soon became a mainstay of the Westport Garden Club. She played a major role in the effort to transform landfill on Imperial Avenue into Grace Salmon Park, including persuading the town to fund it.
Winnie Balboni at Grace Salmon Park.
She was the long-time editor of the Garden Club newsletter, and a tireless volunteer in the organization’s many projects. In 2006 she received an award from the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut for her work.
She established Westport’s first Tree Board, which she served on for many years.
One of Winnie’s favorite spots was Sherwood Island State Park. Through her friendship with the park superintendent, forged during her afternoon rambles there, she learned that Connecticut ranked 50th in the nation in per capita expenditure on state parks.
With guidance from the Friends of Connecticut State Parks, Winnie formed a board of directors, developed a mission statement and by-laws, and almost singlehandedly founded the Friends of Sherwood Island.
A vibrant non-profit today, it has provided many enhancements over the past 25 years.
Winnie Balboni (far left) with her 2006 Connecticut Federated Garden Clubs award. (Photo courtesy of “A History of the Westport Garden Club 1924-2014,” by Louise Demakis)
In her mid-60s Winnie joined the Westport League of Woman Voters, and quickly became a board member. She organized the group’s first Memorial Day parade marchers. The sashes and suffragist outfits worn in the parade are lasting reminders of Winnie’s vision.
Her obituary calls Winnie “funny and feisty, generous to a fault, endlessly energetic, always curious and fiercely outspoken.
“She was an outdoorswoman, a tireless volunteer, a quilter, a seamstress, a mentor, a leader who believed that homemade baked goods were key to a successful and well-attended meeting.
“She hiked the Appalachian Trail in manageable portions whenever she could, she started the Jolly Gardeners to engage youngsters in outdoor work, she wrote letters regularly to every friend she ever had, she was committed to mental health advocacy and research at both state and local levels, she was a presence, and not always a silent one, at innumerable yown meetings.
Winnie Balboni, with a cloth bag. In 2008, before Westport’s Representative Town Meeting voted to ban the use of plastic bags — the first municipality east of the Mississippi River to do so — 85-year-old Winnie made a ringing speech urging it to do so.
“But her true and larger legacy now lies in the hearts and memories of countless friends who were fortunate enough to experience her warmth, humor and generosity at close range.”
Winnie was predeceased by her son Jeffrey, in 2007. She is survived by her sons Jason Williams of Cambridge, Massachusetts and John Williams of Richmond, Virginia, her devoted caregivers for the past 5 years; John’s wife Pamela Susan King, and “an incredibly long list of good friends.”
(Click here for an “06880” story, honoring Winnie Balboni on her 100th birthday.)
