Apr 2, 2008
Dael Piro, educator and storyteller
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Dael Mackenzie Piro of Weston, known as a talented and loving mother, grandmother, teacher and storyteller, died March 28, 2008, at her home after a prolonged illness. She was 70.
The daughter of Gerald and Elizabeth Gilroy, Ms. Piro was born in New York City in 1937. After moving with her family to Connecticut, she graduated from Norwalk High School and attended Skidmore College for two years before receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
She then received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Speech and Hearing and worked as a speech pathologist within the Natick, Mass., and later Norwalk, school systems.
Ms. Piro left her job to raise two children, Kenzie and Ross, in Weston, but later got back into education as a third grade teacher at Redding Elementary School, where, her family said, she was universally loved by students and colleagues.
Ms. Piro was active within the community as a member of The Boosters Club and founding board member of The Weston Union student center, and was a constant cheerleader for her children, on and off the sports field.
Ms. Piro later followed her heart down a creative path, becoming a storyteller and member of the Connecticut Storytelling Center and Storytelling Anon, and the Asheville Storytelling Circle in North Carolina, and performing often at Tellabrations in Connecticut and North Carolina and the Connecticut Storytelling Conference.
She had an insatiable desire to learn and to experience new people and places, and was a lover of nature who could always be found taking long walks in the woods enjoying the plants and animals around her.
Her family said during her life, and even throughout her long illness, Ms. Piro was an inspiration to all, never failing to provide a non-judgmental, open ear and compassionate words of support and encouragement to anyone in need.
Ms. Piro is survived by her former husband Anthony Piro; children Kenzie Doornweerd (and husband Michael), and Ross Piro (and wife Katherine Jarvis); grandchildren Tyler and Finn Doornweerd; and brother Michael Gilroy.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 6, at the Wilton Presbyterian Church, 48 New Canaan Road, Wilton.
Contributions may be sent to Mid-Fairfield Hospice, P.O. Box 489, Wilton, CT 06897, www.mid-fairfieldhospice.com, or The Smile Train, 245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2201, New York, NY 10016, www.smiletrain.org/goto/DaelPiro.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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