Obituary: Helen Clabby Scinto, 86, of Stratford

STRATFORD, CT - (From Pistey Funeral Home) Helen Clabby Scinto, widow of John J. Scinto, died at home on Monday, April 4, 2022. A longtime Stratford resident, she was born in Bridgeport on March 10, 1936, the daughter of James W. Clabby and Laura (Campana) Clabby.

She graduated from Harding High School in 1953 and Albertus Magnus College in 1957. She earned her masters' degree from Fairfield University and did further study at Harvard, Yale and UConn.

She was a member of the first Fairfield County class of the Connecticut Writing Project.

Helen’s first teaching job was at Bassick High School, where she taught English and headed the English Department before taking a maternity leave.

She became a stay-at-home mom for the next 13 years, until she returned to teaching English at Jonathan Law High School in Milford. In 1992, she joined Milford’s central office staff as Supervisor of Curriculum and Staff Development.

She retired in 2000 but was a consultant in Milford, Norwalk and Trumbull for the next several years.

Until his death in 2013, she and her husband traveled far and wide, including trips to China and Tibet and annual winter vacations in the Caribbean and summer weeks on Cape Cod with her family.

Until the pandemic of 2020, she continued to travel, as a Road Scholar, with an especially memorable trip to Cuba in 2015.

Helen was a lifetime member of the Greater Bridgeport Retired Teachers Association and held various offices with that group.

She was also active at the Stratford Senior Center, where she was president of the Stratford Chapter of AARP and co-led a line dance class.

She enjoyed gardening, making strawberry and raspberry jam, lunching with her friends, and especially spending time with her family.She is survived by her daughter Susan (Robert) McEwan and sons John D. Scinto and Robert L. (Erin) Scinto and grandchildren James J. McEwan and Kathryn M. McEwan.

She is also survived by a brother, Dr. James W. Clabby of Marietta, Georgia, and several nieces and nephews.Friends are invited to attend the funeral on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 9 a.m at the Pistey Funeral Home and at 10 a.m. at St. Mark Church, 500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford for a Mass of Christian Burial.

Interment will follow in St. Michael Cemetery. Friends may call on Friday from 4-8 p.m at the Pistey Funeral Home, 2155 Main Street, Stratford.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Helen’s generous support of charitable organizations throughout her life, please donate in her memory to the Marianist Mission, Mount Saint John, PO Box 340998, Dayton OH, 45434-0998 or to a charity of one’s choice.