Lillian Bennett Bliss, 84, retired nurse with deep roots in Ridgefield

Lillian Sarah Bennett Bliss, a nurse and longtime Ridgefielder whose ancestors were among the early settlers of the town, died Friday, Jan. 12, at Ashlar of Newtown. She was 84 years old and had lived at 3 Derby Court, Brookfield.
Although Mrs. Bliss had been born on an estate in North Salem, N.Y., her father was a native Ridgefielder whose roots here went back to the 18th Century. She, her sister Dorothy Carboni and her brother Harry Bennett were well-known Ridgefielders.
Mrs. Bliss was born on Feb. 7, 1916, a daughter of Harry R. and Anna Karlson Bennett, and moved to Ridgefield while still a child. When she was only two, her father died in the 1918 flu epidemic, and her mother raised the family, earning income by operating a laundry business.
The family moved to Gilbert Street in 1922. Mrs. Bliss attended Ridgefield schools and graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1934.
A registered nurse for 47 years, Mrs. Bliss attended Norwalk Hospital School of Nursing, and served as an operating room nurse at the hospital for some years. She then spent many years as a private duty nurse in the area and finally was a nurse for Dr. Martin Prince at his offices in Ridgefield and Danbury for 20 years.
She and Charles R. Bliss of Stamford were married around 1939 and lived on Wilton Road West. For a year in 1953, they lived in Japan where Mr. Bliss was stationed with the U.S. Army. They were divorced in 1964 and Mrs. Bliss later lived on Greenfield Avenue.
After she retired in 1978, she moved to Florida for several years, but returned to Fairfield County in 1982, living in Brookfield. “She missed her friends,” her son, Charles R. Bliss Jr. of Newtown, said of his mother’s return to New England.
Mrs. Bliss was a founding member of the WWW, a popular Ridgefield bridge club in the 1930s and 40s, and of the CCC, a sewing club. “No one to this day knows what those initials mean,” her son said.
She was an avid bridge player. Although she participated in a few tournaments, “she was much more a social bridge player than a competitive bridge player,” Mr. Bliss said.
She was a member of Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Bliss is survived by two sons, Charles Bliss and Robert K. Bliss of Atlanta, Ga.; her brother, Harry Bennett of Astoria, Ore., formerly of Main Street; her brother-in-law Olinto Carboni of Ridgefield; and 10 grandchildren. Her sister, Dorothy Carboni, died in 1996.
A memorial service took place Tuesday at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 372 Danbury Road, Wilton CT 06897.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.