Hans Collischonn, retired teacher

Lt. Col. Hans B. Collischonn of Danbury, who had taught in the Wilton schools for 30 years, died July 20, 2004,  in Danbury Hospital. He was 79 years old and the husband of Helen Sterry Collischonn.
Lt. Col. Collischonn was born in Passaic, N.J., on April 12, 1925, a son of Robert and Tina Collischonn. The family lived in Ridgefield during the 1930s and moved to Danbury in the early 1940s.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the South Pacific. He later served many years in the Connecticut State Guard and the Army Reserves, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
He and his wife, a Ridgefield native, met at a square dance at the Odd Fellows Hall on Main Street. They were married here April 24, 1948.
After the war, he obtained his degree at Danbury State Teachers College, now WestConn, and his master’s at Columbus University. He taught in Watertown for three years, and went to Wilton in 1953, at first teaching in the junior high. He later taught American history at Wilton High School for many years, retiring in 1983.
He was a Fairfield County sheriff, and was active in Republican politics in Danbury.
Besides his wife, he is survived by six children and a foster son, Christina Stuart of Danbury, Patricia Dayton of Danbury, Robert and Eric Collischonn of Cobbleskill, N.Y., Teresa Jenkins of Danbury, Johanna Bennett of Winchester, N.H., and Richard Van Orsdale of Colorado; 18 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services took place at the Hull Funeral Home in Danbury on Thursday, July 22.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Regional Hospice, 405 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810.