Jean P. Winstanley

Jean Winstanley Obituary
Jean Etta Winstanley, 98 of New Canaan, Connecticut passed away peacefully in her sleep
during the early hours of Tuesday, December 5th, 2023, just 5 days shy of her 99th birthday.
Jean was born December 10th, 1924 in Norwalk, Connecticut to parents Etta Glashoff and
Richard Podzelni.
A Norwalk native, Jean graduated from Norwalk High School in 1942 alongside her future
husband Bob Winstanley. Their long and beautiful relationship began during their senior year of
high school, as the threat of US involvement in WWII lingered in the background. It wasn’t long
before that threat became a reality, Bob was drafted and Jean began her teaching career. Jean
and Bob married in February of 1946 and spent the next couple years in Hanover, New
Hampshire where Bob finished securing his degree from Dartmouth and Jean began teaching.
Once back in Connecticut, Jean taught for many years at Broad River Elementary School in
Norwalk before settling down and starting a family in New Canaan. Jean was an active member
of the New Canaan Dance Club, the New Canaan and Norwalk Rotary Club, and was a
founding member of the Magic Mountain Outing Club in Vermont, where she and Bob built a
small and charming family vacation home. Jean was a revered member of the local community,
organized numerous memorable high school reunions, was actively involved in various groups
in town, enjoyed playing tennis, dancing and playing bridge. Everyone who met Jean felt the
love and joy she so enjoyed spreading, her smile had the ability to brighten even the darkest
days.
Although Jean was loved by many, she was loved even more so by her family. Jean spent her
life bringing smiles and laughter to her children and grandchildren. She crocheted beautiful,
ornate Christmas ornaments, shared her love for tennis and college football, baked the most
delicious Christmas cookies, and carefully crafted and cultivated the most memorable family
holidays and vacations. There isn’t a family memory that doesn’t have her in it.
Jean is survived by her daughter Lynn Ryan and her husband Larry of Hockessin, Delaware,
her son Paul Winstanley and his wife Tammy of Redding, Connecticut, her granddaughter
Danielle Winstanley and her husband Chris of Bethel, Connecticut, and her granddaughter
Alyssa Lubiani, her husband Nick and their daughter, Jean’s great granddaughter, Elliana of
Simpsonville, South Carolina. Jean now joins her late husband Bob, who passed away on New
Year’s Day, 2021.
The Winstanley family feel unbelievably lucky to have had so much time with Jean and Bob,
whose legendary love story built a beautiful family and curated a lifetime of memories that will
serve to inspire the generations to come.
Services were held privately