Obituary of Lucy Jinishian

Lucy Frances (Man) Jinishian, of East Norwalk, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of August 18th, just one day shy of her 91st birthday. A devoted and fun-loving wife, mother, and political and social activist, she was known for her quick wit, fighting spirit and infectious laugh that made her the life of any party. She was born August 19, 1926 in Pasadena, California, the only daughter of Lucy Doughty and Alrick Hubbell Man, Jr.. Lucy grew up in Forest Hills, New York near Kew Gardens, one of the nation's first planned communities, built by her paternal grandfather and uncle. After graduating from the Low Heywood School, and Smith College in 1947, she met John Jinishian, from Kew Gardens, and they were married in October, 1950 in Lake Placid, NY. After living in Essex, Fairfield, and Glastonbury, CT, they settled in Old Greenwich, Connecticut in 1961 where they raised their family of four children for 46 years. As her children got older Lucy's inquisitive and active nature prompted her to begin a 40-year path in the workplace and in social activism. She spent ten years as a Professional Travel Agent at Old Greenwich Travel, arranging offbeat trips for her friends and her and John, all around the world. A favorite winter destination for them was the small Caribbean Island of Bequia where they returned each winter for many years. In the 1970's she co-founded the Greenwich Environmental Action Group (GEAG) where her diligence, perseverance and knowledge of the issues were admired by colleagues and foes alike in many battles to keep the town of Greenwich from over or illegal development. Lucy was then invited by the town to serve on its Inland Wetland Committee which she did for many years. When she realized that the town of Greenwich shellfish beds, a food and recreation resource for its residents, had been closed since 1960, she became a founding member and the first chairman of the Greenwich Shellfish Commission, and with the help of Norm Bloom of Tallmadge Brothers, raised enough money so that within a few years the shellfish beds were again opened and a system was put in place to sustain the program for future generations. When her husband John retired from Champion International Corporation, and began volunteering at the International Executive Service Corporation, which recruited retired executives to travel to assist businesses in developing countries all over the world, Lucy got involved also, traveling to Honduras several times to teach English and helping to debrief returning executives. Throughout her life, she was an avid tennis player, gourmet chef, master gardener, swimmer, fisherwoman, crossword puzzle aficionado, knitter and fan of the Great American Songbook. In her later years, she took up pastel painting, winning many awards in exhibitions and having her own one-woman exhibition "It's All About Color." In 2007, she and John moved to the Marvin Beach Neighborhood on the Norwalk River in East Norwalk, CT, where they made a new group of friends and became actively involved in the city of Norwalk's Tree Replacement Program for which they received a citation from the city in 2016. Despite suffering many physical ailments over the last few years, Lucy's intellectual curiosity led her to embrace new technology with a fervor, spending hours each day on the internet researching subjects of interest to her and communicating her ideas to others. Lucy is survived by her devoted and loving husband John, and her four children, Russell Jinishian of Bridgeport, CT, Alex Jinishian (Nora) of Westport, CT, Laura Davis (Richard) of Beverly, MA, and Hope Jinishian of Woodstock, NY, and seven grandchildren. A private memorial service will be held by the family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Lucy's name to the Friends of Greenwich Point, P.O. Box 711, Old Greenwich, CT 06870, or online: www.friendsofgreenwichpoint.org.