Obituary: Brian Lindsay Denyer

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NAUGATUCK — Brian Lindsay Denyer, of Naugatuck and formerly of Watertown, died at his home on July 25, 2016, just three days shy of his 69th birthday, following a long and courageous battle with multiple myeloma.

Throughout his struggle, Brian maintained his dignity and positive outlook on life. Brian, called Lindsay by his birth family, was the beloved husband of the former Valerie Beardsley Brown, with whom he shared 39 years of marriage, and the loving father of three daughters, Karen L. Radford of Florida, Heather J. Denyer of New Jersey, and Emily M.W. Denyer of Connecticut. He was the son of Jean P. Denyer and Brian H.V. Denyer, both of whom predeceased him, and the loving brother of Caroline J. Bradshaw of Virginia.

Born in England and raised in Scotland, Brian moved to the United States to attend Amherst College where he received his bachelor’s degree. He began his professional career as a French teacher at the King School in Stamford. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Val. In the early 1980s, Brian, Val and their daughters moved to the Taft School in Watertown, where Brian taught French, headed a boys’ dormitory, coached soccer, as well as squash and J.V. basketball over the course of his 30 plus years at Taft. It was also during this time that he earned his master’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. With a lifelong love of languages, learning and travel, Brian was the School Year Abroad representative at Taft and an active member in the local chapter of the Alliance Francaise.

Following his retirement, Brian and Val moved to Naugatuck. Brian became active in his new community, volunteering at the Howard Whittemore Memorial Library and at the Naugatuck Senior Center during tax season. He also served as a volunteer driver for fellow patients at the Harold Leever Center in Waterbury for a time. He participated in the OLLI program at UConn in Waterbury as both teacher and student. He continued to travel and pursued his artistic interests through painting and writing poetry, completing over eighty oil paintings and many poems over the years. His artwork and a collection of his poetry can be found on his website, www.brianlindsaydenyer.com.

In addition to his loving wife Val, his three devoted daughters and his sister, Brian is survived by his son-in-law, James E. Radford, husband of Karen; Mike Zacuto, partner of Heather; his aunt, Barbara Henderson of England; four brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law, as well as loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and many loyal friends.

Farewell services are private and the family requests in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Brian to the International Myeloma Foundation at myeloma.org, Naugatuck Volunteer Ambulance, or Hartford Health Care Hospice.

The Prospect Memorial Funeral Home, 72 Waterbury Road, Prospect is in charge of the arrangements.

To place condolences, visit www.prospectmemorial.com.