Tarrywile Park Lover Missed

Eleanor Doto, teacher, friend, beloved park lover will be sorely missed by the staff of Tarrywile Park and Mansion. For many years the familiar sight of Eleanor walking her three dogs in the park brought smiles to the faces of all who had the pleasure of knowing her. There were times when we would wonder who was walking who?

Ellie always showed such patience with her furry babies, as I would imagine she did with the many students that passed through her classroom. I first met Ellie when she began visiting the Mansion office with her pups every so often. Her original crew of three, all from the Terrier family, included Clayton, who was a bit sight impaired, and two more named Cleo and Clemie, who loved getting pets from the Tarrywile staff. She would often check in to see what was going on in the park or if there was an area she wanted to volunteer her time to, in an effort to keep Tarrywile Park beautiful.

Dedicated Board Member

“A great conversationalist” was how Warren Platz, the treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Tarrywile Park Authority, and his wife Ruthann described Eleanor. “She was a very nice lady, and we always enjoyed bumping into her when she was out walking her dogs.” Her obvious love of the park is what inspired Warren to suggest Eleanor be appointed to the TPA Board when an opening needed to be filled. Eleanor loved helping support Tarrywile’s initiatives in her role as a board member as well as park lover.

Terriers or Terrors?

When Clancy and Clemie made that trip over the Rainbow Bridge, Eleanor came to visit the office and told us her plan to find two Scottish Terriers to bring into her heart and home. The pair were located a few states away and Ellie happily made the trek to bring them to Connecticut. They were brothers and their names were MacDougal and MacGregor! You could tell them apart by the color of their collars and leashes.

The stories that Ellie told about how much trouble MacGregor would get into had us rolling on the floor laughing. He was soon known as “the problem child” and would give her many hours of aggravation balanced by love and devotion.

As her health began to deteriorate, and she could no longer take the dogs for walks as much, she would tell us how Cleo became an expert at escaping the fenced in backyard, despite all the barriers put in place. Many times Eleanor would look out her front window and see the little fur ball running around the front yard and sidewalk!

Green Thumb at Work

One of the areas that Eleanor wanted to see beautified was the old water trough, located right at the beginning of the trail system that takes you into the park. She spent many hours weeding, pulling out dead plants and shoring up the surrounding area. When it became apparent that she would no longer be able to work on the container garden she donated the funds necessary to see the project to completion.

Eleanor Doto was a sweet soul who left the world a much better place for having been in it. She will be remembered by the TPA Executive Director Becky Petro for “her great love of Terriers, gardening, antiques, her radio headphones getting tangled up in the retractable leashes and her true love of Tarrywile.”

Rest in peace my beautiful friend, I know your first deep breath on the other side was sweet and trouble free. – Anne-Marie Sholtes, Event Coordinator at Tarrywile Park & Mansion.