Jeanne Hazel Competello

Jeanne Hazel Competello, 92, of Ridgefield, CT, passed away peacefully on March 15, 2023 surrounded by her loving family. Jeanne was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 31, 1930, daughter of Dr. Welbourne Frederick Bronaugh and Hazel Marion Zahn. She graduated from The Packer Collegiate Institute in 1948 and studied accounting and finance at Duke University, where she was a proud member of the Delta Gamma Sorority and the Class of 1952. Jeanne began her career working on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange. She enjoyed the excitement and fast paced world of finance and she excelled as one of few women on Wall Street in the 1950s.

In the early 1960s, Jeanne met her husband, Thomas James Competello, a New York City police officer. Together they had two children and lived in Brooklyn before moving to Malverne, New York in 1968. When Tom died at the young age of forty-eight, Jeanne raised their two daughters on her own. She continued her career with the United States Department of the Treasury where she worked for over twenty-five years, retiring in 1996 as International Division Manager in the Manhattan office. Jeanne’s work for the federal government took her to many parts of the world and she developed a passion for travel, which she maintained throughout her life.

Jeanne retired to Boynton Beach, Florida and Chatham, Massachusetts where she enjoyed volunteering, cooking, traveling, sports, and entertaining friends and family. She was an avid Duke basketball fan, rarely missing a game. Jeanne will be remembered for her loving devotion to her family, her generosity, and her keen sense of color, fashion, and all things numbers. Her greatest joy in life was spending time with her family, especially her three grandchildren. Jeanne was the center of her family’s world and she will be deeply missed.

Jeanne is survived by her two daughters, Barbara Competello of Palm Desert, California and Carolyn Lynch and her husband Edward Lynch of Ridgefield, CT; three adoring grandchildren, Teddy Lynch, Jack Lynch, and Katherine Lynch; her sister Marion (Bernard) Carpenter; brothers, W. Frederick (Lynda) Bronaugh and Wayne (Gail) Bronaugh; and many nieces and nephews. Besides her parents, Jeanne is predeceased by her husband, Thomas Competello; her sister Dorothy Andrews; her brother in-law, Victor Competello; and her niece, Stephanie Bronaugh. A celebration of life was held in June.

The family would like to thank the wonderful nurses and caregivers at the Village at Brookfield Common and Ridgefield Visiting Nurses Association for the compassionate care they provided to Jeanne during her later years and at the end of her life journey. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a memorial gift be made in Jeanne’s name to RVNAhealth Attn: Development Office, 27 Governor Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877.

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