Polly (Park) Dyer
Mystic – Polly Park Dyer, 88, of Mystic, passed Oct. 26, 2019, at Yale New Haven Health, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, surrounded by loving family. Born in New York City, Sept. 1, 1931, she was the daughter of Waring Park and Grace Tingue Curran and stepdaughter of J. Morton Curran.
She attended The Chapin School in New York and was the 4th generation in her family to graduate from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington. She graduated from Vassar College in 1953, Trinity College in DC in 1972 with a master’s in teaching, and University of Maryland in 1993 with a master’s in social work.
She taught American History for 15 years at Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Gaithersburg High Schools in Maryland.
Most of her life was devoted to helping others. She was a Girl Scout and Junior Great Books leader and Urban Service Corps and Sunday School teacher. She founded and managed a non-profit called Learning Options and placed used computers with learning programs in 22 learning centers operated by resident councils of public housing projects and churches in Washington, DC.
She was a career coach helping unemployed adults find jobs, initially in DC and later in New London until her short illness.
Polly is survived by Daniel Dyer, beloved husband for 66 years; daughter Neva Dyer Egan (Peter), Winnetka, Ill.; daughter Lynn Lamphier Dyer (David Webster), Belmont, Mass.; son David Morrison Dyer (Lori), Stonington; and son-in-law Jeffrey Comer, Washington, DC. Her seven grandchildren are Caroline Webster Thordardson (Paul), No. Medford, Mass., Emily Egan Baggett (Chris), Princeton, N.J., Charles Dyer Egan, Portland, Ore., Stephen Dyer Webster, New York City, Daniel Ripley Dyer, Jacksonville, Fla., Brendan David Dyer, East Boston, Mass., and Meghan Elizabeth Dyer, Somerville, Mass. She also leaves three great-grandchildren; and half siblings, Lea Park and Waring Park Jr. Her daughter Beverly G. Dyer died of cancer in June 2019.
Polly was always happy and smiling to everyone she met, even in Intensive Care. She was selfless, always thinking of others and putting others first.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 310 Long Hill Rd., Groton, where she was a member with Dan.