Following is the obituary for STUART LOSEN, submitted for the family by the Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home.

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Stuart (Stu) Losen, a cherished husband, deeply loved father, grandfather and friend, died suddenly on May 27, 2022.  

The passing of this 92-year young compassionate, witty and talented man has left a deep void in the heart of his family. It devastated his wide circle of friends who described him as lighting up every room he entered. And it deprived Westport of a 57-year resident, the Democrats of a lifelong member and the football Giants and the New York Yankees of one of their most ardent fans. 

Born in New York City to Mike and Jean Losen, he was raised in the Bronx, on whose streets he learned to run fast or box, as the situation required. He was a proud graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, as well as of CCNY, where he met his beloved wife Joyce to whom he was married for nearly 70 years.

Warm and loving, with an endearing and extremely humorous side, Stu loved to make his children and grandchildren laugh with his silly antics, embellished or made-up recollections (“Stu facts”) and unique expressions. However, he also displayed shark-like qualities when it came to shooting pool.

Stu loved music and throughout his life was passionate about drumming and singing. As a young man he led the Mel Stuart band as a Crosby-esque crooner. An avid storyteller, he told many tales about playing the Catskills and Lake George. He was known for showing off his Gene Krupa paradiddles, recounting his lessons from Babatunde Olatunji and pulling out his Local 802 Musicians’ union card. He would sit in with bands at every opportunity, from Calypso groups in the Caribbean to busking on the streets of Cambridge. 

He served in the Army during and after the Korean war as a psychologist at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, where he worked with returning American servicemen who had undergone “brainwashing” as prisoners of war. He later earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Buffalo in 1959.

Among the earliest to bring psychological services to Connecticut public schools, beginning in 1960, he initiated and developed programs first as a clinical psychologist in North Haven and for the bulk of his public-school career as director of special services for the New Canaan schools. 

Stu published numerous articles, co-authored two professional books and two books of memoirs, and frequently appeared as an expert witness. He received numerous honors, including serving as the president of the Connecticut Psychological Association. During his long career, he was an adjunct professor at Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University and Fairfield University. 

In his private practice in Westport, Stu has helped countless individuals, couples and families, many of whom maintained contact for many years, writing to him to describe their life successes.

Following his professional retirement, Stu taught courses on comparative religion at the Lifetime Learning Institute at Norwalk Community College and enthusiastically participated in the writer’s workshop at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. An activist at heart, Stu supported many liberal causes. 

Stu is survived by his wife Joyce; his daughter Laurie Hutcheson and her husband Joseph Hutcheson; his son Daniel Losen and his wife Sarah Novogrodsky; his grandchildren Anna Burgess and her husband Chris Camire, Molly Burgess and her fiancé Kyle Minerva, Ave and Meredith Hutcheson, and Samuel and Leonard Losen; his brother-in-law Mel Garskof and his wife Kate Relling; his nieces Hillary Garskof Strome and Allison Garskof, and his grandniece, Jessica Strome.

The celebration of Stu will be held in person and live-streamed at the Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home, 88 Beach Road, Fairfield, on Friday, June 3, at 2 p.m.

Contributions would be welcome to his daughter’s or son’s non-profit organizations, respectively, the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Inc., P.O. Box 200, White Horse Beach, MA 02381, or the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA, “UC Regents” to: UCLA Civil Rights Project, 8370 Math Sciences, Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA 90095, or online here.

We all will miss our precious Stu, beloved husband, dad, grandpa and friend. We count ourselves very lucky to have enjoyed for so long, his love, his humor and compassion, and are especially grateful to him for drumming the sun down every day so it would be sure to come up again the next.