Lois "Penny" Dobratz

Lois “Penny” Tarbox Dobratz (82), of Haddam, passed away Sunday, Sept. 1st, at Commonwealth Senior Living at Haddam, where she had lived for over five years. She was the daughter of Charles Cecil Tarbox, and Lois Engel Tarbox.

Penny spent her childhood years living and playing in the small beach community of Indian Town, in Old Saybrook, CT. Spending much of that time with her lifelong Indian Town friend Phebe (Mucke) Manser.

As a young girl, Penny was thrilled to be invited, along with two other young girlfriends, to Katharine Hepburn’s house, in the 1950’s, for a cup of tea with Katharine. They all came home with autographs.

As a member of Old Saybrook Troop 121, she attained the honor of becoming a Curved Bar Girl Scout (now called Gold Award), the equivalent of an Eagle Scout for boys. At Old Saybrook High School she was a drum majorette in the high school band.

Penny graduated from Old Saybrook High School in 1960. In the 1970’s she attended Middlesex Community College, where she achieved an Associate of Science degree.

Penny always wanted to be helpful to family, friends & strangers. She always tried to live up to her 6th grade teacher Mrs. Marcolini’s report card comment of “makes valuable use of free time.”

She was a Cub Scout leader, when both her sons were Cub Scouts, as well as a 4-H club leader. Penny, and her first husband (Sheridan “Dan” Perkins) were amongst the founders of the Killingworth Volunteer Ambulance Association, where she became an EMT, and an EMT instructor. She was later a member of the Newington Ambulance Association.

After years of being a stay-at-home mom, she worked for the American Red Cross in Middletown, organizing & running blood mobiles, at which time her car’s license plate was BLOOD. Later she worked as a quality control inspector at Pratt & Whitney in Middletown. In retirement she volunteered, as an usher, at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, and at the Henry Carter Hull Library, in Clinton.

In her spare time, she loved gardening (having earned Master Gardener & Advanced Master Gardener certificates from UConn.), playing Scrabble & Words with Friends, knitting baby hats for Hartford Hospital, kayaking, Nordic walking and traveling (having gone to Africa, Iceland the Faroe Islands, France, England Ireland and Turkey.

Penny was predeceased by her parents, a brother Charles Stanley Tarbox, and her husband Jeffrey A. Dobratz.

She leaves behind two sons, Christopher Perkins (wife Ruth), and John Perkins, her two grandchildren, Leslie Fraboni (husband Dave), Bryan Perkins, and a great granddaughter Sawyer, as well as several nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held at Swan Funeral Home in Old Saybrook, Sunday, September 22nd. Calling hours from 10:30am – 12:30pm, immediately followed by a short service at Swan.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Killingworth Volunteer Ambulance Association, 335 Route 81, Killingworth, CT 06419 or the Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton, CT 06413.

Penny’s family would like to thank the caring staff of Commonwealth Senior Living at Haddam, Safe Harbor Home Aides and Middlesex Hospice for their loving care of Penny.