St. Mary-St. Michael School in Derby to honor alumni, friends

DERBY - St. Mary-St. Michael Elementary School will recognize six school alumni and friends for their service to the school and their community.

Derby residents Arlene Jachyra, Carla Lombardo, Eugene Skowronski, Carol Bacchiocchi, and Donna Doherty, and Sister Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., of New Britain, will receive awards at the 2019 Annual Recognition Ceremony March 23 from 6-9 p.m. at Great River Golf Club in Milford.

Jachyra and Lombardo will receive the Guardian Angel Award which is given to individuals who have made an impact through service in their community, or for other humanitarian efforts that reflect the mission of St. Mary-St. Michael School.

Jachyra is a graduate of St. Michael School in 1960. Throughout her 46-year professional career, she had always been commended for her organizational skills, ability to compose grammatically correct business letters and her penmanship. A solid foundation for these skills was instilled at St. Michael School. 

She gives credit to her education for her ability to accomplish serve as president of St. Michael’s Ladies Guild, chairman of Sponsor Acquirement and Chairman of Refreshments Booth at the church’s annual picnic.

Lombardo is a graduate of St. Mary School in 1986. For more than 23 years she has worked for Environmental Data Resources Inc. in Shelton where she is currently a staff accountant. She is very active in coaching her daughter's cheerleading team and watching her boys play baseball, basketball, and football in Derby. 

Lombardo has followed in her family’s footsteps through volunteering her time, love and energy into her Catholic faith. She is the youngest of the Carloni family of whom all are parishioners of our church. Serving at the schools’ monthly dinners is just part of her family tradition. Her father started the monthly dinner fundraisers for the school and her brother Christopher and his wife Donna have continued the tradition.

Skowronski and Sr. Millea will receive the  Spirit of St. Mary-St. Michael School Award, which is given to alumni who have made a significant positive impact in their field or profession, in the community in which they reside.

Skowronski was born and raised in Derby, and is a graduate of St. Michael’s School. Following graduation from Harvard, Gene served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uruguay and, thereafter, as a college recruiter for the Peace Corps. 

Skowronski was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1975 and he and his brother, Ted, started the firm of Skowronski and Skowronski in Derby in 1979. Since 1997, he has been a sole practitioner with offices in Derby and Ansonia.

He was a member and then, President of the Derby Board of Aldermen and, thereafter, served three terms in the Connecticut state Senate representing the 17th District. 

He served as Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee for six years and was also a member of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committees. Skowronski is a former President of the Friends of the Derby Public Library, served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of TEAM Inc. in Derby, and is an associate fellow at Timothy Dwight College at Yale. 

He is a member of the Polish Falcons of America, and the Adriatic Marchegian Club of Derby.

Sr. Millea, was born in Derby and attended St. Mary School. She served as a special education teacher and school psychologist at Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children in Greensburg, Pa. from 1970 to 1977. From 1978 to 1980, she served as principal of St. Michael School in New Haven, before returning to Clelian Heights as executive director until 1986.

As a member of the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Hamden, Sr. Millea served on its General Council in Rome, Italy from 1986 to 2004. In this role, Sr. Clare was responsible for the initial and ongoing formation programs and restructuring of apostolates at the congregational level. 

After almost two decades in this position, she was appointed Superior General of the congregation. In 2017, the Archdiocese of Hartford appointed Sr. Millea the Director of the Office of Faith and Culture, an office which was created to minister to the many cultures and ethnic groups that reside in Hartford, New Haven, and Litchfield Counties. On March 1, Archbishop Leonard Blair appointed Sr. Clare assistant Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hartford. 

Bacchiocchi and Doherty will receive the Christian Compassion Award, which is given to individuals or groups who have served the community and school in countless ways, embodying the spirit of generosity, kindness, and good will.

Bacchiocchi was born in Derby and attended St. Mary School, Hawthorne School, Lincoln School, and Irving School and graduated from Derby High School in 1942. 
Her three sons attended St. Mary School, Robert (class of 1965), Jackie (class of 1967) and David (class of 1979).  During those years, Bacchiocchi volunteered in St. Mary’s Mother’s Club. Two of her sons graduated from Notre Dame High School and throughout that time, Bacchiocchi was actively involved with the Notre Dame Mother’s Club, chairing the annual Harvest Dinner. 

She is a lifelong member of St. Mary Church, and Bacchiocchi and her late husband, Arthur, were volunteers for the Summer Festival since its inception in 1978. They initiated the watermelon booth, and she still works the festival with the Family Club. She has been a member of the church choir for more than 30 years, is a member of the St. Mary’s Ladies Guild and volunteers for the Connecticut Food Bank.

Doherty grew up in Derby, attended public elementary schools and graduated from Derby High School. 

Due to the positive experiences she had throughout her academic life, Doherty was passionate about working with children and supporting them academically as well as socially.  

She graduated the Southern Connecticut State College teaching program, and began her teaching profession in the Derby Public Schools System before becoming a member of St. Mary School faculty in 1978 as an 8th grade teacher. She taught the first computer classes in the school and established the first active ski club. In 1998, she advanced to Assistant Principal and served as Principal from 2007-2010.

The St. Mary Church Parish was a big part of her life. Doherty and her husband, Ed, were part of the church team which organized the first Parish family festival in 1978, and continued to be a part of this event for many years. She has been a Lector and a Commissioned Eucharistic Minister at the church, she serves as a Derby poll worker, and is a member of the Derby Public Library Board of Directors.

Tickets for the Recognition Ceremony are $45 per person with tables of 10 available for $400. Contact Grace Torres at gtorres@stmarystmichael.org or 203-735-6471 for reservations. 

There is also space available in the ceremony’s program book for advertisements, congratulatory and in memoriam messages.

For more information about St. Mary-St. Michael School, visit stmarystmichaelct.eduk12.net.

This is a press release from the school.

*Congratulations to all the awardees!