Tony Widmann 1927 - 2013

Anthony Widmann died quietly at his home in Stratford, CT on Friday October 11th at the age of 86. The son of Otto Oscar Widmann and Marian Meyers Widmann he was born in Brooklyn, NY but soon moved to Darien, CT. Tony graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1945 and after Naval service graduated from Princeton University in the Class of 1949. Called up for the Korean conflict, Tony served as a Lieutenant JG aboard the Destroyer Escort USS Liddle before heading to New York in 1954 to start a career in advertising.

In a career that spanned 40 years, Tony worked for several Madison Avenue agencies before starting his own agency, Millennium Design Communications, later Widmann & Company in 1972. Following his retirement from advertising in 1994, Tony started a second company, Proper Yachts, a yacht brokerage that he ran until his death.

Tony was a passionate sailor, starting with dinghy and Star Boat racing at Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, later competing in offshore racing most notably owning and skippering a series of handicap racing boats named Freebooter. His last racing boat was the Mull designed 6-Meter, “Ranger” for which he put together a team that sailed in the 2009 6-Meter World Cup in Newport, RI.

He is survived by his wife Anne Morgan Widmann, three children: Alison Widmann Kinney of Westport, CT, James Cowden Widmann of Newtown, CT and Sabina Widmann Hernandez of San Diego, CA; four grandchildren, James DeForest Widmann, Sarah Ellington Widmann, Luna Eileen Hernandez and Stella Lorena Hernandez; and by his sisters Susan Widmann Sinclair of Darien, CT and Alexandra Falconer Austin of Rowayton, CT.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, October 26th at Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT. at 3:00 PM. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in his name to Princeton University/Friends of Sailing, Princeton University, PO Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543, 518-431-1943.