David Francis Hartigan Jr. of Norwalk, a former longtime Westport resident and former West Tisbury business owner and resident, died Dec. 3 after a brief illness. He was 90.
He was born to David F. Hartigan Sr. and Ann Devaney Hartigan on October 5, 1925, in Westport, where he attended Saugatuck Elementary School, Bedford Junior High School, and Staples High School. He served in World War II in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman First Class aboard the USS James O’Hara. The pilot of an amphibious landing craft, he was awarded five battle stars for his participation in assaults at Iwo Jima, Leyte, Peleliu, Saipan, and Luzon.
After the war he returned home to Westport and worked with his cousin John Hartigan as an auto trimmer at Riverside Motors in Westport. Dave also became a member of the famed Westport Advertisers semi-pro football team in the late ’40s and early ’50s. He married the late Mary Ann Virgulak of Norwalk on Sept. 22, 1951, and moved to Valley Road in Westport.
He eventually started his own auto- and boat-trimming business, which he moved to West Tisbury in 1986, where he lived until August of 2013. He enjoyed gardening, fishing, following the New York Yankees and Giants, and especially his family.
He was predeceased by his wife Mary Ann Hartigan, daughter Diane Hartigan, and sisters Ann Finch, Helen Hartigan, and Lorraine Kerrigan. He is survived by his daughter Marianne “Cookie” Yordon and son-in-law Matthew Yordon of Norwalk, Conn.; daughter Patricia Hartigan of Inverness, Fla.; son David F Hartigan III and daughter-in-law Kim Hartigan of Phoenix, Ariz.; sister Mary Vanderwerken of Shaftsbury, Vt.; grandchildren Molly Yordon of Norwalk, and Walker Hartigan, Alexandra Hartigan, Sara Ulacco, and Alora Hartigan of Phoenix.
Friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian burial on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 12:30 pm, meeting directly at Assumption Church, 98 Riverside Avenue, Westport, Conn., with full military honors to follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Connecticut Audubon Society, 314 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. Condolences for the Hartigan family may be left online at hardingfuneral.com.
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