Carole Patricia Young Ruden of Westport (and The Greens in Wilton) died Nov. 12, 2020. She was 83. She was surrounded by her children.

Carole Patricia Young Ruden Contributed photo

Born in Far Rockaway, NY, on September 24, 1937, to Barney and Hilda (Zucker) Young, she was the oldest of three daughters and developed an early interest in fashion working at her parents’ clothing store, “Young’s.” She attended Far Rockaway High School and Harcum College, and at the age of 21 married the love of her life, Morton Ruden. The couple moved to Westport in 1969 with their two young sons.

Blessed with many friends and a wide range of interests, she became an expert needlepoint teacher, working on a special mural for Temple Israel in Westport. She began selling silver jewelry from her home in 1978 with a close friend, Carol Turk, who she met during their husbands’ time at NYU Law School. The pair opened the iconic jewelry store Tu-Caroles inside the Top Drawer boutique in 1979. For two decades, the Caroles were early champions of many designers, including David Yurman, Paul Morelli and Lisa Jenks, and were renowned for their unique, fashion-forward selection.

An avid reader and traveler, Carole was a go-to resource for great mystery book recommendations and travel finds. She was often the first one requesting an author’s latest book at the original Westport Public Library. A lover of music, particularly jazz, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Shirley Horn were her favorites, and she occasionally displayed her hidden talent for tap dancing, to her family’s amusement.

Upon retirement in 1999, Carole enjoyed attending theater, ballet, and art exhibits in New York, playing cards, and dining at wonderful restaurants, often in the company of her beloved sisters and with her many close friends. She enjoyed the occasional casino trip with Carol and was known for hitting jackpots by picking slot machines based on matching the serial numbers to her children’s birthdays. After developing Alzheimer’s disease in 2010, she retained her sense of joy, even as she retreated from public life. Carole is predeceased by her parents and her husband of 61 years, Mort.

She is survived by her children, David Ruden of Black Rock and Jeffrey and Kelle Ruden of Westport; her sisters, Anita Brause and partner Paul Krinsky of New York City and Waterford, ME, and Sherry Lieb and husband Bob of Livingston, NJ and Frenchman’s Creek, FL, and their families. A resident of The Greens at Cannondale since 2016, Carole was beloved by all who knew her, a model mother, sister and friend. Her devoted sisters, children and the wonderful staff at The Greens brought her comfort and loving care and will miss her greatly.

Funeral services will be private due to the pandemic, with a public memorial to be planned when circumstances permit.

Donations may be made in her honor to the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter, 200 Executive Blvd S., Southington, CT 06489. To sign her online guest register, please visit LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com.

Peter Anthony (Tony) Eastman died Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. He was 78. He was born in Los Angeles, CA on Nov. 8, 1942. The son of Philip Dey (P.D.) Eastman and Mary Louise Whitham, both with careers in animation, he was destined to work in the animation business.

Peter Anthony (Tony) Eastman Contributed photo

In 1954, his family moved East to Westport where, as a youth he created flip books and short animated films with a 16mm Bolex movie camera his father bought for him. He soon met his life-long friend, cartoonist Kim Deitch, with whom he created many animated films and a live action film—“Dial M for Monster”—which was filmed in Westport and NYC.

Tony graduated in 1960 from Staples High School, where he excelled in art. His art teacher, Vivian Testa took a special interest in him and encouraged him to apply to the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Shortly before Ms. Testa’s death, Tony was happy to be able to visit her and present her with copies of the children’s books he had written and illustrated.

In 1964 Tony earned a BFA from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, where he met his future wife, Susan. While at C.I.T. he produced/directed/animated a short animated film for the school’s 1961 “Scotch and Soda” production, with a story based on Walt Disney’s work, titled “For the Love of Phoebe.”

He married Susan in 1964 and they moved to New York City, buying a loft in Soho in 1972. He worked as a designer of on-air graphics for the CBS network before striking out on his own in the early 1970s, teaching animation at Philadelphia College of Art, working at a variety of NYC animation studios before settling in at R.O. Blechman’s Ink Tank in 1981. There he animated work for PBS/CTW and many commercials, including a Grapefruit Council campaign which featured Jim Jinkins “Doug” before he was “Doug.” He also animated on R.O. Blechman’s “The Soldier’s Tale.”

In 1989 Random House hired him to direct six Richard Scarry “Best Ever” videos: “Best ABC Video Ever,” “Best Counting Video Ever,” etc., animated adaptations of Richard Scarry’s work.

By the early 1990s, he connected with J.J. Sedelmaier Productions. Tony had given J.J. his start in animation, hiring him as an assistant in the early ‘80s. At J.J.‘s studio Tony was head animator the first season of MTV’s “Beavis and Butt-Head,” and animated the memorable TV Funhouse segments on “Saturday Night Live” along with various TV commercials, including Old Navy, Northern Tissue, Ortho, and 7UP. He worked for MTV as storyboard artist on later seasons of “Beavis and Butt-Head” and as storyboard consultant on Daria. At Jumbo Pictures he acted as supervising director on “Doug” for Nickelodeon, at Curious Pictures for “Sheep in the Big City” (Mo Willems) and Cartoon Network’s “Codename: Kid’s Next Door.”

In 1998, Tony returned to Westport. Just as animation was shifting from paper and pencil drawing to computer generated, a new field opened up for him. Random House reissued his father, P.D. Eastman’s, book of opposites, “Big Dog … Little Dog”, in the Beginner Books format. Tony created new artwork based on his father’s original drawings for this book, which was released in 2003 as B-92, and led to Random House asking Tony to create new Beginner Books featuring Fred and Ted. In 2005 he released “Fred and Ted Go Camping” (B-94), credited under his birth name, Peter Eastman. He followed up with “Fred and Ted Like to Fly” (B-96, 2007) and “Fred and Ted’s Road Trip” (B-100, 2011).

Tony was a multi-talented, kind and generous person. He was an avid collector of many things—film, records, vintage TVs, and radios—in addition to vintage VWs. He had a full, wonderful life and is missed by his many friends. He is survived by his wife, Susan, of Westport, and their sons, Seth and Eric, of New York City.