Carol Titcomb and her husband of 73 years, Ray, have lived in their Hypoluxo Island home since 1985. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Carol Titcomb haș always been on the move and, at 92, the Hypoluxo Island resident shows few signs of slowing down.
During a recent interview at her spacious home alongside the Intracoastal Waterway, Titcomb was in constant motion, rolling back and forth, up and down, in a wheelchair, obeying a doctor’s order to address an issue in her lower extremities.
“I don’t use the wheelchair except for this,” she said. “Normally I get around just fine using a walker.”
Titcomb was about to head off to college in upstate New York when she first met Ray — her husband of 73 years as of July 2. Instead, the pair got married and Ray set about getting his degree at the University of Bridgeport. Soon, the first of their four sons arrived and being a mother became Carol’s full-time job.
After a few moves around Connecticut, the two bought Woodbury Pewter in 1952, a shop their oldest son, Brooks, continues to run in that town. As the other boys headed out on their own, Carol and Ray found their current home in 1985 and have been there since.
“We used to travel a lot — we’ve driven all over the United States and just loved Italy — and I played a lot of bridge down at St. Andrews Club and The Little Club,” she said. “Our health these days keeps us closer to home.”
When asked about a favorite cause, she said she has done a lot of work for hospice. “We had an event for Matt Lauer’s dad over at Atlantis Country Club. But I don’t get around so well anymore and Ray won’t let me do it, so instead I spend a lot of time with eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. And I love it. To me it’s a blessing.”
Aside from Brooks, their sons are Gordon, a musician and antiques dealer who lives in Connecticut; Jeffrey, a writer in Mexico; and Jamie, the town manager of South Palm Beach.
— Brian Biggane
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I could have gone to either Kings Park High in Smithtown or the Northport School in Northport, New York. I attended both but graduated from Kings Park High. My desire was to go to Cornell to be a brain surgeon. But before I graduated I met Ray, who was the best friend of the boy next door. They were going to Sunken Meadow State Park and invited me.
We were walking across the sand dunes and the water was coming up and I was wondering how to get across. Ray said, “Don’t worry, I’ll carry you.” He was attending Stevens Institute of Technology and I went to his prom. And that was it. He said, “I don’t want you to go away. I want you to be my wife.” So, we got married and he went off to University of Bridgeport to be an industrial engineer.
Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: When we moved to Newtown, I got very involved with the Town Players. I produced a play, I did makeup, I did production, promotion. I loved it. I could have made something of that, but I played the piano instead. I like to sing. But I was too busy raising four kids.
Ray worked as an electrical engineer for a while, but he was commuting over an hour to New Haven and working in the hot sun and we started looking for something else.
A friend told us about Woodbury Pewter being for sale so we bought it and started selling reproductions of early American pewter. If Ray needed something shipped out at night, I would have the kids fed by 6 o’clock and go to the shop and help Ray pack until 12 or 1 o’clock. I helped him wire a house, plumb a house, get on the ladder three stories up and pull clapboards along. I loved all of it.
Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Maybe it’s better (for a parent) to take $150,000 and put it in the bank and get a trade instead of a college education. Do you know how much money plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen make? That is not disrespectful. That is a talent and we all need those people.
I don’t think people should make them feel lesser because they haven’t got a degree. Some people with Ph.Ds don’t know to come in out of the rain. Do what makes you happy, but also take care of your responsibilities.
Q: How did you choose to make your home in Hypoluxo Island?
A: We bought this house in 1985. Two of our sons, Jamie and Jeffrey, our two youngest, came with us to Naples and we loved it but it was too quiet for young sons. So, we hopped over to Fort Lauderdale, and we liked that. Then the boys moved down and Ray said we have to buy them a sailboat. Ray was piloting a 62-foot boat up the Intracoastal and saw this house so he came and got me. This property had the biggest trees on the island, just gorgeous. We called (Realtor) Pat Weeks and she said the sign was going up the next day. So, we came the next morning and looked out to the water and said “This is fabulous.” We made an offer and they took it.
Q: What is your favorite part about living on Hypoluxo Island?
A: There’s a peacefulness here. I love the fact there are young people here, and young children. I love children. I just wish Lantana would think a little more about us, and bring more unanimity between us and people on the other side of the bridge.
This island is a treasure. We have one of the biggest lawns on the island, and everybody on this island loves this house because of the lawn. I’ve said to Ray, “I’m dying here. When I’m gone shoot me off the end of the dock.”
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Finding the Light in Dementia, by Dr. Jane Mullins. It’s very interesting. How to deal with it when you have to, and how a caregiver should respond. My sister, who lost her husband four years ago, told me we all should have read this, because things get worse. And I’m about to read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, by Allison Pataki.
Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: I just love music. One of my grandfathers was a timpanist and cellist in the New York Philharmonic. But I love music from the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s. I love Dean Martin, all the older ones. A thrill of my life was I flew to Boston when I was 15 to see the opening of the Harmonicats, who sang Peg o’ My Heart. And years later we took a cruise and a highlight was one of the guys from the Harmonicats was there — still kicking.
Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My grandmother, Susan Sanford. She died two weeks shy of 95. She was an amazing person. Lost a daughter at 9, lost her husband three years later and lost my beautiful mother at 51. She was the assistant buyer of silver at the B. Altman’s. She was a buyer for Kate Smith, had lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt and did some shopping for her. Then went to Lord & Taylor. She said to me, “Darling, be grateful for your disappointments because they may be blessings in disguise.” And boy did that stick in my mind. And I said, if she lost these three people that she loved, and she had that attitude … everybody loved her.
Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Katharine Hepburn. I thought she was great. She had a place in Fenwick and we used to drive by it all the time. Her house was gorgeous. I used to watch her and Spencer Tracy, they were so good together.
Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: I love children. They make me laugh. I love a good joke. Red Skelton is hysterical; he would make me laugh without trying.
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