Obituary of Peter Cushnie

Peter (Pete) Cushnie, 88, of Bridgewater passed away on October 26, 2016 at Regional Hospice of Danbury, after a long illness. He was the husband of Joan Cushnie, and predeceased by his first wife, Janice Abele Cushnie, and their son, Peter. Pete was born in New York City, NY on November 8, 1927, son of the late Peter (Pat) Cushnie Sr. and Edith (Marr) Cushnie. He was a graduate of Dumont High School in Dumont, NJ. After graduation, Pete joined the Army, where he was stationed in Japan and served as a MP. He attended the University of Delaware after his discharge. Pete moved to Brookfield in 1948 and worked for Danbury Ford, where he met his first wife Janice, whom he taught how to drive and later married in 1951. In 1959, Pete opened up his first automotive repair and service business located at Cushnie’s Atlantic gas station in Brookfield. In 1969, as his business grew, he designed and built a family business know as Cushnie’s Garage, on Federal Road. There, he and son, Doug, served many customers throughout Brookfield and surrounding towns. He retired in 1997, to his beloved home in Bridgewater. Pete loved the outdoors and enjoyed all kinds of water sports. In his early years, his summer home in Montauk, LI was his favorite place to relax, fish, sail and swim. After retirement, he spent his time attending to his land in Bridgewater, where he enjoyed working with his tractors, building stonewalls, woodworking, gardening, amongst other hobbies. In addition to his wife Joan, Pete is survived by his son, Douglas Cushnie Sr. and wife Karen, of Sherman, his daughter, Susan Cushnie Ronan and husband Kevin, of Brookfield, six grandchildren, Douglas Jr., and Connor Cushnie, Holly Ronan Evans and her husband Morgan, Cassi, Sam and Ben Ronan, and the family pets whom Pete adored. Pete is also survived by his sister Edith Weighart, of Brookfield and her sons, Steve Weighart, of Roxbury, and Scott Weighart, of Brookline, MA. He is further survived by his brother-in-law, Robert Young, of Bethel, and wife Ann, along with several nieces and nephews of the Young family. The Cushnie family would like to thank Pete’s private caregivers for their loving care and commitment to him during his final months. A memorial service to honor his life will be held at eleven o’clock on Friday, November 11, 2016 at the Congregational Church of Brookfield. A reception at the Church will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Smile Train USA Worldwide Headquarters, 41 Madison Ave., 28th Floor, New York, NY 10010 or online at smiletrain.org, Pete’s favorite charity or Regional Hospice and Homecare, 30 Milestone Rd, Danbury, CT 06810.