Dallett Hoopes
Patent Lawyer
Charles Dallett Hoopes, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, took the last train out to Buffalo last Wednesday, January 27. He was 86. Though born on the day of the stock market crash, October 29, 1929, in West Chester PA, his parents, John Robison and Elizabeth Dallett Hoopes, welcomed him anyway, perhaps knowing that things could only get better.
Dallett, as he was known, had an innate curiosity for how things worked and how he might improve them. This propelled him to major in engineering at Haverford College, graduating in 1951 and then on to George Washington University to receive his JD in ’56.
Between Haverford and law school, he attended Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, graduating during the Korean conflict. There, he used his newly acquired engineering knowledge testing electrical systems of ships being launched into U.N. “Police Action” from the Philadelphia shipyards.
After passing the D.C. bar exam—at a neighborhood prenuptial fete Dallett was introduced to a Bridesmaid, the lovely and miraculously eligible Lynn Bayless Ray. Soon after their meeting, her father, Capt. H.L. (Joie) Ray was assigned to be the Commanding Officer of the Air Station at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. It was there, on April 25, 1959, that Dallett and Lynn married before friends and family, an exciting destination venue as this was during the Castro takeover.
Dallett began his law career in 1956 at Beale and Jones, a patent firm in DC, then moved to Main Line Philadelphia in 1961 where he signed on as Patent Counsel at Sharples Inc, later purchased by the Pennwalt Corporation.
In 1966, Dallett, with his family of four and one on the way, moved into a 100 year old colonial fixer-upper in Litchfield, CT. There, he was never idle and never happier. He was often in his basement workshop where he could be found improving, patching and constructing. Dallett worked as Patent Counsel for Scovill, Inc. for 20 years until the hostile takeover in ’86, then opened a private patent practice in Waterbury and Litchfield, retiring in 2005.
For his own amusement and amazement, Dallett held a few of his own patents such as the “Replay” tennis ball rejuvenator (bringing old tennis balls back to life with a can of hairspray and hypodermic needle) and a hanging plant waterer (“AquaWand”) that took two people to operate because of its heft.
Always at home on the water, Dallett was a member, and one-time Commodore of The Bantam Lake Yacht Club where he sailed his Sunfish: “The Answer.” Also an avid canoeist and fisherman, he passed these loves on to his son.

His love of the outdoors didn’t stop at the water’s edge. He was a signing and charter member of Litchfield’s first Conservation Commission and the Litchfield Land Trust. He was instrumental in both securing and untangling rights and encumbrances encountered with gifted properties to the trust, most notably, Prospect Mountain, a preserve west of the borough of Litchfield, an early and major gift.
Dallett is survived by his wife, Lynn, his children Catherine, Christopher, Melanie, their awesome spouses and six wonderful grandchildren. Memorial contributions can be made to the Litchfield Land Trust, Inc., P.O. Box 712, Litchfield, CT 06759.

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