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He was born in Bridgeport in May 1927, to Elwin Lloyd Hatch and Eloise Hynes Hatch. When he was 4, his mother died and for several years he lived with his godparents, Michael and Anna Hackett, until his father married Caroline Beebe. He was soon joined by two sisters, Marion Hatch Spiller and Elaine Hatch Smith, and four brothers, William, Herbert, George and Edward.
He attended Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield until his senior year, when he transferred to Staples High School in Westport, where he could graduate early and join the Navy, serving during WWII. After leaving the service, he earned a degree from the University of Bridgeport and then apprenticed as an architectural designer, eventually setting up his own practice.
He designed many types of residential buildings throughout his career, and his greatest love was designing and directing the restoration of historic properties, including the Sun Tavern and others for the Town of Fairfield, Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, The Lachat Farm in Weston, Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina; New Harmony, Indiana; and the Bronson Windmill, just around the corner from the home on Greenfield Hill that he designed and built with his two brothers-in-law.
He served as a judge at the Jaycees-sponsored Miss Connecticut pageant, and served as Connecticut chairman for the Barry Goldwater campaign. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed traveling, including cruises on the Danube River, through the Panama Canal and to Alaska.
The family will receive visitors Tuesday from 5-8 p.m. at Edmund W. Dougiello Funeral Home, 36 S. Pine Creek Road, Fairfield. A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will follow the funeral at Oaklawn Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 5296 Commerce Drive, #101, Murray, UT 84107; or to Drayton Hall.
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