Josephine Lynn Aysseh (Jodie) passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Jodie was born April 24, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois. Daughter of Joseph Whitwell and Josephine Parizek Whitwell, she grew up in Northfield, IL where she attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. She went on to study at Bennett Junior College followed by Penn Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She then worked at Young and Rubicam Advertising Agency in New York. 

Jodie met her late husband, Emil Aysseh, in 1966, and they married in Rome, Italy later that year. Jodie and Emil lived in New York City until 1968 when they moved to Tehran, Iran where Emil worked in family businesses and where they began to raise their family. In 1974 they returned to the US and settled in New Canaan, CT where they raised their four sons. Jodie moved to Fairfield, CT when her husband passed in 2017 after 50 years of marriage.

She is survived by her four sons: Charles Aysseh (Suzanne) of Cos Cob, CT; Alex Aysseh (Jessica) of Fairfield, CT; Gordon Aysseh (Kesti) of Darien, CT; and Nicholas Aysseh (Christina) of Fairfield, CT. She was the proud grandmother to 10 grandchildren: Emily, Dillan, Tommy, Benjamin, Peter, Skylar, Lily, Coco, Austin, and Charlotte. Jodie’s brother, Gordon Whitwell, resides in New Mexico.

Jodie was a devoted volunteer in her children’s schools and sports teams over the years as well as for many charitable organizations. She was a member of the New Canaan Garden Club, The New Canaan Artisans, and the AAUW. She taught nursery school for 21 years at First Presbyterian Nursery School in New Canaan. She was a loving daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to so many.

Family will receive friends at Hoyt Funeral Home in New Canaan on Monday, March 9, 2026 from 4pm to 7pm. A mass will be held at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in New Canaan on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 9:30am with burial at Lakeview Cemetery in New Canaan immediately following.

In Lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation or the Wounded Warrior Project.

The family is being compassionately cared for by the staff at Hoyt Funeral Home, 199 Main Street, New Canaan CT 06840

For online condolentes please visit www.hoytfuneralhome.com