‘Billie’ Dupont, former chief judge of state appellate court, dies at 91

Trailblazer was raised in New London

Judge Antoinette L. “Billie” Dupont, who had a distinguished legal career and became the first woman to serve as chief judge of Connecticut’s Appellate Court, was recognized as a trailblazer in her field who was known for both her intelligence and kindness.

Dupont, 91, died Wednesday of complications of lung and heart disease, her family said.

“My mother was full of boundless energy and optimism,” daughter Ellen Dupont said. “She was always ready to listen and there to help. Kindness, generosity and a sense of fairness were her hallmarks. Her smile lit up every room she entered.”

Dupont was born in New York City and raised in New London. She graduated with a political science degree from Brown University, and then graduated from Harvard Law School among its second class of women to graduate, her family said.

After working as a lawyer and establishing a firm, she was appointed in 1977 by Gov. Ella T. Grasso to the Connecticut Superior Court, her family said. Gov. William O’Neill appointed her to the Appellate Court six years later, and she ascended to chief of the Appellate Court in 1984. Her family said she found her “true calling” as a judge, and she became a judge trial referee after finishing her work as chief of the Appellate Court and worked until her late 80s. She married Ralph P. Dupont, whom she divorced, and later married Albert J. Cretella, who also was a judge.

Dupont was a “lifelong advocate of women’s rights,” and served as a member of Zonta and the League of Women Voters and chaired the Task Force on Gender Bias in the Connecticut Courts, her family said.

“My mother pursued a career in law when most women did not know

that they could set their sights so high,” said daughter Antonia van der Meer. “It never occurred to my mother that she was doing anything extraordinary. She chose not to see barriers to her advancement, but only to see opportunities for success. She trusted in the goodness and fairness of people and more often than not, she was right.”

Her son, William Dupont, said his mother “excelled professionally and made it all seem normal.”

“She was often quoted as saying that her children were her most important contribution and we always knew how important we were to her,” he added.

Dupont became a director of The Day in 1986 and was named to the newspaper’s board of trustees in 1989.

“Billie was smart, classy and accomplished,” said Reid MacCluggage, former editor and publisher of The Day. “She shattered every glass ceiling that might have held her back. She was an indispensable member of The Day’s board, and its first woman director and trustee, a judge known for clear thinking and good writing, and a New Londoner to the core. She was all that and more. But I will remember her most for her great heart. She was a friend, and I will miss her.”

Morgan McGinley, a retired editorial page editor at The Day, said Dupont had a wonderful writing ability and was direct and to the point in a manner few other judges possess. “She was renowned for her clarity and the intellectual arguments she would make,” McGinley said.

He also said that he and many other people thought she should have been elevated to the Supreme Court. And while he noted that it’s a shame that she wasn’t, “she did an outstanding job as chief of the Appellate Court.”

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Theresa Ferryman clerked for Dupont, chief judge of the Appellate Court, from 1988 to 1989, and called her “the most influential person” in her career.

Ferryman recalled that when she became pregnant and had a baby while clerking, it “caused quite a tizzy” in the male-dominated field, but Dupont was “unruffled.”

“I felt fortunate to have her as a legal mentor but also a personal mentor during that time in my life,” Ferryman said. “She absolutely broke the mold.”

Ferryman said Dupont had a beautiful fashion sense — favoring crossover chiffon blouses and high slingbacks, even when her doctor encouraged her to wear flat shoes for her ankles — and was brilliant: “There was no one like her,” Ferryman said.

Reid Burdick knew Dupont for a long time and his wife used to babysit for her kids. “She was one of the most intelligent, well-read women I’ve ever met,” he said. “She was just really smart. In addition, she had just an outrageous sense of humor.”

Attorneys Robert Tobin and Glenn Carberry said she was “a brilliant lawyer” and one of the founders of their firm, now known as Tobin, Carberry, O’Malley, Riley and Selinger.

“She was a trailblazer for women lawyers both in the practice of law and ultimately achieving the honor of being appointed as the chief judge of the Appellate Court of the state of Connecticut,” Tobin said. “She set the standard for intelligence and decency. She was a great mentor for young lawyers, including me. She was a great family person, as well. Her work lives on in many of the outstanding legal opinions she authored.”

She is survived by her brothers, Vincent Loiacono and Anthony Loiacono; her children, Ellen Dupont, Antonia van der Meer, and William Dupont; and her grandchildren, Jacob Field, Nicolaas van der Meer, Natalie van der Meer, Jackie Attwood-Dupont, Theo van der Meer, Dustin Attwood-Dupont and Tessa van der Meer. Cretella predeceased her.