Woodward, Dolores Menditto
Dolores (Menditto) Woodward, 89, died peacefully at t he Jefferson House on Saturday March 6, 2021. Born i n New Britain, on November 1,1931 the youngest child and daught er of t he late Carmine and Rose ( Petrucelli) Menditto. She was a lifelong resident of New Britain before moving to t he Jefferson House and a graduate of New Britain High School in 1949. Active i n many organizations as her children went through school Dolores eventually went to work for and after many years, retired f rom, the business office at A.H. Harris & Sons. She was an excellent cook and entertainer, whether at the beach during summer vacations, at home during the holidays or on a Sunday f or pasta or a picnic. All of t he f amily and countless friends were welcome at her home, most notably on Christmas Day, which for many years was an occasion creating cherished lifelong memories for those who visited. Her kindness, t houghtfulness, attention t o detail, hard work, sense of humor and smile made all she did go on with a great flair and ease. She made i t all seem so simple. Whether at a large festive gathering or alone with her, you were the center of her attention and she enjoyed every moment of f r i endship shared with you. To know her was to love her. Dolores enjoyed the outdoors, the beach, gardening, crossword puzzles, a nice clean car and most of all her home and family. Dolores was predeceased by her beloved husband of 68 years William G. Woodward; and i s survived by her children William and his wife Linda Woodward; Patricia and her husband Attorney Steven Ludwikow, Jacqueline Dawson, three grandchildren Steven, Emily and Michael, and many nieces and nephews. Dolores was predeceased by six siblings, her brothers Joseph Menditto, Frederick Menditto, Thomas Menditto and sisters, Susan Nappi, MaryJane Lynch, and Pat DiMauro. The f amily i s especially t hankful t o t he J efferson House staff ( her second family),most notably the Hitchcock Unit and Recreation Department whose l oving companionship, care and support will be f ondly remembered. She participated i n many activities that brought laughter t o her and in turn she would flash "those blue eyes" and t ell a sassy j oke or story. Funeral services will be held Thursday (March 11, 2021) with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM at Holy Apostle’s Parish ( St. J ohn the Evangelist Church) 655 East St. New Britain, CT. Burial will f ollow i n Fairview Cemetery, New Britain. A walk-through visitation will be Thursday from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at the Farrell Funeral Home 110 Franklin Sq. New Britain. I n li eu of flowers, donations may be made to The Jefferson House. To send a condolence, please visit www.FarrellFuneralHome.com .
Seniors Isaiah Whaley and Tyler Polley capped off the UConn men’s first season back in the Big East with conference awards.
The Big East’s coaches voted Whaley co-defensive player of the year, splitting the award with Posh Alexander of St. John’s. Polley was named the sixth man of the year.
Whaley, 6 feet 9, averaged 2.5 blocks — 11th in NCAADivision I — and six rebounds. He was a major part of the Big East’s leading scoring defense (65.5 points.) The Huskies limited opponents to 41.8 percent shooting, second best in the league.
An unheralded recruit, Whaley has risen to this level after getting little playing time his first two seasons.
Polley, recovering from major knee surgery, assumed an off-the-bench role this season, averaging 22 minutes. He averaged 7.6 points and shot 36.9 percent on 3-pointers, leading the Huskies with 33 made. Polley was Big East player of the week Jan. 11, after coming off the bench to make 10 of 16 on 3-point attempts in wins at Marquette and Butler. He is the first UConn player to win the sixth man award.
UConn’s James Bouknight was named first team All-Big East on Sunday, and Adama Sanogo made the all-freshman squad.
Other Big East awards named Monday were the sportsmanship award to Creighton’s Mitch Ballock, and the most improved player, shared by St. John’s Julian Champagnie and Xavier’s Zach Freemantle. The player, freshman and coach of the year, and the scholar-athlete award winner will be named on Wednesday.
No. 3 seed UConn (14-6, 11-6 conference) begins play in the
Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 9 p.m. against either Providence or DePaul.
Not quite ranked
UConn’s season-ending fourgame winning streak earned the Huskies a lot more recognition in the APTop 25 poll, but the Huskies, who were ranked earlier in the season, came up a little short of returning. With 53 points, up from five a week ago, UConn was behind BYU and Oregon in the others-receiving-votes category this week. With 14 points, UConn was 10 spots back of the top 25 in the coaches poll.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.