Sarah Gaetano

Waterford — Sarah Jane “Sally” Gaetano of Quaker Hill, 88, passed away on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at Greentree Manor in Waterford.

She was born May 25, 1929, to Joseph and Anna (Rispoli) Gaetano. Sally was the oldest of two children and helped her father and younger sister after her mother passed away at an early age. Her father later married Ellen (Murray) Gaetano. Sally overcame polio at a young age and bore the outcome of her illness with grace. Sally was kind and loving and she cared for her father and stepmother in their later years.

After graduating from Williams Memorial Institute in 1947, Sally worked at Naval Submarine Base New London in the travel department until she retired in the 1980s. After retiring, she worked briefly at Waterford High School where she checked in seniors wishing to swim. Sally was very active and enjoyed friends, swimming, good food, travel and Italy. She was an active member of the Dante Alighieri Society and enjoyed cooking Italian food. Sally introduced her niece and nephew to East Coast seafood of fresh lobster and fried clams. She made many trips to New York to see the Metropolitan Opera productions and loved to share these experiences with her niece. Sally was generous with her time for her niece and nephew. She liked showing them the sub base and giving them a tour of a nuclear submarine. She also brought them through Mystic Seaport and shared her love of the ocean with them.

Sally also liked to travel and made trips to Alaska to visit with her sister’s family and to Italy. She spoke Italian and was most excited to see the Pope on her visit to Italy. She was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Quaker Hill.

Sally is preceded in death by her parents and stepmother.

She is survived by her sister, Joann Price; and her niece and nephew, Kathryn (Tol Fishburn) Price and Paul (Dallas) Price; and her grandnephew, Keenan Price, all of Anchorage, Alaska. She will also be missed by local family members Faith Asselin and Thor and Chrissy Holth.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, April 30, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Quaker Hill. Interment will follow in St. Mary Cemetery, New London. There are no calling hours.

The Thomas L. Neilan & Sons Funeral Home, 12 Ocean Ave., New London, is assisting the family with the arrangements.