Harrilyn Sottile
Groton — Harrilyn Sottile passed to spirit Oct. 22, 2020, at Fairview in Groton. She was born Jan. 1, 1930. Harrilyn leaves her two children, Julie Sottile Sugrue and George Sottile and his wife, Donna McCormac; her two grandsons, Tomas Condon and Andrew Sottile and his wife, Lauren Kodiak; and a great- grandson, Van Sottile. She was predeceased by her husband, George A. Sottile, July 15, 2020; and her parents, Clayton and Julia Greenleaf.
She was raised on Church Street in Groton. As a girl, she and a friend ran a summer camp for little children from her father’s army tent. During World War II, she became an air raid leader at school, teaching her younger classmates how to prepare for wartime emergencies. She loved and understood little children, and later in life, she would turn this intuition into a career. Harrilyn graduated from
Fitch High School in 1948, and attended Willimantic State Teachers College ( now Eastern Connecticut State University) to pursue a degree in elementary teaching. At a September party in Willimantic, she met George Sottile. While they dated, George affectionately call her “Witch.” Their summer home in Maine was later named “Baba Yaga’s Hut” in honor of a Russian children’s story about a witch who lived in a hut built upon chicken legs; she loved Halloween. She was laid to rest beside her husband in Elm Grove Cemetery, Mystic, on Oct. 31, 2020.
After Harrilyn and George earned their degrees, they were married at Lantern Hill Homestead in Ledyard on
Nov. 21, 1953. Their first home was a small apartment on the grounds of Mystic Oral School, where George taught physical education and Harrilyn taught at a Groton elementary school. Soon they both were hired to teach in Canton, and settled there to raise their children. In 1972, they built a small summer home on a plot of family land on the island of Southport, Maine. Harrilyn loved the four seasons and always made it paramount to involve her own children and students in many festive aspects of the holidays. Harrilyn’s talent for teaching extended far beyond the classroom. She took her kindergarten on many field trips to experience her beloved New England.
Harrilyn was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great- grandmother. She supported many worthy causes, and always advocated for those less fortunate than she was. She was a humanitarian, child advocate, herbalist, crafter and environmentalist. If Harrilyn got behind a cause, you had better watch out. When she was moved by something that was said or a piece of literature she read, she would say “that gave me a prickle up my back.” Harrilyn was a passionate reader and writer. She read poetry, fiction and nonfiction as part of her daily routine; and she loved to quote Robert Frost and Kate Barnes, especially. She often wrote letters to family and friends and journaled throughout her life. She kept a log of birthdays and always sent cards to family and friends, near and far. Her joy and passion for life was contagious; to know, be known and be loved by Harrilyn was a rare gift. She always had a good word and a smile.
The family will plan a memorial service for next year. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or to COVID- 19 research.
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