Judith Vitali

On Friday morning, May 13, 2022, Judith Vitali, loving wife, and mother of three children, passed away at age 81. Judith was born Dec. 25, 1940, to Harold Sylvester Chick and Margaret Leahy Chick.

She spent her childhood living in the Borough of Stonington and summering in her beloved Maine. She received her teaching certificate from Eastern Connecticut State College and her Master of Arts from Connecticut College. For over 30 years, Judith taught at Mile Creek School and Center School in Old Lyme. She received the Teacher of the Year Award in 1995 and was beloved by generations of inspired students. On May 22, 1962, she married Rino Vitali of Guilford. They raised three sons, Sean, Kevin and Keith.

Judith loved to spend winters with her husband, Rino, at the Summerhouse in Saint Augustine, Fla. There she organized local history tours, led a book club, played bridge and Mahjong and spent many relaxing hours walking the beaches and gazing at the ocean. She also loved to spend time with friends and family at her summer cottage in Wells, Maine. Judith and Rino were passionate birders. She was an avid and expert game player and enjoyed playing countless card games, Scrabble, backgammon and board games of every kind. She was also a voracious reader and passed a lifelong love of reading and game playing to her sons.

Judith is survived by her husband, Rino; her three sons, Sean, Kevin and Keith; two daughters-in-law, Denise Mock and Alexis Lury Vitali; two sisters, Janice Modon and Margaret Hotchkiss; four grandchildren: Ethan, Luke, Rowan and Shane; several nieces and nephews, including Elizabeth Comstock and her lifelong friend of 77 years, Judith Pisasich.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26, in the memorial garden of St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, 82 Shore Road, in Old Lyme. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Judith’s memory to the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme.