Catherine DeNunzio

Catherine Masi DeNunzio, wife of the late John DeNunzio, passed away at home in Haddam, on November 4, 2022. Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on December 21, 1923, to Charles Masi and Vera Lucian Masi, Catherine grew up in the Oakville section of Watertown, Connecticut, where her family owned and operated French Hill Farm. In 1942, Catherine graduated from Watertown High School, where she was valedictorian and played several sports, with softball being her favorite. She earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English from the University of Connecticut in 1946. She then began work as an English teacher at Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, Connecticut. There, she met John, whom she married in 1948. When John passed away in 2020, they had been married just shy of 72 years. Catherine and John settled in Durham, Connecticut, where they raised three children and lived for most of their married lives. There, Catherine was an active member of Notre Dame Church, where she served in various capacities: committee member, choir member, parish council president, RCIA leader, and trustee of the church. Through church, Catherine made friends who would remain so for the rest of their lives. Catherine was a loving, hard-working, supportive parent. She was very proud of her children and encouraging of their interests—and when she became a grandparent, proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchild and encouraging of their interests. When her children were small, Catherine cared for them and made the family’s home; during that time and for years after, she also worked as a newspaper correspondent for the Middletown Press, covering Durham’s town and school board meetings, as well as special events in the community: the annual Durham Fair and Joe DiMaggio’s surprise appearance at the Lions Club’s Sports Banquet in 1960 were two such types of events. When their youngest went to school, Catherine also began substitute teaching regularly, which she did for many years. She then worked for many more years at Vinal Technical High School in Middletown as a tutor in the special education department. Catherine took her work, interests, and values in- and outside of her home seriously. She was a wonderful cook, baker, sewer, and gardener. She loved laughing, sports, the outdoors, and animals—especially birds. For good health, she believed in the power of both nourishing food and walking. And she was humble. (Until her youngest, at 15, snooped through a trunk in the basement, Catherine’s children did not know of her many collegiate academic honors and awards. She favored leaving them out of her obituary, but we figured high school valedictorian was fair game.) Like her late husband, Catherine was a lifelong New York Yankees fan (for which her children and grandchildren also forgave her). She was delighted this season to see Yankee Aaron Judge set the new American League homerun record; she felt it important that someone as decent as Judge, who played the game as it should be played, was the one to set the record. Catherine was pre-deceased by John and by her brothers, Donald, Nicholas, and Baby Joseph Masi. Catherine is survived by son, John DeNunzio, and daughterin-law, Maria, of Durham; son, Charles DeNunzio, and daughter-in-law, Pattie, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and daughter, Catherine DeNunzio-Gabordi, and son-in-law, Louis Gabordi, of Ledyard. She is also survived by her grandsons and granddaughters-in-law: Nicholas and Angie DeNunzio of Grand Junction, CO; Luke and Kara Gabordi of East Lyme, CT; and John Gabordi of Worcester, MA; her great-grandson, Harper

Gabordi, of East Lyme; John and Maria’s grandchildren, Kobe and Maya Watanabe of Middletown, and many nieces and nephews. Catherine’s family remains deeply grateful to the staff of the former One MacDonough Place for their many years of loving care and devotion; to the kind, hard-working staff members at Saybrook at Haddam, where Catherine lived since 2021; to Middlesex Hospice for their expertise, compassion, and loving care, particularly from Nurse Christina Sargent; and to Caregiver Bridget Ankrah for her exceptional devotion, compassionate care, hard work, and loving, buoyant spirit. The family is also deeply grateful to Nurse Practitioner Millicent Malcolm for her excellent, loving care of our mother and support for the family, and to Dr. Michael Farrell for his crucial role in giving us, seemingly impossibly, so many more years with her. Funeral services will be held Wednesday November 16th at 11 a.m. at Biega Funeral Home 3 Silver Street, Middletown. Friends may visit prior to the service from 10 to 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Mica Hill Cemetery. Contributions in Catherine’s memory may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Place, P.O. Box 398, 617 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457. To share memories or express condolences online please visit www.biegafuneralhome.com