Jeanette D’Addario Never Took Off Her Rose-Colored Glasses
Jeanette D’Addario, 68, of Old Orchard Beach, Maine left her body for Heaven on August, 24, 2016 at home surrounded by loving family.
Born in Portland, Maine on August 29, 1947, Jeanette spent her youth in Hazardville, Connecticut with her adoring parents Ruth and George D’Addario of Avon, spirited sister Dianne O’Brien of Middletown and sweet brother Georgie of Burlington.
Gifted with beauty and brains, Jeanette was voted Miss Green Manorville in high school and worked as an editor of the Unicon, a school paper at the University of Connecticut (UConn). She was elected to the Queen’s Court by fellow students and honored by both students and teachers as Most Valuable Student.
Jeanette worked at Aetna for 35 years, where she won too many awards to count. She proudly displayed them in her home office long, long after she retired. She finished her career as a Family Medical Leave Act adjudicator, helping families care for loved ones in their times of need.
Living in New York City during the disco era, she’d often delight her daughters Penny and Elizabeth by dressing up to go out dancing, including at the famed Studio 54. She was stunningly beautiful and always got through the velvet ropes. Opting for suburban life when her girls were ready to start school, the family relocated to Farmington, Connecticut.
After her girls were grown, Jeanette returned Maine to live out her years by the ocean in Old Orchard Beach. She spent many afternoons walking on the beach and listening to the waves. It was there she discovered that her long lost family, brother Eddie Jackson and sister Lori Bourque, were living within just a few miles. Their love and support brought so much joy to her final years.
Jeanette was highly creative. She sewed beautiful clothes, including mother-daughter dresses in Disney fabric for their first of many trips to Walt Disney World. She loved ceramics, knitting, crocheting, gardening, canning preserves and making cards and scrap books. Her homemade gifts and cards are precious treasures to all who received them.
Jeanette was also a strong supporter of Save the Children, where her daughter Penny works. She spent hours making blankets and caps for vulnerable little ones. So many babies are alive today due, in part, to her loving handiwork. Her legacy of love is felt across the globe.
Devout beyond measure, Jeanette was a faithful Lutheran. She was confirmed at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Enfield, Connecticut, then attended Bethany Lutheran Church in West Hartford, Connecticut and Redeemer Lutheran in Gorham, Maine. She served on the Altar Guild, Finance Committee, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and held many positions in her churches over the years.
Jeanette is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Penny and Kevin Muldoon, daughter and son-in-law Elizabeth and Fred Boland, grandchildren Freddy, James and Kate Boland, parents George and Ruth D’Addario, sister and brother-in-law Dianne and Phil O’Brien, brother and sister-in-law George and Maria D’Addario, brother and sister-in-law Eddie and Jeanne Jackson, sister and brother-in-law Lori and Gerald Bourque, sister-in-law Jane Tamang, a dozen nieces and nephews, and her grand-puppies Moxie, Daisy and Rebel.
A service will be held on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, 1655 Boulevard, West Hartford followed by her burial at Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Save the Children, www.SavetheChildren.org or 501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825. Online condolences mat be made a www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com.