Emily “Gwen” (Connor) Calvo died on Sunday March 4, 2018 in Waltham, Mass. She was 95.
Gwen was born in September, 1922 in Newport, Wales, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thomas) Connor.
It was in Newport, at a USO dance, that she met Vincent Calvo, a private in the U.S. Army. Vince and Gwen were married in September 1944. Soon after, Vince was shipped back to the U.S. and 17 months later, Gwen followed on a ship full of other war brides. They settled in Bound Brook, NJ, and later moved to Connecticut. And, although she lost her British accent, she never lost her love for Newport.
Gwen was a mother and homemaker, but also supported her community, assuring that elderly neighbors were taken care of and collecting, and baking pies for, several local and national charities.
When she was in her 50s, Gwen returned to a job she had and loved as a young woman in Wales: Lifeguard. For several summers, she kept a vigilant eye on the activities at the pool in Blackstone Village in Meriden, CT, where she lived, organizing swim lessons for the young children in the Village and not putting up with any nonsense from the teenagers (including her own daughters). She then worked as an aide at a daycare center, where she took great pride in teaching the children songs, poems, and their ABCs.
You could count on Gwen to make a mean apple pie and excellent pasta sauce, to tell you to be careful driving in the rain, and to always be there for her family, friends, and neighbors.
Gwen will be greatly missed by her children, Janet Calvo of New York City, Trisha Calvo of Norwalk, CT, and Lisa Beth Calvo of Belmont, Mass; her son-in-laws John Wysocki and Andy Alasso; her grandchildren Alessandra Calvo-Friedman, Jennesa Calvo-Friedman, Joshua Alasso, and Gregory Alasso; her grandson-in-law Ben Nabors; and her great-grandaughter Esme Calvo Nabors.
In lieu of flowers, Gwen’s family requests that donations be made to The Cambridge-Ellis School scholarship fund, www.cambridge-ellis.org/donate.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend a Funeral Service in celebration of Emily's life at the Mary Catherine Chapel of Brasco & Sons, 773 Moody St., Waltham, Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 12 noon. Visiting hours will be held prior to the service from 11 a.m. to 12 noon Parking attendants will be on duty.
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