Mary Alice Cripe

Mary Alice (Silvia) Cripe, 82, of Willimantic, passed into eternity to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, April 15th, 2012 in Windham. Mary was born on August 7th, 1929 in Hartford, CT., the daughter of Irene and John Silvia. Mary grew up in West Hartford as a child and then moved onto a farm in Coventry. Her mother was of Irish/English descent while her father was a sailor from the Azores Islands with Portuguese/Spanish descent. In 1946 she worked for the Manchester phone company as a switchboard operator. She met a navy sailor, married and had 10 children. In 1968, in her late 30's she went to Eastern Connecticut State University, graduating at the top of her class with a double major. She worked for the state of Florida as a social worker, serving adolescent runaways and the abused elderly. She was awarded accommodation for her work from President Jimmy Carter. Some of her hobbies she enjoyed were creating silk flower arrangements, playing cards, going to the casinos and playing Publisher's Clearing House for 30 years. She is survived by her brother John Silvia of New York, her children, Mrs. Rayanne M. Czelusniak of Windham, Ms. Carol A. Foster of Providence RI, Ms Mary A. Gadwah of Willimantic, Mrs. Victoria I. Dunn of Hamden, Mr. Raymond J. Cripe of Clearwater Fl., Ms. Susan R. Demarest of Port St. Lucie, FL. and Mrs. Theresa J. Leta of Chaplin, her 25 grandchildren and 44 great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Raymond J. Cripe , her sons Michael C. Keefe and David J. Keefe and a granddaughter Crista M. LaCasse and two great grandchildren Sincere Campbell and Jack Farrell. She will be sadly missed. There are no calling hours. A graveside service will be held on Friday April, 20, 2012 at 11:00am in New Willimantic Cemetery, Rte. 32 at Rte. 6 intersection, Willimantic. In lieu of flowers please make donations to International Teams, 411 West River Road, Elgin, Il 60123 or Teen Challenge, Providence RI, or REAL Ministries, PO Box 316, Manchester, CT, 06045-0316. For an online memorial guestbook, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com .