Evelyn M. DiResta DeAndrus, of Hamden and two weeks shy of her 100th birthday, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at the St. Raphael campus/Yale New Haven with her family by her side. She was the beloved wife of Louis J. DeAndrus for the past 78 years and 8 months. Evelyn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on December 26, 1916; daughter of the late Thomas and Anna D’Andrea DiResta. She had worked for the former A.C. Gilberts and later she and her husband were the owners of the former Coffee Shop on Main Street, Cheshire. Evelyn was former member of the Hamden Italian-American Club; loved dancing with her husband; enjoyed knitting and even though she couldn’t tell a basketball from a football, she was an avid UCONN Girls basketball fan and was a great fan of Geno Auriemma. Evelyn was also an incredible cook, known for her signature dishes of eggplant parmesan and rollatini. Mother of Jacqueline (James) Bucar and Lois (James) Dawson. Grandmother of Jason Hammel (Amalea Tshilds), Daniele Cote (Wayne), Alexandra Gildart (Matthew), Jeffrey Dawson (Heather), Jaime Guthrie (Michael), Gregory Dawson (Ashley) and Bryan Mirto (Kristen). Great-Grandmother of Andres, Kaelan, Ryan, Ismene, Cassius, Eleanor, Emilia, Alastair and Andrew. Predeceased by a brother John DiResta and sisters Jenny Grillo and Amelia DeGregorio. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Evelyn enjoyed a 100th Birthday Party given by her loving family, she will be truly missed.
Her funeral procession will leave the North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue Wednesday morning at 9:15. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated in St. Rita Church at 10:00. Interment will follow in All Saints Cemetery. The visiting hours will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101-9929.
Sorry to hear of your Moms passing Lois and to my son in law Jeffrey your grandmother. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the entire family during this difficult time. May your memories hold you and comfort you. God Bless
Thank you so much for your kind words. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers which we will need them as we continue in our lives without my mom.
Posted to UConn women’s basketball forum:
I regret to inform the Boneyard that the Century Club of the UConn Women’s Basketball supporters has lost a member. My mother-in-law, Evelyn, a long-time and fervid fan, died peacefully in her sleep on December 10 in Hamden, CT. We think she chose that time— even though she was just 16 days short of her 100th birthday— because her “girls” had regained their #1 ranking and secured that place by once again defeating Notre Dame. Since 1996 she has never missed a game broadcast, and she and my wife always exchanged long-distance telephone critiques of her team’s performance both at halftime and game’s end.
Her grasp of the technical side of the game was a bit tentative, but that did not dilute her certainty that UConn players never fouled. She also faltered when mastering pronunciation of some names. For example, she exclaimed, “Boy that Bossa Nova can really shoot!” That was about her all time favorite “Russian Girl,” Svetlana Abrosimova.
She leaves her signed poster of Geno, a fellow Italian character, to her husband and devoted fan, Lou, 101 years old. He and I watched his wife’s team outlast Kansas State on Sunday; we agreed that she would have approved.
I hope there’s basketball in heaven.