Virginia Ellen Passaggio

Virginia Ellen (Dolan) Passaggio, age 91, entered into rest on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael’s Campus. She was the devoted wife of the late Charles Passaggio for over 63 years. Virginia was born on December 27, 1924 in New York City, daughter of the late John and Madeline (Groesbeck) Dolan.

Virginia loved to paint and to teach and was a brilliant artist and teacher; she was an art teacher for the Hamden public school system. Her art room with its hundreds of painting and sculptures is a testament to her passion for art. Swimming and watching the ocean were cherished pastimes and she loved conversations with family and friends. Above all, her family was most important to her and she was a remarkably generous woman. She was most appreciative for the care she received from her dear friends, Joannie and Mike Meehan and her beloved niece, Laura Guirguis.

She is the beloved mother of Dennis Passaggio of Los Angeles, CA and is survived by her four loving grandchildren; Peter Gibson of Austin, TX, Amy Parsons of Fort Wayne, IN and Matthew Gibson of Denver, CO and Jenna Passaggio of Waterville, ME; her cherished four great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her daughter, Joanne Gibson of Fort Wayne, IN.

Friends may greet her family at the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 So. Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410, on Sunday, March 6, 2016 from 4PM until 7PM, at 5:30PM there will be “A time to share memories” of Virginia. A funeral service for Virginia will be held on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 11AM at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Cheshire Hillside Cemetery. At the request of her family, memorial contributions may be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at www.bcrfcure.org or to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org