Joan Zulpa

Seymour, CT Joan A. (Jokubaitis) Zulpa, 86, passed away on December 19, 2021 after a brief illness.

Joan was born in Waterbury on Sept 13, 1935, daughter of the late Anthony and Anna (Sabalauskas) Jokubaitis and lived in Prospect for many years. She graduated from St Joseph's Grammar School in 1949, Sacred Heart High School in 1953 and from the Waterbury Hospital School of Nursing in 1956 as a Registered Nurse. Joan worked at Waterbury Hospital and Larkin Clinic before leaving to become an O.R. nurse for the VA hospital system. She worked and lived in Manchester, NH, Cockeysville, MD and New Haven, CT from where she
retired.

She was a voracious reader, loved camping and traveling but her true passion was bird watching. Her favorite time was participating in the fall migration hawk count at Lighthouse Point in New Haven. She loved traveling the state in search of birds and was a regular at the annual Christmas bird count project for the New Haven Bird Club. She also served a brief stint as an officer of the bird club.

She is survived by her son, Paul Zulpa and his wife Roberta of Woodbury, her grandchildren, Jason and Alexandra Zulpa, her brother, Thomas Jokubaitis and his wife Suzanne, her sister, Ruth Flahive and her husband William all of Prospect, several nieces, nephews and cousins.
We would like to thank the staff of Smithfield Gardens in Seymour where Joan lived for the loving, compassionate care they provided her.

A celebration of life mass will be held on Tuesday, December 28th at 11 AM at St. Anthony Church, 4 Union City Road, Prospect. Everyone attending is asked to please meet directly at church. Burial at Prospect Cemetery will be private and at the family’s convenience. There will be no calling hours and arrangements have been entrusted to the Buckmiller Thurston Mengacci Funeral Home, 82 Fairview Avenue, Naugatuck. In lieu of flowers and to honor Joan’s memory, donations may be made to the New Haven Bird Club, P.O. Box 9004, New Haven, CT 06532.