Rose Davis

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Rose (Demonte) Davis, 103, of Hartford and Clinton. Widow of Ellis H. Davis, she was also predeceased by her parents, Frank and Mary DeMonte. Rose died Saturday,(August27, 2011). She died peacefully in her home, her family with her. Born in Hartford, she resided there for 80 years. For 72 of those years she lived in the same Hungerford Street flat before moving to her Clinton shore home in 1988. She grew up with five sisters who have predeceased her- Florence Cilento; Mildred Cassell; Anna Hamel; Jenne DeCesare, and Frances DelMastro. Rose leaves behind her beloved daughters Lynn Davis of Clinton, and Janice Kuchas of East Granby; three loving grandchildren; Myles Kuchas of Granby, Jessica Kuchas Leonard of Washington, and Lynn Kuchas of Oregon. Rose is also survived by many nieces and nephews. Rose was a long time and devout communicant of the Immaculate Conception Church. in Hartford and, since 1988, St. Mary's Parish here in Clinton. St. Mary's Sunshine Club of the Clinton parish sent her monthly greeting cards, and she received communion through them every other week in her home when she was no longer able to attend church. During her earlier years Rose worked for G. Foxes; Pratt & Whitney; Colt Firearms; the Travelers Insurance; and her sister Mildred's store in the 1950s. But the job Rose did best, the job that gave her the greatest pleasure, was that of mother to her two daughters. With her loving but protective guidance, they transitioned from child to adult effortlessly. Later Rose involved herself with her three grandchildren all of whom, and Graham Gill, called her "Grams". From the beginning of her life, Rose lived and lived fully. Her childhood from 1908 was a simpler time when children played hard with few toys but much imagination. She greeted young adulthood with a gusto that took her to her beloved beaches all along the Eastern seaboard from Virginia Beach, Hampton Beach, White Sands and Sound View. She traveled to Havana, Cuba in 1937, to Canada several times, and many years later to Europe with her daughter Janice. The love of sea and sand. Rose passed down to her daughters and her grandchildren and, living at the beach in Clinton, gave her great pleasure. But if one thing in her long life defined Rose Davis, it was her love of walking. Whether in Hartford or in Clinton, she walked. You might have passed her here in Clinton as she was out there on our roads till she was 94, pushing her shopping cart to the Stop and Shop or just walking up Beach Park to Shore Road. Each walk was two miles. Rose on these walks was a coordination of color and hat to match sweater was her signature look. She lived in the best of times she said, there were no worst times for her, and she absorbed the tumultuous changes of the century she lived through with ease. Bravo Rose. We shall miss you forever.

A mass of Christian burial will be held Tuesday, (September 6), 11 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 54 Grove Street in Clinton. Burial will follow at St. Mary's Parish Cemetery on Beach Park. Relatives and friends may pay their final respects to Rose from 10-11 a.m., Swan's Funeral Home, 80 East Main Street in Clinton. Please visit swanfh.com for condolences and tributes.