Geraldine Lorraine (Saville) DelVaglio, 97, of Thomaston CT, passed away peacefully January 24, 2020, surrounded by loved ones. She was the widow of Cesare J. DelVaglio.
Gerry was born in Piedmont, WV, on November 1, 1922, the daughter of Guy and Sadie (Fletcher) Saville. Orphaned at a young age, she and her older brother were raised in Romney, WV, by loving grandparents and graduated from Romney High School, where Gerry was a majorette at parade events. She left business school during World War II to become a secretary in “Wild Bill” Donovan’s OSS (the precursor to the CIA) in Washington, DC, where she met her future husband, who was serving in the military printing office. Together they raised five children and published weekly newspapers in Newport, NH, and Thomaston, CT. She was a typesetter and assistant editor of the Thomaston Express newspaper, which the family published from 1951 to 1981. In 1968 they created Northwest Publishing Corp. of Litchfield, CT, the parent company of The Thomaston Express, The Dalton News (Dalton MA), and The Connecticut Western News (Canaan, CT).
Gerry was active in community affairs in Thomaston, as a Cub Scout and Brownie Scout leader. She was a communicant of St. Thomas Church, a member of the Daughters of Isabella and served as Director of the CCD, Saturday school of religion. She qualified for membership in The Daughters of the American Revolution and was proud of her deep American roots. She was an excellent cook, specializing in southern fried chicken and was renowned for her Icebox cake, deviled eggs and Thanksgiving turkey gravy. She enjoyed big band and bluegrass music and loved to play Scrabble. An avid fan of UCONN women’s basketball, Gerry attended many games, including the 2000 National Championship. Of her many pets, she was most fond of her beloved Chomsky, a blue-eyed, all-white deaf kitty cat. She enjoyed traveling in Mexico, Europe and especially Hawaii, to visit her daughter Catherine and family.
She leaves her children, Cesare “Skip” (Cynthia) DelVaglio, Jr. of Sheffield, MA; twins Catherine (Timothy) Connors of Kailua, HI, and Christine (Roy) Bouffard of Morris, CT; Cynthia (Dennis) Killian of Thomaston, CT; and Peter DelVaglio of Thomaston. The joys of her life were her eleven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, to whom she always gave her love and time. She was predeceased by her brother Guy E. Saville.
