Doris M. Braccidiferro

Doris Mary (Zemina) Braccidiferro, 93, a woman devoted to family and talented as a seamstress and with needlecrafts, died Friday, June 16, 2017 at Douglas Manor in Windham, where she was a resident for three months. Doris lived most of her life at 5 Cowles Road, Willington, in the home her husband, Andrew Braccidiferro, who predeceased her, built in the 1950s. A dedicated and fastidious homemaker, she also was a long-time volunteer at the Willington Public Library, for the Willington Republicans, and was active in several organizations such as Girl Scouts and the Willington Parent-Teacher Association when her three daughters were growing up. Doris was born in New Haven on June 15, 1924, the second child and first daughter of Mary (Cavar) and William Zemina. She attended school in Hamden, graduating from Hamden High School in 1942, and then working as a bookkeeper at the former Yale Amusement in New Haven. While she spent her entire married life in Stafford Springs or Willington, she always considered Hamden her true home, frequently talking about moving back there and recalling the happy days of her youth and the lifelong friends she made there. She treasured the summers she spent with her sister and girlfriends as a young woman at Lake Waramaug in Kent. Having come of age during World War II, she was fiercely patriotic her entire life. On June 18, 1949 she married Andrew Braccidiferro of New Haven in St. Philip the Apostle Church in Ashford. The two, who met at a New Haven bowling alley where he worked and she frequently bowled, would be devoted to each other for the more than 65 years they were together. After moving to Willington shortly before her marriage, she worked for a time as a bookkeeper at the University of Connecticut, but after marriage her work was caring for her home and family. While raising three daughters, she became involved with their activities. She was an extremely talented seamstress and always paid close attention to fashion and style. She made many of her daughters’ school clothes, but also sewed clothing as intricate and detailed as prom and bridesmaid gowns and Easter suits. She later turned her needle talents to crafts, crocheting afghans, knitting sweaters and completing beautifully detailed cross stitch wall hangings. She always delighted in babies and was thrilled with the birth of each of her grandchildren. She enjoyed her role as Grandma, frequently babysitting and attending the games, concerts, plays and recitals in which her grandchildren participated. After Andy’s retirement, the couple enjoyed traveling. They frequently took coach bus trips with various senior groups and also traveled with their daughters’ families. Many trips included Doris’ sister, Evelyn Budzinski of Mansfield, to whom she remained devoted until the end of her life. Doris also was a long-time Willington Public Library volunteer when the library was located in Hall Memorial School. She seldom missed her appointed volunteer hours in the more than decade that she worked there. Doris is survived by three daughters and their husbands; Diane and David Evans of Peacham, Vermont, Victoria and Richard Littell of Canterbury, and Gail and Bruce MacDonald of Pawcatuck. She also is survived by her sister, six grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother, William Zemina Jr. of Hamden. A calling hour will be held on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 from 10 to 11 A.M., followed by a funeral home service at 11 A.M. at Introvigne Funeral Home, Inc., 51 East Main St., Stafford Springs, CT. Burial will follow in Willington Hill Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Willington Public Library, 7 Ruby Rd., Willington, CT 06279. For online condolences or directions, please visit: www.introvignefuneralhome.com