Marie Lillian Davidson

Marie Lillian Davidson, beloved mother and devoted wife, died June 22 at Hewitt Memorial Hospital in Shelton of complications from Alzheimer’s. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on October 6, 1909, the second of four children, to Filomena and Vincenzo LaRocca.

She graduated from The Girls School in New York in 1927, attended night school, and worked at Western Union as a telegraph operator. It was here that she met her first husband, Verne Clifton of Sulphur Springs, Texas. They were married in 1933 and were transferred to Western Union in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1943.

After the death of her husband in 1949, she moved back east to Williston Park, N.Y., with her two children. She then worked at Goldman Sachs in New York City for the next six years. In 1955, she married Everett Davidson of Oxford, currently a resident at Hewitt Memorial. They lived in Oxford and Sandy Hook and in 1969, built their home on Kettletown Rd in Southbury. They resided in Southbury until 1997. During this time, she worked at Fairfield Hills Hospital in Newtown as an inventory clerk, a position she held full time for 22 years.

She was predeceased by two sisters, Helen Orobello and Annette Corrao; a brother, Anthony LaRocca and her son, Thomas James Clifton. In addition to her husband, she is also survived by her daughter, Mary Ellen Clifton of Fairfield, as well as by numerous nieces and nephews and their children.

She was a lifelong, avid reader, especially of the English classics. She loved her home and her office job and continued to work part-time at Fairfield Hills after her official retirement in 1982. A woman of quiet courage, exceptional generosity, and kindness, she was a loyal friend to those with whom she worked. Her gentleness of spirit endeared her to those who cared for her at Hewitt Memorial.

Munson-Loveterre is in charge of funeral arrangements; calling hours will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Southbury on Friday, June 25, from 6 to 8 pm; a funeral mass will take place at the church on Saturday, June 26, at 10 am. Interment will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hewitt Memorial Hospital, or the Shelton office of Hospice.

The Newtown Bee        June 25, 2004