Obituary of Genevieve F. Mickiewicz

Genevieve Francis “Aunt Gene, Gen, Gene, GiGi, Mickie” Mickiewicz, 94, died peacefully on Saturday, November 23, 2019, surrounded by her caring and devoted family. Our beloved Aunt Gene was born in Scranton, PA on January 26, 1925 to John F. and Beatrice (Petkus) Mickiewicz. Raised with many loving aunts of her own, her father came to find work in Hartford after the coal mines closed in Pennsylvania. When John secured a job at Pratt and Whitney, Beatrice, Genevieve, and her brother Edmund followed. She started her senior year at Hartford High School, graduating in 1943. First a cadet nurse then a school nurse, she also worked for Hartford's cherished Dr. Joseph Bellizzi, forming lifelong bonds with him and his family. Fearless and pragmatic as she was, she went to night school and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from UCONN at 43, quite revolutionary for a woman at that time. She then worked as a hospital inspector for the State of Connecticut. Extremely dedicated to her mother with whom she had lived all of her life, she retired early to care for her until her passing in 1993. Fiercely independent yet always humble, she volunteered in different capacities at every stage of her life. A faithful Catholic, she was a lifelong member of the La Salette Guild and served the Blessed Sacrament parish in East Hartford as a Eucharistic minister. She was hospice Volunteer of the Year in 1997, and served as vice president and president of the CSEA. She literally traveled the world with friends she had for the greater part of a century, and she joyfully joins many of them in Heaven. She was an extraordinarily special aunt to her 5 nieces and nephew, and equally so to her many grand nieces and nephews and their children. We are forever grateful for her generous love and support over all of our lifetimes. She meant the world to us.

Genevieve was predeceased by her parents, brother, and nieces Nancy, Susan, Jane, and Chelsea.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 9 am on December 14, 2019 at St. Bridget Church (St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish), 80 Main St, Manchester CT. There will be a private burial at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to St. Bridget School, 74 Main St. Manchester, CT 06042. The John F. Tierney Funeral Home has care of the arrangements. For online condolences, please visit www.tierneyfuneralhome.com.