Joyce Gray Witik

Joyce Gray Witik of West Hartford died peacefully in her sleep Wednesday morning June 7, 2023. She was 91 years old. Joyce was born March 4, 1932 in Hartford CT to Albert and Olga Gray. She is survived by her children Paul, his wife Que, Andy, his wife Claire, Tara, her husband Tony, and her six grandchildren Andrew, Caroline, Kelsey, Joe, John, and Paul. Joyce loved her family, teaching, reading, and the beach. She enjoyed entertaining her extended family, hosting large family gatherings with the love of her life, her husband George, every Christmas and New Years. The family New Years celebrations lasted at least three days and were filled with laughter, skits, games, family movies, gift giving, New Years Resolutions, and eating. Joyce’s signature dishes, baked spaghetti and Delmonico potatoes, were delicious and received rave reviews from her nieces and nephews gathered around the kitchen and dining room tables. Joyce always made sure her food was served on warm plates, and she was so busy making sure that everyone else was having a good time, she never sat down and ate herself! Education was important to Joyce, and after graduating from Saint Augustine School and then Bulkeley High School, she was determined to pursue a career in teaching. For four years Joyce rode two buses every day each way to classes at Teachers College, now Central Connecticut State University. Joyce finished college earning a Bachelor of Science degree in teaching. She was the first person in her family to earn a college degree. Joyce started her teaching career in the Hartford Public Schools and then went on to teach for 28 years in the Newington Public Schools. She began at New Meadow Elementary School and then taught English at both Martin Kellogg and John Wallace Middle Schools. As an English teacher her passion for proper grammar was not lost on her students or her family members. She taught all of them that people don’t “go”; they “say” when describing when someone is speaking, and, “no one ever sleeps over someone’s house unless they are sleeping on the roof.” Joyce’s favorite place was the beach! When Joyce was 14, she answered an ad to be a mother’s helper for the summer at Point O’ Woods Beach. She was hired and from that point on she spent every summer babysitting and then waitressing at the Connecticut shore. She even got George a job bartending! Joyce shared her love of the beach with her husband and children. She would save money each year so that the family could spend one week on Cape Cod. As the years passed, Joyce increased her yearly savings so eventually her family could spend a month in Hyannis. In 1978 she and George purchased a cottage in Chatham, and once again Joyce would spend every summer at the beach even spending one summer with a table saw in her living room while the cottage was under construction! Her children were overjoyed when they saw a photo of the cottage on the Christmas tree that year. What a wonderful Christmas gift for the family! Visitation will be held at the Molloy Funeral Home from 1-3 and 7-9 on Thursday, June 15th. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10am at the Church of Saint Timothy, 1116 N. Main St. West Hartford followed by a graveside service at Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford on Friday, June 16th. Directions and online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com To Plant a tree in Joyce's memory please follow this link https://www.molloyfuneralhome.com/store/trees-seedlings/memorial-trees In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Animal Friends of Connecticut or the Connecticut Humane Society.

Joyce Gray Witik

March 4, 1932 - June 7, 2023