Obituary of Sylvia G. Courtway

Sylvia Gill Courtway, 90, of Bethel, wife of the late Victor Courtway, died peacefully at Bethel Health Care on Wednesday, June 29th, with her family by her side. She was born in England on March 6, 1926, daughter of the late George and Florence (Manyweathers) Gilpin. Along with her mother, Sylvia was a survivor of the London Blitz. As a young women, she came to the United States as a GI Bride in 1946, settling in Bethel with her former husband, the late Owen Gill, Sr. She worked for many years as a bookkeeper for Sears Roebuck and later retired from First National Stores. She enjoyed painting, sewing and knitting. She was known for knitting booties for the babies at Yale New Haven Hospital. She also loved the water, and made her home in a yatch on the Long Island Sound, docked in Bridgeport for twenty years. Sylvia will be missed by her three children, Sandra Macauley, Leslie F. Shaboo and her husband, George, and Owen Gill, Jr. and his wife, Nancy; her nineteen grandchildren, and twenty-six great grandchildren. She is also survived by her stepchildren, Keith, Jamie and Peter Courtway, and Karen Palanzo, and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her youngest daughter, Diane Buchanan; and her son-in-law, George Macauley. A Celebration of Sylvia's Life will take place at a later date. Sylvia was grateful for the tender care of her granddaughter, Wendy Wildman, and the love of each of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.