Obituary of Dorothy "Dottie" Ann (Kotulich) Stawarky

Dorothy (Dottie) Ann Kotulich Stawarky, 89, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend died peacefully surrounded by her family in her home on December 19, 2019. The memory of her beautiful life will be forever cherished by her husband (predeceased) of 61 years James Edward Stawarky, Sr.; children, Jo Ann Stawarky Anderson, husband Joel; Jane Stawarky Baer, husband Michael; James Edward Stawarky, Jr. and wife Ann-Marie Kerrigan Stawarky; beloved grandchildren, twins Danielle and David Baer and step-grandchildren Nathan Anderson and Sarah Anderson Larrow. She is predeceased by her brother William Kotulich and survived by her sister-in-law Helen Kotulich, sister-in-law Jeannette Stawarky Simko and brother-in-law John Carl Stawarky, Jr., as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The daughter of Joseph and Anna Kotulich, she was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Dorothy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Warren Harding High School and was a member of the National Honor Society. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 from Albertus Magnus College and was a member of the Alpha Delta Kappa sorority. She received a Master’s degree in Education from Southern Connecticut University.She married James and moved to West Virginia, where she formed a deep connection to the community teaching students in a one room school house in Buckhannon. She worked directly for the President of West Virginia Wesleyan University as his assistant. After a brief time teaching in New Jersey, the family settled in Newington, Connecticut where Dorothy was a talented and beloved educator for 30 years at the Anna Reynolds Elementary School and Martin Kellogg Middle School, both in Newington. She was loved by her students, many of whom she kept in touch with throughout the years. Weekends and summers were spent rebuilding their cherished beach house in Westbrook where she retired. Dorothy treasured teaching and her colleagues. She was a devoted member of St. Mark the Evangelist Church and loved to spend time entertaining friends and family at the beach and spending time with her grandchildren. She enjoyed cooking for crowds, reading, walking along the shore and seeing the world with her husband on multiple cruises. She loved her sunrises. Dorothy had the most generous, loving heart and treasured her family and many friendships she had made throughout the years. We will always be thankful for the gift that was her life. Visitation will be on Friday, December 27th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Robinson, Wright and Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main Street, Centerbrook, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, December 28th at 10:30 am at Saint Mark The Evangelist Church, 222 McVeagh Road, Westbrook. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery, Route 145, Westbrook. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Dorothy’s memory to The American Cancer Society at www.AmericanCancer.org or Middlesex Hospice and Palliative Care at https://middlesexhealth.org To share a memory of Dorothy or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com.