Barbara Shortell

1948 - 2015

WALLINGFORD - Barbara Kennedy Shortell, of Wallingford, wife of the late John C. Shortell and mother of Christopher Kennedy Shortell, Catherine Kennedy Shortell Nuzzo and Meghan Elizabeth Kennedy Shortell, died on Thursday, May 21, 2015.

Barbara, affectionately called "Kennedy" by her friends, the daughter of the late Mary (O'Daynik) and Thomas J. Kennedy Jr., was born July 12, 1948, in Cambridge, Mass. She spent her childhood in Belmont, Mass. and attended private and parochial schools in Watertown and Belmont before moving year round to Nantucket Island where her father was a newspaper reporter for the Nantucket Town Crier. In 1961, the Kennedy family moved to Wallingford, where Barbara attended local schools. In 1966, she was graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden. She received her bachelor of arts in English from Saint Joseph College (University of St. Joseph) in West Hartford in 1970, and her master of arts in English in 1977, from Southern Connecticut State University. She taught English at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford for 18 years. Barbara pursued her hobbies of genealogy and doll collecting. She also enjoyed reading, writing, crossword puzzles and Cribbage. She had a passionate love for Bermuda and was a frequent visitor.
She was a member of the SCSU Alumni Association, University of Saint Joseph Alumnae Association, the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc., a retired member of Delta Kappa Gamma (Lambda Chapter) and a past member of The Farms Country Club in Wallingford.

She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Tracy Brooks Shortell; two grandsons, Ryan John Shortell and Zack Jason Shortell; her son-in-law, Christopher A. Nuzzo; Meghan's devoted boyfriend, Eric Fratantonio; her brother, Richard J. Kennedy and his wife, Janice Giroux; her uncle and Godfather, the Rev. Robert T. Kennedy, of Maryland; her brother-in-law, William R. Shortell, of Wallingford; and several cousins including: Ellen Lee Kiel, and G. Ann Kiel, of Maryland, and Mari Levy del Valle and family, of Miami, Fla. She also leaves her dear friends, Andrea Donovan, of Madison, Barbara
Tulka Vaghini, of Enfield, and Eileen Farrell Lettick, of Wallingford. She was predeceased by her parents, Mary and Tom Kennedy; and her in-laws, Wilbur and Evelyn Shortell.

Barbara's family will receive relatives and friends in The Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 N. Main St. Ext., Wednesday, May 27, from 4 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Thursday, May 28, at 11 a.m. directly at Church of the Resurrection, 115 Pond Hill Road, Wallingford. Interment will be in St. John Cemetery in Wallingford. In lieu of flowers, Barbara requested gifts in her memory be sent to the Wallingford Public Library c/o Jane Fisher, 200 N. Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492.

www.wallingfordfh.com