George Anthony Sottile

George Anthony Sottile of Mystic, Connecticut, passed to spirit on July 15, 2020, at Fairview in Groton, Connecticut with his family by his side. The son of Lucy and Mario Sottile, George was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 28, 1928, and graduated from Weaver High School in 1946. George enlisted in the United States Army in July of 1946. He served in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Army of Occupation, and was honorably discharged in December of 1947. George attended the University of Connecticut where he earned his bachelor’s degree in education and played basketball for the UConn Huskies. He met Harrilyn Greenleaf at a party of UConn and Willimantic Teachers College students. He graduated in 1953, and he married Harrilyn on November 21, 1953 in Ledyard Connecticut. Together they eventually moved to Canton, Connecticut, where they settled, taught school, and raised their children. George taught physical education and coached many teams in the Canton and Farmington school systems for over 30 years.

He and Harrilyn built a small summer home in Southport, Maine. They spent every summer there for nearly 40 years, hosting family and friends, and traveling Down East.

George leaves his wife of almost 67 years, Harrilyn Sottile; his two children, Julie Sottile Sugrue and George Sottile and his wife, Donna McCormac; his two grandsons, Tomas Condon and Andrew Sottile and his wife, Lauren Kodiak; and his great-grandson, Van Sottile. He leaves one sister, Rita Pasquaretta; one sister-in-law, Janet Sottile; and 19 loving nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his mother and father, Lucy and Mario Sottile; two brothers, Mario Sottile and Frank Sottile; three sisters, Ann Sopel and her husband, Stanley, Camille Russo and her husband, Frank, Josephine McBrien and her husband, Tom; and his brother-in-law, Manny Pasquaretta.

George was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was kind and thoughtful, and always found time for a conversation or a good word. He was an athlete his whole life and taught and coached countless students. He watched as many New York Yankee and UConn basketball games as he could, and he could be found with his ear up to an old transistor radio if the game was not televised. He played volleyball and sometimes drove for miles to find a good game.

Splitting, organizing, and burning wood in his woodstove was a passion. He never wanted to give much money to the oil man. Most days he took a ride for a second cup of coffee and a treat. Routine was important to him. Any change prompted an “Oh boy,” but he usually got over it and went along. When asked about his day, he often said, “I just puttered around.” We should all probably spend more time enjoying small projects the way George did. He was a classic!

He loved being at home near the shore in Mystic, where he was most at peace. Above all else, his true love was his wife, his family, his friends, and all the people he knew. His wife Harrilyn once said, “Georgie lives his life like a prayer.”

At this time, the immediate family will hold a private burial ceremony in Mystic, and will plan a memorial service for spring of next year.  Donations in his memory may be directed to Alzheimer’s Association, 200 Executive Boulevard, Southington, CT 06489 or the American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Dr., Wallingford, CT 06492.

 George was especially fond of the St Francis Asissi Prayer:

Lord make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred, I may
bring love, that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of
forgiveness, that where there is discord, I may bring harmony, that
where there is error, I may bring truth, that there is doubt, I may
bring faith, that where there is despair, I may bring hope, that where
there are shadows, I may bring light, that where there is sadness, I
may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek to comfort than to be
comforted, to understand, than to be understood, to love, than to be
loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving
that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.