Louise V. Davenport

1935 - 2020

Louise V. (Driscoll) Davenport left us peacefully on the evening of October 3, 2020 in West Hartford, Connecticut at the age of 85 after an illustrious life and courageous battle with Alzheimer's. Louise was born on March 29, 1935 in Waterbury, Connecticut to Marie and John Driscoll and graduated from Waterbury Catholic High School in 1953. She received her bachelor's degree from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut and a Masters degree in Spanish from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. In 1957 she traveled to the mountains of Guatemala with the Congregation of Notre Dame where she made lifelong impressions on many students and acquaintances, not the least of whom was Paul Davenport of Watervliet, New York who was a Maryknoll missionary priest. Upon their return from Guatemala in 1969/1970, Paul and Louise were married and settled in West Hartford. Louise taught Spanish at Northwest Catholic, and then English and Spanish at Saint Timothy School for many memorable years. Mrs. Davenport was beloved by her students and was known, among other names, as Señora Sofá, and taught the 40 most commonly used prepositions in alphabetical order to generations of accomplished students. Those students would frequently greet her at Big Y in Bishop's Corner with hugs and recite the 40 most commonly used prepositions, of course, in alphabetical order. Louise was a caring wife, devoted mother, joyful grandmother (to 8 grandsons!), gifted storyteller, and the unofficial archivist of family lore. A lifelong scholar, she systematically did the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen everyday and enjoyed all forms of word play. For most of her life she had attention-grabbing hair that was fiery red, but her heart from her first day to her last was always pure gold. She was generous with her time and energy and loved and prayed for all children. Louise's dedication to family, peace, and God will live on with all who knew her. Louise is survived by her brothers Phillip Driscoll of West Hartford, Connecticut, and Austin Driscoll of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; daughter Kathryn (Davenport) Keefrider of Avon, Connecticut, her husband Robert Keefrider, and their four sons Robert (26), Brendan (17), Jack (15), and Gavin (12); daughter Mary (Davenport) Chong of Chicago, Illinois, her husband Min Chong, and their two sons Nate (11) and Aidan (8); son Andrew Davenport of El Portal, California, his wife Erin (Purtell) Davenport and their two sons Ronan (9) and Finn (6). She is preceded in death by parents Marie and John Driscoll, brother Jack Driscoll, dear husband Paul Davenport (1930-2016), and sister Sr. Mary Driscoll. The family will hold a private burial service and is planning a celebration of life at a later date where we look forward to sharing our fondest memories of our beloved mother, grandmother, and dearest friend. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Timothy Middle School 225 King Philip Drive West Hartford, CT 06117. The family would like to thank the caring staff of West 1 Saint Mary Home in West Hartford for 6 years of gentle and patient care.