Audrey Whittemore

Audrey Doolittle Whittemore, a longtime resident of Hamden, Connecticut, passed away peacefully in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 21, 2025, at the age of 91.

Born on July 22, 1933 in New Haven, Audrey spent much of her life along the Connecticut shoreline, including Short Beach, Madison, and Guilford before settling in Cheshire and later Hamden. She graduated from Daniel Hand High School in Madison in 1951. In the early 1950s, she briefly attended the University of New Hampshire before she began her career in the Admitting Office of Grace-New Haven Hospital and various hospitals throughout New Haven County. Audrey later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Albertus Magnus College (1991) and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University (1994), after which she pursued a second career in nephrology as a Social Worker in dialysis clinics in the New Haven area.

Audrey and nine peers traveled to Europe in 1956 with the American Youth Hostel Association for a 10-week bicycling trip. She rode through England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France, where her experiences ignited a lifelong passion for travel. This passion drove for her to become a part-time travel agent and tour guide which allowed her to travel throughout the United States and to re-visit European countries. However the trips that she held most dear were with her family to familiar places like Ocracoke, NC, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Washington DC, any given day on the shoreline of Connecticut or her regular trips to her favorite diner.

Audrey had a life-long love for music. She would often attend regional theater performances and choir concerts, and enjoyed watching opera at the local movie theater. In high school she participated in the All State Music Festival and the marching band, continuing with the marching band at the University of New Hampshire. It brought her great pleasure to attend local marching band competitions, most recently enjoying shows by the University of New Haven Marching Band.

Always fascinated by others' stories, Audrey could always be found deep in conversation with someone she met a moment or a lifetime ago. She held every one of those relationships dear to her heart.

Audrey is lovingly remembered by her sister Georgia McDowell (Donald); her children Thomas G. Whittemore, John H. & Dana Whittemore, David H. Whittemore, and Sarah T. DiPinto; grandchildren Rachel (Alex), Alexis, Nathan, and Amanda; and great-grandchildren Mackenzie, Evie, and Nora; and many nieces and nephews that meant so much to her. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Tilton Doolittle and Myrtle Goodrich Doolittle, and her brother Jack T. Doolittle Jr.

A memorial service will be held on August 2, 2025, at 1:00 PM at Christ Episcopal Church, 11 Park Street, Guilford, CT followed by a reception in the Parish Hall. The church does not have air conditioning.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of Connecticut (www.kidney.org) or Albertus Magnus College (https://www.albertus.edu/support-albertus/give.php).

May her memory bring comfort to those who knew and loved her.