Maureen “Rene” (White) Velardo arrived back home into the loving arms of God on Sept. 27, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Rene is remembered with love by her children, Elisa Velardo and her husband, Tom Simon, of Tolland, Nick Velardo and his wife, Michele, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Maureen Healy (Velardo) and her husband, Ken, of Torrington. She is also survived by her former spouse, Nicholas Velardo Jr.; grandchildren Jacob, Alexandra and Lilah Simon, Nicholas and Anthony Velardo, Alyssa Staton and her husband, Al, John Russell, Josh, Giuliana, Lucas, Logan and Noah Healy; great-grandchildren, Savannah, Chesney and Ella Staton; nieces and , Rob and Stephanie Thomas, Patty Thomas, Andy Perock, Patty and Jim Orsatti and their daughter, Sarah, Cindy and Ronald Kielb and their children, Corey, Ronald and Shelly, Joann Gaug and her son, Kristopher, and her beloved cousins and dear friends.
Rene was born on March 24, 1939 in Naugatuck to Earl and Florence White. She was predeceased by two wonderful sisters, Patricia Thomas and Charlotte Perock. She graduated from Naugatuck High School in 1957, where she just attended her 60th reunion.
When Rene was a child her family had a country band called the Wandering Buckaroos and was one of the first bands to play on their local radio station WWCO in Waterbury. Her life was filled with music and at family gatherings every member of her family either played an instrument or sang. She carried this love of music throughout her life.
Rene spent many years as a waitress working at the famous Actors Colony in Seymour, serving notable people such as Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Frankie Avalon, Sarah Vaughn and Jerry Vale. She also worked at the iconic Italian restaurant Bacco’s in Waterbury, which has been in operation for over 86 years, and the Waterbury Country Club. Rene later went on to work in customer service at F&S Oil Company in Waterbury, where her greatest joy was to help customers receive assistance who were having difficulty with fuel costs. She personally saw to it that the elderly and anyone in need never went into the winter months without heating oil. Rene always considered one of her greatest achievements to be when she led an effort in the 1970s to save Barnard Elementary School in Waterbury, where her children attended. The school was scheduled to be closed, and she was told there was no hope and that it was a lost cause, but she prevailed in a grass-roots effort. The Barnard School stayed open for the next 40 years. She was known for her sense of humor and warm heart and everyone that knew her loved her.
A Celebration of Rene’s life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Buckmiller Thurston Mengacci Funeral Home, 82 Fairview Ave., Naugatuck. Burial will immediately follow in St. James Cemetery, Cross Street, Naugatuck.
To leave an online condolence, visit www.buckmillerthurstonmengacci.com.
