Billie Carol Moraveck

Billie was 87 years old and lovingly remembered her husband, Jim, and her sister, Mary Ann, both who passed in 2023. She is survived by her older sister, Charlotte Lavery, her five children, Maria (Dennis), Daria, Jimmy, Chris (Kathy), and Mike (Debbie), her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Billie was born on February 7, 1939, to parents William (Grampy Bill) and Charlotte (Gigi) Mercurio. She was the youngest of three girls and named “Billie” for William and “Carol” for Charlotte...their nicknames for one another. When the priest told her mom that he would not baptize a baby girl with the name Billie, she told him, “you will baptize her Billie, or you won’t baptize her at all!” Well, she was baptized.

Some of Billie’s favorite memories from childhood were the summers she spent at the Poconos with family swimming, playing games, and going to the movies. But roller-skating was the big event. Her mother, who “drove like a cowboy” took all the women and kids for a night at the rink, followed by ice cream. Billie always did love her sweets!!

Billie went to secretarial school and started a job at Allied Chemical in New Jersey, where she met James (Jim) Moraveck on her first day of work. They went to a fair on their first date and later married on January 23, 1960, in New Jersey. In 1961, they moved to Huntington, Connecticut, where they bought the house they lived in for the rest of their lives. Their $1000 down payment was money that Jim had received after a flask broke and cut his hand at work. Billie and Jim had five kids in 6 years and even in the chaos of raising five little ones, Billie made sure they all had fun together. They played cards and board games, spent summers going strawberry and blueberry picking, and made the annual trek to Jones Tree Farm to cut down their Christmas tree. Billie was an avid baker. She could whip up a perfect pie crust in minutes and created the “devil dog” cake, layering whipped cream with chocolate cake, and adding a chocolate glaze on top. To this day the family celebrates birthdays with devil dog cake.

At 33, Billie went back to school, earning her associate’s degree at Housatonic Community College. Billie thought deeply about life’s big questions. She was committed to her faith and was interested in spiritual study. She liked to challenge preconceived beliefs and did not like the answer, “this is the way it has always been done.” Over the years, Billie always showed up and encouraged the people in her life to not be afraid to take the unconventional path. This certainly was true for her husband, Jim. In 1976, with their 2 oldest in high school, Billie fully supported Jim quitting his job to start his own company, CAAP, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Billie worked at CAAP until 2023. Her time in the office was a bright spot in the week for many employees. She would sit down in the lunchroom with her Coke and some potato chips to hear about their updates, celebrate their wins, and give everyone a dose of positivity.

Billie once said, “Family is everything!!!!” She found peace and joy in the simple things in life. With the help of her family, she planted a gorgeous garden every year. She loved to sit on her patio to look out at her flowers, watch the birds, and enjoy the sunlight. She cherished visits from her kids, grandkids & friends and was happy to spend hours chatting away. Her text messages were infamous. She used exclamation points without abandon, sending her loved one’s things like: “WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU TODAY!!!,” “I am SO SO happy for you!!!!!!,” “All good All wonderful!!!!”, and “YES YES YES!!!!!!” She fell in love with the television show, Ted Lasso, for its positive message, and loved to re-watch and debrief her favorite episodes. Billie practiced living with joy, gratitude, and intention every day.

A Celebration of Life will be held, Saturday Aug 22, from 12-4 at Blackhawk Country Club, 385 Oronoque Ln, Stratford, CT 06614. We would love for you to join us for food, drinks, and shared memories!

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Literacy Volunteers of Southern Connecticut https://lvsct.org