Sylvia Baghdady

Born Sylvia Zartolas on July 2, 1927 in Bridgeport, CT, her tender years were marred by heartache and strife. Abandoned by her mother as an infant and later by her father, she was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in the small fishing village of Koroni in southern Greece where she experienced poverty, starvation and the fears and deprivations of living under Axis occupation during World War II. She finally returned to Bridgeport in the early 1950's, where with a lost fluency in English and without the benefit of even an elementary education, she worked long hours in several industrial jobs.

She met and married her husband, the late George Baghdady of Monroe/Trumbull, and was a tireless and devoted partner in all of his business endeavors, often performing physical work far beyond the apparent limits of her age and petite stature. With George, she realized her lifelong dream of having a family of her own, ultimately including four children (George Jr., Raymond, Lucy and David), one stepson (Joseph) and seven grandchildren (Brandon, Gabriela, Isabela, Alexandra, Ava, David and Victoria). She was a protective and devoted mother, rarely spending a dollar or moment on herself that could have been spent on her kids and vigilantly ensuring that they were never left wanting for any need.

Despite her own early experiences, Sylvia was known as an engaging and affable soul to all who she encountered. At home in Monroe for most of her life, she was a generous and accommodating hostess to anyone who entered her door, friends, family and strangers alike, and was loathe to leave a visitor departing with an empty stomach. In her later years, with the help of her sons, she returned to Greece, confronting and laying to rest the memories of the hardships she had endured there.

Later still, with the assistance of a genealogist, she resolved the mysteries of a mother she never knew or even saw, discovering in the process a stepbrother who knew nothing of her existence. Above all things, Sylvia’s greatest joy in Life was belonging to and caring for her family. It is indeed the beautiful irony of her life that having never felt the love of a mother herself, she leaves behind the aching hearts of children grateful that they so bountifully did.

Sylvia was buried in a private ceremony attended by her children and their families.