MaryJane "Maureen" Vallera

MaryJane “Maureen” (McDonnell) Vallera, 86, widow of Giulio L. Vallera, Sr., of Bloomfield passed away on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at home after a long battle with Alzheimers with family by her side. Maureen was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland to the late Thomas and Isabella McDonnell. She married Giulio and they made their home in Hartford. Maureen was a devoted wife and mother who cherished time spent with family and friends.

A lighthearted, loving and attentive woman, she had a welcoming and gentle nature with a great sense of humor. She was an avid reader, and dog lover. She enjoyed cooking her homemade sauce, lasagna, bread, pasta, meatballs and whatever else she had the mind to conjure up. Maureen will be most remembered for her welcoming and non-judgemental nature. She loved people and encouraged them to be their own true self. Her strength, determination, dedication and endurance was unequivocal and has been admired by all that knew her.

She is survived by and will be dearly missed by: her son Aldo, daughters-in-law Dana and Lisa, grandchildren; Alexandria Steele, Joshua Vallera, Isabella Vallera, Marquita Ferguson, Reggie Timmons, Finá and Mike Lowman, Ayanna Lopez, Sylvia Carattini and great-grandchildren; Mya Grant, Maliah Lowman, Maëlle Lowman, Victor Timmons, Abrielle, Joshia and Kion Carattini-McCoy. She is also survived by the Hewitt and Brankin families of Northern Ireland including her cousins, John and Pat, and Jean, brother-in-law, Brian Brankin; nieces and nephews; Katrina, Jennie, Sophie, Eve and Katie, her local Vallera family, including Federico (Fred) Vallera and his wife Theresa of Rocky Hill, Aldo Vallera and his wife Nina of CA, Vittorio Vallera and his wife Patricia of Stuart, FL and sisters, Irma Galante of Newington, Lina Vuoto and her husband Isidoro of Farmington and Olvea Di Cristofaro of Newington; two sisters-in-law, Nella Vallera of East Hartford and Spydell family of Randy, Stephen, Lynn and David and their wonderful spouses, as well as a host of nieces and nephews way too large to list and way too wonderful to quantify their role in her life for so many years.

She is predeceased by her husband and son, Giulio Sr, and Giulio Jr. Vallera; her sister, Charlotte Brankin; her brother, Brian McDonnell; brothers-in-law, Cesidio and Guido Vallera and sister-in-law, Emilienne Vallera.

Aldo and Dana's family would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff of Care at Your Doorstep for their wonderful care and to the friends, neighbors and family members that have visited and sent their love and positive energy.

Family and friends are invited for a time of visitation on Thursday, November 9 from 5-7 p.m. at the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Blvd., Wethersfield with a Final Farewell on Friday, November 10 at 9 a.m.at the funeral chapel followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, 285 Church Street, Hartford (livestream link available at spsact.org). Serving the gifts will be Linda Sidote and Luisa Kimball and lectoring will be offered by Ralph DiCristofaro and Emilia Gannon. Entombment will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford. For directions, sharing a memory or online tributes, please visit www.desopofuneralchapel.com.