Beryl’s Obituary WATERFORD – Beryl “Mumsie” Hanrahan can finally breathe easy. This dual citizen of the United States and England, who spread her charm, humor and optimism on both sides of the Atlantic – this warmhearted wife, mother and sweet friend who always remained positive and without complaint despite a lifelong battle with chronic respiratory illness – died Jan. 16 at L+M Hospital, her two children by her side.
She was 88. Born Aug. 30, 1930 on the outskirts of London, in a place called Tooting, brave little Beryl Lavender lived through World War II, often carrying a gas mask to school and spending class and evenings in air-raid shelters to safeguard against German bombing assaults.
A fearless and intrepid young woman, Beryl came to the United States at age 30. She soon met an American submarine sailor named Bill Hanrahan, they fell in love, married, and Beryl began a new life in New York and then Connecticut. Beryl and Bill eventually settled in Waterford, Conn.
, where they raised two children, Billy and Kelly. Despite asthma, and later Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Beryl dove into motherhood. She braved cold winter days as a crossing guard, guiding children to and from Cohanzie School, and was involved in all kinds of childhood activities, including band, scouting and Irish dancing.
Beryl loved her children unconditionally, but even better, Billy and Kelly believed, she cooked the best food, from Yorkshire Pudding with a well-done Sunday roast to amazing weekend breakfasts, including waffles and “roll-ups” (the French call them crepes), always served with enough butter and jelly to draw other neighborhood boys and girls to the Hanrahan homestead at 1 Meadow Drive. Mumsie traveled back to England many times and loved her family in Britain, yet Meadow Drive was home. She fed the birds in her backyard, sang Irish songs as her husband Bill played the ukulele at annual St. Patrick’s Day parties, and worked in the community, including a part-time job for years at J.C. Penney at the Crystal Mall.
She loved a good dinner out, enjoying places like Hughie’s and the 95 House (back in the old days) and, more recently, the Hideaway in Old Lyme. She became a master at finishing off a lobster at Captain Scotts or Abbott’s, and no matter the weather, you can be sure Mumsie brought along her trusty cardigan, just in case it got chilly. As the years went by and the kids grew up, and her husband passed away in 2001, Mumsie and Kelly spent much time together.
“Mumsie was my best friend,” Kelly said. “Even when she couldn’t really go out anymore, we still had great times and lots of laughs. Sometimes, we had to try to stop laughing because it made her breathing worse.
We missed each other when I couldn’t visit, but she was never bored. She enjoyed simple things like reading the paper with her coffee each morning, a good book or watching Masterpiece Theatre”. Mumsie also never lost her tenacity.
At 79, she survived a near-fatal aortic dissection, only to rehabilitate and come back to blow out (with a little help from her stepson, Ray) the candles on her 80th birthday cake. She once visited her son and daughter-in-law Fort Davis, Texas, just to see what the Wild West was like, and she cheered for her Boston Red Sox, from the days when she had a crush on Carlton Fisk to a 2018 World Series championship with her new favorite, Mookie Betts. Recently, Mumsie’s lungs finally grew too weak.
She’d still been living at home, but suddenly couldn’t get enough oxygen. In her final days at the hospital, she labored to share some last thoughts. “I feel peaceful,” she told Kelly in one of her last sentences.
“I want to shut my eyes and think about life”. The daughter of William and Florence (Garnet) Lavender, Beryl is predeceased by her sisters Eileen, Sylvia, and Mabel (who died in childhood) and her husband William J. Hanrahan. She is survived by her son Bill Hanrahan and daughter-in-law, Ellie Corey, and her daughter Kelly S. Hanrahan, all of New London; her step-son Ray Hanrahan and his wife Joan, of Jackson, New Jersey, and a granddaughter, Ray and Joan’s daughter, Laura Jones, and her husband, Matt, and their two children, Kylie and Wayne.
She leaves loving English relatives and friends too numerous to name. Calling hours will be 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday at Byles Memorial Home, 99 Huntington Street, New London. A funeral service will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. at Byles Memorial Home.
Burial will follow in Cedar Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Beryl’s memory would be appreciated by the Christiane Gottman Pulmonary Rehab Program at L+M Hospital, c/o Development Office, 365 Montauk Ave. , New London, CT 06320.
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