Gloria W. Roy, 91, a life-long resident of Cromwell, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 8, 2021. She was predeceased by her husband, Normon W. Roy. Gloria Marilyn Waters was born September 9, 1929 to Randall N. and Ruby (Duckworth) Waters at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown.

She grew up on South Street in Cromwell, close to the Connecticut River, which she loved. She swam and ice skated on the river during her childhood in the Depression years of the 1930s, and loved to tell stories of her uncle John Frazier, a shad fisherman who took her out on his boat. She was the family story teller, and passed along many tales about her mother’s family in North Carolina and those of the Waters family in New England. She was the family genealogist, documenting the history on the Duckworth and Waters families and their many branches.

She attended public schools in Cromwell and went to Middletown High School. She regretted leaving school and later earned her GED diploma. Gloria was a telephone operator and store clerk following her schooling, but became a full-time mom following the birth of her first child, Susan, in 1949. Sons Mark and Robin came in 1952 and 1956. As a member of the First Congregational Church, she was a deaconess and member of the Women’s Fellowship. She helped cousin Claire Frazier Faircloth run the White Elephant booth at the annual church fair; worked the potluck dinners; and handled the sending of cards to church members. She and Normon served as chaperons for the Pilgrim Fellowship in the late 1960s. 

She was an avid reader and life-long learner, loving mysteries and true crime, as well as history and other nonfiction. Gloria loved to read the newspaper each morning, and was still reading it daily until shortly before her passing. She grew up on radio dramas, and transitioned to being a TV soap opera fan, and rarely missed General Hospital at 2 pm each weekday.

Gloria leaves behind her three children, daughter Susan Elaine Roy of Suffield and Cromwell, son Mark Joseph and his wife, Cheryl (Barthelemy) of Storrs, and son Robin Douglas of Higganum. She also leaves her seven grandchildren: Stephanie Anne (Roy) Henderson, Rachel (Malec) Eckley (Jason), Melissa Malec, Katherine Caroline (Malec) Peck (Austin), Walter J. Malec III (Angela), Amy Lillian Roy, and Bryan Normon Roy. Also three great grandchild: Leoric Movido Henderson, Madelyn Eckley, and Lindsie Gero; as well as her cousins, nieces, and nephews in the Waters and Roy families.

Memorial contributions may be made in Gloria’s name to the Cromwell Historical Society, P.O. Box 146, Cromwell, CT 06416. A memorial service will be held in September. The Cromwell Funeral Home is handling arrangements.  To share memories or send condolences to the family, please visit www.doolittlefuneralservice.com.