Georgette Karam Haddad

Georgette Karam Haddad was born on December 23, 1935 in Ain Zhalta, a serene mountain village in the Chouf Mountains of Lebanon. After a long and gradual decline in health, she died peacefully with her family by her side, on May 23, 2018, in her home in Waterbury, CT.

Georgette was one of ten children – two boys, seven girls, and then another boy. She was born in the middle of her six sisters. As a child, Georgette learned English, French, and Arabic in the parochial school she attended. She could read and write Arabic, and wrote in fine penmanship. After finishing school, she worked as a teacher for many years. She also began learning the great arts she would soon master of sewing, needlepoint, crochet, knitting, and, perhaps her greatest joy, cooking for her family and friends. Refusing several suitors, she was instead happy to help all of her siblings with raising their growing families and took great pride in being a loving aunt to all her many nieces and nephews.

In May of 1970, she traveled to the U.S.A. to visit her older brother, Yusef, and her oldest sister, Selwa. She could never imagine that she would instantly fall in love with "ibn aamma", get married only three months later, and remain in America the rest of her life. With her husband, Charlie, she resided in Danbury, CT for the next 26 years, raising their three children. Georgette was primarily a housewife, but she did work for a short period of time at the Risdon factory, and then in the mid 1980's she worked as a hand finisher for boutique clothiers, "Sofia & Anne", in their studio in Bethel, CT. Besides her greatest joy of being a mother, she loved her church, St. Ann Melkite Catholic Church, and the warm community of parishioners. Some of her best friends came through this community, and she enjoyed volunteering to cook and bake for various fundraisers over the years at the church.

From 1996 and for the remainder of her life, she resided in Waterbury, CT. Here she would eventually transition into her newest role of "Teta" (grandmother) to her five beautiful grandchildren. She would continue to devote the same love and care to all of them as she had to her own family, and passed on a love of the wonderful Lebanese cuisine she enjoyed the most. If you were ever fortunate enough to taste her food, then you knew the primary ingredient in any of her dishes was always love.

In May 2001, Georgette was able to visit Lebanon for the first time since she first came to the U.S.A. She was happily reunited with four surviving sisters, and the many nieces and nephews that were only babies and children when she had left. It was one of the happiest times of her life.

She was predeceased by her parents, Karam George Haddad and Monteha (Ganim); eldest brother Selim and sister-in-law Hind; brother Yusef and sister-in-law Nawal (Khoury); eldest sister Selwa Shaker and brother-in-law Boutrous; sister Waddad Naim and brother-in-law George; sister Esthma Karam Haddad; sister Rhoda Dagher and brother-in-law Selim; sister Laurice Abou Mrad and brother-in-law Halim; brother-in-law Mrad Abou Mrad; and brother George Karam Haddad.

Georgette is survived by her husband of nearly 48 years, Charles John Haddad of Waterbury; her son Lawrence Charles Haddad and daughter-in-law Joanna (Ramirez) of Stratford; her daughter Laura Haddad Rose of Naugatuck; her son Karam John Haddad and daughter-in-law Jamie (Connor) of Southington; her grandsons Nathan John Rose, Aidan John Haddad, Jacob Lawrence Haddad, and her granddaughters Jocelynn Marie Haddad and Alia Joanna Haddad. She is also survived by her only remaining sibling, her sister Souad Abou Mrad in Lebanon; a sister-in-law, Sadie Pope (Haddad) and her husband Grant of New Milford; as well as countless cousins, nephews, nieces, great nephews, and great nieces.

Services will be held at St. Ann Melkite Greek Catholic Church, 181 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT on Saturday, June 2nd. The family will be accepting condolences from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., with the funeral immediately following at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation in her name to St. Ann Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

The family would like to thank her caregivers from the Emerest Agency, especially Barbara, Yolanda, and Belle, as well as the exceptional staff of Vitas Healthcare.

"The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word Mother…" – K. Gibran

Published in News Times on May 27, 2018
 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Georgette Karam Haddad, please visit our floral store.