Elsie E. Berry, age 99, of Shelton peacefully entered into eternal rest on Sunday, May 23, 2021 in Hewitt Health & Rehab Center.
She was born in Westfield, New Jersey on June 11, 1921, the daughter of the late Antonio (Pop) and Clemandria (Durrai) Yarussi. Elsie worked as a Production Worker at the former B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company before finishing her career as an Administrative Assistant for Philips Medical Systems.
Elsie was a strong woman, always sure of her place in life. She was organized and usually in control of things. Elsie was loving and generous and not afraid to speak her mind. Elsie enjoyed ballroom dancing and swing music. She also enjoyed shopping, dressing smartly and stepping out on the town in New Haven and the Ritz Ballroom in Bridgeport. Lavish filet mignon or lobster dinners were a special treat. Pepe’s Pizza in New Haven was on her go to list, but she also savored and took pride in a homemade meal of pasta. She was a member of the Shelton Senior Center and later the Derby Senior Center, traveling throughout the USA with Shelton Senior Center bus tours.
She socialized with many friends, frequently going out to dinner with “the girls”. She was a faithful member of St Joseph’s Parish in Shelton, Connecticut and a valued volunteer at the church. For many years Elsie attended painting classes and was an enthusiastic and avid painter. Her medium was oils. She framed and hung her work throughout her house and also generously gave many framed paintings to family and friends.
Most of all she loved her home on the Housatonic river and visits with family and friends, from Connecticut and New Jersey.
She is survived by her son Ronald Berry and his wife Joan, her granddaughter Juliette Berry and her 3 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a sister, Dolly Vastino, nieces and nephews Leonard (Lenny) Falocco (Ann Marie), Carol Ann Maggs (John), Richard Tonucci and Bernadette Tonucci. Elsie was predeceased by a grandson, Keith, brothers Nick Yarussi and Chip Yarussi, a sister Joan Yarussi, nephews Kenneth Yarussi, Michael Falocco and Pat Vastino and brothers-in-law Pat Vastino and Michael Falocco.
Friends are invited to greet Elsie’s family on Thursday, May 27 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Riverview Funeral Home, 390 River Rd., Shelton, CT. At the request of the family, masks will be required to attend the visitation. On Friday, May 28, friends are invited to go directly to St. Joseph Church, 424 Coram Ave., Shelton, CT at 10:00 a.m. for a Mass of Christian Burial. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Shelton, CT. Online condolences can be left for Elsie’s family at www.riverviewfh.com
