Gina McWeeney Obituary

#MIDDLEBURY #WATERTOWN

Retired T. Sendzimir executive

Mrs. Gina (DiBattista) McWeeney, 94, of Watertown departed life peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, on Thursday, Jan. 19, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury. She was the widow of Charles F. McWeeney Jr., who she married in May 1946, and was a daughter of the late Vincenzo and Vita (Colucci) DiBattista. She was a graduate of Wilby High School in Waterbury. Shortly after graduation, she was hired by Waterbury Companies as secretary to the vice president of sales.

In 1961 Gina joined T. Sendzimir Inc. as secretary to the president and gradually was escalated to vice president and later to executive vice resident and chief administrative officer. She was a past director and executive vice president of Sendzimir Sundwig Inc. and was serving on the boards of directors of TSINC and Sendzimir Japan Limited. She was a member of the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers since 1984 and was listed in the Who’s Who of the steel industry. In 1991, she was honored at the Annual Women in Business Conference in Waterbury. Upon the death of the chairman and president, Gina resigned from T. Sendzimir but continued to work directly for Mrs. Jane Sendzimir.

One of Gina’s interests was writing poetry. She was inducted into the Society of International Poets and for two consecutive years was the recipient of the Gold Medal Award from the World of Poetry. She loved all types of music. She also loved traveling and she and her husband traveled extensively. After his demise in 1995, she continued to do so with her family and good friends. She had great interests in interior decorating and clothing design and indulged in both most of her life.

Gina was a person of great warmth and compassion and was loved by family, friends, and colleagues alike. Wherever Gina went, there was always sure to be good conversation and laughter. She was a loving, generous mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother with a wonderful sense of humor. She will be remembered for her generosity and her love of life.

She was proud to be the matriarch of her family, who adored her. However, in spite of her very active and happy life, uppermost in her heart was her close knit family. Although she had a wonderful, close relationship with her entire family, she had an exceptionally close relationship and friendship with her daughter, Charlene. It was a strong mother-daughter team.

Gina was predeceased by her husband, Charles, of 49 years; her loving sister, Catherine Driscoll, and her husband, James; her brother Lee DiBattista; and also her dear friends, Jean Pflueger, Lillian Pino, Violet Costantini, Christine Venslovas, and Marie Porcellini.

Gina is survived by her son, Cregg McWeeney, and his wife, Linda; her daughter, Charlene Burdacki, and her husband, James; three grandsons: Matthew Burdacki and his wife, Tracy; Eric McWeeney and his wife, Lori; and Mark McWeeney; and two great-grandchildren, Giulianna and James McWeeney. She also is survived by her sister-in-law, Mary, and her children, James DiBattista and Clare Alberti; her very close and dear niece and godchild, Geralyn Mastrianni, who she so dearly loved; and her daughters, Jessalyn Lord and her husband, Alex, and Cassandra Mastrianni; her close cousin, Gerald DePolo, his wife, Flavia, and his three daughters, Anna Shultz, Elizabeth Ciarleglio, and Sarah Clemente; Arthur Santilli, his wife, Phyllis, and his sister, Mary Beth; Josephine Byrolly; Rosella Longa; and her two very special cousins, Mimi Pagannoni and her husband, Livio, in Pianella, Italy, and Rosario Ladik and his wife, Carmen, in Avigliano, Italy.

She also leaves several dear, close friends, Dorothy Solocius of Cleveland, Ohio; Rae Bianco, Vera Massaro, Jennie Hannon, Claudia Porcellini, Eleanor Mader, and last, but not least, Jane H. Sendzimir; and her godchildren, Geralyn Mastrianni, Anne Begnal, Carol Blake, and Katie Sabo. Especially dear to her are Karen and Dennis DeVylder and their children, Kurt and Anna, who reside in Wolfeboro, N.H., and her brother, Fred Pflueger of Wolfeboro, N.H.

Funeral services will be held Monday, Jan. 23, at 9:15 a.m. from Hickcox Funeral Home at 195 Main St. in Watertown to St. John the Evangelist Church for Mass at 10 a.m. Burial is private and at the convenience of the family. Friends may call at the funeral home Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. For additional information or to leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.hickcoxfuneralhome.com.