Obituary: Margaret “Midge” Lawlor Wirtz Dilella, 89, of Branford

Obituary courtesy of W. S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home:

Margaret “Midge” Lawlor Wirtz Dilella passed away Saturday, January 30, 2021 peacefully at her home in Branford. She was the beloved wife of the late Rudolph V. Dilella. Margaret was born May 13, 1931 in Hartford, the daughter of the late Molly Lawlor.

In her early years she worked at SNET, Winchesters, The 95 Steak House in North Haven and as a client associate for Merrill Lynch until retiring in 1997. There she met many life long friends that became family having shared in many special social occasions.

Midge is survived by her’s and Rudy’s ten children; George M and Patty L Wirtz; Susan W. Montagna-Vogt and Mark Vogt; Tricia Anderson; Paul and Gayle Wirtz; the late Johnel Wallace and Karen Wallace; the late Bobby Dilella and Chris Dilella; Marie Paolillo; Lisa Martin and Cindi Tiedemann. She was predeceased by her son Gary M. Wirtz.

Together Midge and Rudy had fifteen grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She will be greatly missed by her Lawlor family of cousins of whom she loved deeply and enjoyed putting the family’s newspaper The Lawlor Letters together for all the family to enjoy for years to come. She will be missed by her many friends at South Village Condo where she lived for over thirty years.

The family would like to thank all the wonderful friends and family who helped her along the way with their time, their caring friendship, phone calls, bedside visits and baked goods. The family would like to thank Compassus/Hospice for her very special nurse Cindi Lombardi who came any time there was a need. Thank you to Elizabeth’s Home Health Care Agency for her home aide Theo Ocansey and to CT In-Home Assistance for her home aide Loris Phillips. With the three of you at her side, we could not have found better care for Mom and we are truly grateful.

Anyone who has met or spent time with Midge knows that she was an unforgettable person. She had a great sense of humor and she often had an opinion that she wasn’t afraid to share. She was full of life, she loved her family and lived her life her way. Midge will be missed by many.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday June 5, 2021 at 10:00 in St. John Bosco Parish at St. Mary Church, 731 Main Street, Branford. Burial will follow in All Saints Cemetery, North Haven.For now, all we can do is raise our hearts to Midge and know that she is with Rudy and her long departed loved ones. She is comforted in the arms of our Heavenly Father showing her the way home.