Anna Eva Etzel died peacefully at the Evergreen Woods Health Center on June 26 after a brief illness. She passed away with the same qualities of grace in which she lived. Her final time with us was under the wonderful special care and compassion of Dr. Ronald Miller and his staff at Evergreen Woods.
Eve, as she was known, was 97 at the time of her death. She was born Feb. 20, 1919, in New Haven and grew up in the family home on Townsend Avenue in the Morris Cove section of that city. Her parents were Bernard A. Kohler and Katherine Beisler.
She worked at Malley’s department store as a teenager and graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1936, followed by the Columbia Presbyterian Nursing School in 1940. Eve worked as an RN at Columbia Presbyterian, Yale-New Haven, and Grace New Haven Hospitals. She was a near lifetime swimmer, especially enjoying proximity to the water in the Pawson Park and Indian Neck areas of Branford.
She is survived by her 5 children, David P. Etzel, Jr. (Jan Walzer) of Guilford; Bonnie Claire Lyons of Toronto, Canada; Jane E. Etzel of Worcester, Massachusetts; Michael J. Etzel (Kathy) of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire; and Alan G. Etzel of Branford. She is also survived by 8 grandchildren, Jacqueline Jesser of Centreville, Ontario (Dr. Daniel Curran); Ryan Stephen Etzel (Vivien) of Woodstock, Illinois; Amy K. Etzel of Seattle; Rose Etzel of Guilford; Todd Etzel of Los Angeles; and Daniel, Colin, and Kyle Etzel of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. In addition she is survived by 2 great-grandchildren, Timothy and Julia Curran; and 2 sisters, Frances Kohler Daly of Meriden and Dorothy Kohler Cummings (William) of East Haven.
Eve was predeceased by her husband David P. Etzel, CPA of Bailey, Moore, Glazer, Schaefer and Proto; her daughter-in-law Mary Margaret Etzel; her grandson Darin George Etzel; her sister Katherine Kohler Lawler; and her brother Bernard “Brud” Kohler.
Visitation will be held June 30 at the W.S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home, 244 N. Main St., in Branford, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on July 1 at St. Mary’s Church, 731 Main St., in Branford. Burial will follow in St. Agnes Cemetery in Branford. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to contribute to the Darin G. Etzel Fund of the Branford Community Foundation, PO Box 462, Branford, CT 06405. For an online memorial, please visit www.wsclancy.com.