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Margaret Motzer

Margaret (Trudelle) Motzer, 80, beloved wife of John C. Motzer of 55 years and longtime resident of Guilford, passed away peacefully on July 23. Margaret was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 17, 1943, daughter of the late Thomas and Mariane (Jensen) Trudelle and sister to Miriam Trudelle, Kathryn (Bill) Jordan, and the late Joseph (Kathie) Trudelle. She was the loving and supportive mother of Gretchen (Brendan) McCarthy of Hamden and Anna Motzer of Sacramento, California. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Charlotte, Andrew, and Daphne.

She was a 1961 graduate of West Bremerton High School, Bremerton, Washington. She earned her B.A. in education from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. in 1965. She then moved to Connecticut to teach and went on to earn a master’s degree in special education from Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven. She was a caring and devoted teacher, retiring at age 70. She began her career as a third grade teacher at the Old Short Beach School in Branford before starting a family, then transitioning to Community Nursery School in Guilford, where she taught pre-K for over 20 years. She later worked for the Polly T. McCabe Center, an alternative school for pregnant students in the New Haven School District, first as a grant writer, later teaching seventh and eighth-grade English and social studies until retirement in 2013.

She enjoyed returning home to the West Coast during summer breaks, gardening, quilting, getting together with friends, and attending her grandchildren’s activities. In retirement, she played mahjong and bocce with her husband and friends at the Guilford Senior Center.

Friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 11, at St. George Church, 33 Whitfield Street, Guilford. Burial will be held privately in Bremerton, Washington, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Margaret’s name to Guilford Interfaith Volunteers. https://givct.org/donate/ Arrangements are in care of the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church Street, Guilford. To share a memory or leave condolences, visit www.guilfordfuneralhome.com.