Marcia ((Granoff)) Kalafa

Marcia (Granoff) Kalafa, 83, of West Hartford died of Alzheimer’s Disease on Monday, June 15, at Norah’s Place in Vernon. She was the loving and devoted wife of Joel Arnold Kalafa for 63 years. Marcia was the daughter of the late Sadie (Meisel) and David Granoff; sister of the late Ethel Dembe. She is survived by her husband; her sister Francis Ratner of El Cerrito, CA; her children Amy Kalafa and her husband Alex Gunuey of Weston, David Kalafa and his wife Carmela Cortese of Middletown; her grandchildren Nicole Watson of Middletown, Sadie Gunuey Wylie and her husband Marco Wylie of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Emma Gunuey of Providence, RI; nieces Carol Dembe and her husband Stephen Field of Philadelphia, Harriet Dembe and her husband Tom Donnelly of St. James, NY, Linda Ratner and her husband John Tinloy of El Cerrito; and great-nieces and nephews Daniel Warner and his wife Shari Warner of Keene, New Hampshire, Ben Warner of Nashville, Sam Skeen of Boston, Julia and Emma Tinloy of El Cerrito. Born July 21, 1931, in Jersey City, Marcia attended Katherine Gibbs secretarial school and worked as a secretary in New York City until 1952, when she married the love of her life, Joel Kalafa. They moved to Bloomfield and then West Hartford where he opened a dental and then orthodontic practice and they raised their children. Marcia worked as a volunteer with underprivileged children in Hartford, she taught at Beth El Temple preschool in West Hartford, and later started a corporate relocation business, Here’s Hartford, with her dear friend Felice Goldman. She enjoyed playing tennis and bridge with friends, as well as trips to the theater in New York and traveling around the world. Yet what she loved most was caring for others; spending time with family and friends both at home in West Hartford, at the family beach house in New London, and later in life at their winter residence in Key Biscayne. Marcia adored her family and one of her greatest joys was being with her three granddaughters. Weinstein’s Mortuary is in charge of funeral arrangements. A graveside burial service will take place on Wednesday, June 17, at 1PM in Beth Israel Cemetery, 27 Jackson Street, Avon, Ct. A reception will follow at 2:30 in Building A, at the McAuley, 275 Steele Road, West Hartford. Shiva will be observed on Thursday, June 18 and Friday June 19, from 12-3PM and 5-8PM at The McAuley, 275 Steele Road, Apartment B215. Memorial remembrances may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association , www.alz.org. 1.800.272.3900 or Alzheimer’s Association , P.O. Box 96011 Washington, DC 20090-6011

Service Date: 01/01/1970