December 5, 1927 – October 1, 2022
Evelyn Heagney died on October 1, 2022, at Nathaniel Witherell after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 94.
Born December 5,1927, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, her parents were Doris and William Dzik. She graduated from Drew University with a BA in The Classics and received her Master’s Degree in Education from New York University. Her first teaching assignment was in Harlem. While at Drew, she met her husband, John Heagney. They married in 1949.
After John’s graduation from law school they moved to Greenwich. She put her teaching career on hold while her children, Tom and Missie, were young. Once they were in school, she began a long career as an elementary school teacher, first at Byram School and then, after it closed, at Hamilton Avenue School.
In over 40 years as an elementary school teacher, hundreds of children and in some cases, their children and grandchildren, had the benefit of her teaching in third grade. She hosted many annual reunions of the Byram School teachers on the porch of her house overlooking Long Island Sound. After retiring as a full time teacher, she returned to the classroom as a teacher’s aid providing small group and individual instruction for students needing extra help.
Evelyn was a lifelong learner with a passion for reading, especially mystery novels. She shared her passion for learning with her grandchildren, John, Kate, Chris and Matthew. She devoted much of her time and energy taking them to the Bronx Zoo, the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Broadway.
She and John enjoyed vacationing on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard but when the gas crisis hit in the early 1970’s they looked for a place closer to home and found Block Island. They spent too few years experiencing the beauty of the Island and the all too frequent rough ferry rides.
Evelyn was predeceased by her husband John. She leaves behind her son Thomas and daughter Missie and her husband Chet Miechkowski; her cousin Kathy and husband Roger Bergman; grandson John and wife Nicole Nahas and their sons Thomas and Theodore; granddaughter Kate and wife Olivia Meunier; grandson Chris; grandson Matthew and his fiancé Mindy; step-granddaughters Catherine and Claire Chabert; niece Kasey and husband Jose Alba.
The family would like to thank Evelyn’s long time caregiver Sue Frano and the staff at Nathaniel Witherell, in particular Elnora, Jackie, Sandra and Barbara for their dedication, tenderness, compassion and caring.
Donations in Evelyn’s name can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter or Greenwich Library. The family will host a reception to celebrate Evelyn’s life on November 19, in the Community Room at The Byram Shubert Library from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
