Sylvia Julie (Davies) Conn

Sylvia Julie (Davies) Conn (July 8, 1934-April 22, 2022) lived a beautiful and fulfilling life. She showed kindness, thoughtfulness, and compassion to all. Sylvia comforted and cared for her family, friends, and colleagues, expecting little in return. She was a warm and loving daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother.

Sylvia was born in the Finsbury Park section of London, England to Frank and Violet (Panton) Davies. Notably and dramatically, Sylvia and her family were greatly affected when WWII broke out in 1939 when she was only five years old. Fear of bombings in the “blitz” led to a policy of evacuating children and sending them to live in suburban locations. Sylvia and her younger brother Frank were two such children. Sylvia said she survived the traumatic time with “cuppas,” biscuits, and chocolate, when these luxuries were available.

This period had an indelible effect on Sylvia, who always appreciated the basics of life and was grateful for everything she was given. A challenging childhood with an ill mother was the beginning of Sylvia’s maternal experience, caring for her three younger brothers and the family home, while going to school herself. At school, she excelled, developing a love of reading while centering her school’s “rounders” team. Sylvia was invited to take on additional course work after her required studies. Her love of learning inspired her to take on college courses at the University of Massachusetts after her children were grown.

Sylvia briefly enjoyed the single girl life, working in London and going out on the town, dancing and to movies, with a circle of girlfriends, including Pat Peacock, whom she kept up with her entire life. At 18, Sylvia met and married an American Air Force man and eventually left her beloved England for adventure in the United States, beginning 6,000 miles away in Riverside, California and on to Clarksville, Tennessee where two of her children were born. Sylvia lived in many places, but Boston soon became her home, specifically South Boston, and the Red Sox her most beloved team. She loved the Boston Pops, the Boston Public Library, and the Boston Public Garden with its iconic swan boats and, especially, taking her grandchildren for a day’s outing there. Sylvia became a US citizen in 1958. She was known to say to anyone who treated her as a foreigner, “I’ve been living here longer than you have been alive, bloody cheek!”

Sylvia, like most women of the 1950s and 1960s, was a stay-at-home mom, a role she enjoyed immensely. Her hobbies were endless and included reading extensively on history, literature, and mysteries, knitting, embroidery, cross stitch, doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, stamp collecting, baking, and listening to all kinds of music. Her love of cinema began in England where she was first introduced to America and continued throughout her life. As a young girl, she played field hockey and tennis, among other sports, leading to her passion for the tennis Grand Slams, most especially Wimbledon.

Sylvia knitted hundreds of baby outfits throughout her life for her family but also for an extended family of colleagues, friends, and charities. She loved receiving cards and letters of appreciation along with photos of the many babies smiling in her hand knitted outfits. She formed several knitting clubs, including with good longtime friends Rene Gannon and Alyce Poskel.

Sylvia is known for her legendary Christmas cookies and other notable bakeries, including pies, cakes, and her famous blueberry muffins. She is known for her lifelong sweet tooth and daily ten to twelve cups of tea. Sylvia enjoyed making a Sunday roast dinner, complete with Yorkshire pudding. She never asked for help, and she never complained.

Sylvia went to work in Boston after she became an independent woman, spending most of her career as an administrator at the Massachusetts Bar Association where she was loved and appreciated for over two decades by staff and lawyers alike. She loved to travel and always enjoyed returning to visit a large extended family in Loughton, Essex in her native England, as well as other parts of Europe, and filling up her suitcase with tea, biscuits, chocolate, and sometimes even contraband like “bangers” and English tomatoes. She also loved traveling with her best friend Jeanne Loftus and with family to many parts of Canada and beaches around Cape Cod and other parts of New England.

When Sylvia retired, she realized her lifelong dream of living by the ocean in her cozy condo across from Carson Beach in Southie. Sylvia was content to sit on her deck with a cup of tea looking out at the water.

Many happy days were spent enjoying her many hobbies and interests and, especially, having sleepovers with her grandchildren.

Always content if her family was content and loving nothing more than to be surrounded by her family, Sylvia lived a happy life. She might say her life was uneventful but to those who knew her, it was anything but. Sylvia knew the secret to a joyful and fulfilling life—to be happy and grateful for what you have, to enjoy each day as it comes, and to love and be loved with an intensity that few rarely experience in their lifetimes. Everyone who knew Sylvia loved her and remembered her as a rare person who was genuinely thoughtful, kind, and loving with a great sense of humor, always ready for a laugh and a good time.

Sylvia leaves behind a loving family of five children: Russell Conn and wife Trish Donohoe, Larry Conn, Arlene Conn and partner Paul Graziano, David Conn, and Syrene Reilly and former spouse Stephen Reilly. She also leaves five grandchildren: Kathleen Conn and fiancée Matt Johnson, Alison Conn and fiancée Steve Delcuze, Jake Tierney Conn, James Reilly, and Lauren Reilly, and great granddaughter Claire Conn-Delcuze. Her siblings in England are Frank Davies (deceased) and wife Helen, John Davies and wife Brenda (deceased), and Steve Davies and wife Rhoda, along with their extended families.

Just as her life began with the difficulties of living during war time, Sylvia’s life ended after weeks of illness. Even during this challenging and painful period, nurses and doctors commented that she always had a smile and something pleasant to say.

Sylvia will be remembered most for her beautiful smile, her kindness and generosity, and, above all, her unconditional love for her family.

The family plans to hold a celebration of Sylvia’s life at a later date with details to follow.

Donations on Sylvia’s behalf may be made to Project Linus, which provides handmade blankets to children in need, and/or Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which provides services for homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth.

To leave a message of condolence, please visit Sylvia’s Lasting Memories.