Obituary of Edith Beryl Congdon

Edith Beryl (Waskey) Congdon 87, of Portland passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, May 20, 2023, surrounded by her family. She was the beloved wife of J. Victor Congdon, who predeceased her on March 23, 2022.  He was the love of her life.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 18, 1936, Beryl was the daughter of the late Oliver F. and Ruth (Coulter) Waskey.  Her mother immigrated to the United States from Dublin, Ireland and her father’s family dated back to an orphanage in Georgia in the early 1700’s.    

She was a devoted wife to her husband as they were high school sweethearts that fell in love at first sight when she was 16 years old! They dated for 7 years and were married for almost 63 years. Apart from her love for her husband, she loved God and was a woman of deep faith.

After graduating from business school, she worked for IBM (before there were computers).  She and Vic married and moved to Massachusetts in 1960 and later to Connecticut in 1962. She was a homemaker until her children were old enough for her to return to work part-time for Pequot Spring Water Co. from 1977-1981.  She then accepted a position in the Senior Services department of the Town of Glastonbury.  She was responsible for automating the Dial-A-Ride program to expand the service to seniors and continued to work as the coordinator until her retirement in 2002.  Serving senior citizens and helping to meet their needs in the community brought her great joy.

In her spare time, when she wasn’t baking the renowned Betty Crocker Cream Wafers during holidays, Beryl enjoyed writing letters and calling family and friends.  She and her husband also loved to spend time at the ocean and the Outer Banks was a special place to them both where they often spoke about “happy feet” in the sand.

She was a Portland resident for 35 years. Prior to her move she lived in Glastonbury and Manchester where she had many caring and loving neighbors.

She is survived by her two sons Keith Congdon and his wife Deb of New Hampshire, Garth Congdon and his wife Tracy of Florida, her daughter Susan Mitchell and her husband Doug of South Glastonbury, her six grandchildren Kelsey Fast and her husband Nick, Lindsey Terjanian and her husband Aaron, Erin Congdon, Kaitlyn, Kara, and Colleen Mitchell, her great granddaughter Charlotte Fast, and her two nephews Steve Congdon and his wife Betsy, Mark Congdon and his wife Petra. Beryl is also survived by her brothers Oliver Waskey and Eric Waskey, and she was predeceased by her brothers Allen Waskey and Peter Waskey and her daughter-in-law Sue Congdon.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury. Burial will be in Green Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Camp Berea at www.berea.org or mailed to 68 Berea Road, Hebron, NH  03241. For online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.