12/04/2025
Stella Patricia "Pat" Hancock
Stella Patricia Hancock, of Manchester, CT., passed away peacefully on Sunday 11/23/25 surrounded by family and friends at the age of 89. She was born in Croydon, England on October 20th, 1936 to the late Edmund James and Doris Aida (Doubleday) Graves.
“Pat” was a strong, resilient, independent and determined woman from an early age who always pushed the limits of her abilities to live the full life that she wanted. She grew up during the ravages of World War II in war torn England. From ages 3-9, she survived the constant bombing of Croydon by the Germans. During these years her family dealt with rations and limited resources in order to support the war effort which led her to develop a strong sense of frugality, never give up attitude and national pride. Following her formal education, she attended Brixton Commercial College in London and obtained a degree in Office Administration. She then went to work for the British Petroleum Company Limited in Finsbury Circus, London. Her adventurous spirit lead her to want to travel and see the Americas. At age 18, she spent a year working two jobs in order to pay for passage on the trans-Atlantic ocean liner Homeric. She sailed by herself at age 19 across the Atlantic to Canada. This was 1957 and, as was customary at the time, she rented a room from Mrs. Adams, a widow who ran a guest house for single women in Montreal and became employed at Canadair Ltd. She developed a great network of friends and ultimately married. She then immigrated to the United States through Niagra Falls N.Y. and subsequently lived in Seattle, Washington, Redwood City, California, Vernon,CT., Indianapolis, Indiana, Botley, England and ultimately Manchester, CT where she lived the rest of her life. After working for Boeing Corporation in Seattle, she left the corporate world to raise her family and returned once her children were old enough to start her career as an executive secretary with The Connecticut Bank and Trust Company and subsequently Fleet Bank in downtown Hartford. Following retirement from the bank, she worked for Remax real estate in Manchester until full retirement at age 73.
She has always been proud of her English heritage and entering her home was like a trip across the pond. It was decorated with pictures of various sites in England, the royal family, cottages, Wedgewood and Royal Dalton. She shared many a cup of tea and her famous short bread with family and friends. She took great pride in her home and following divorce worked hard to maintain it. She loved her neighborhood community and developed strong bonds with her neighbors who were all quick to lend her a helping hand when needed. One could always find her pottering in her garden. She enjoyed reading or knitting or just sitting and taking a nap on her front porch. On warm days she would place a dog bowl full of fresh water at the end of her front walkway to quench the thirst of any dogs being walked as they passed by and to say hello to their owners. She was very kind to others and always championed the underdog.
Pat was the embodiment of the English attitude to “Keep calm and carry on.” She will be missed not only by her family but by the many friends she has made over the years. She had an extremely strong faith and was a parishioner at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and the Salvation Army Citadel in Manchester. She found comfort and fellowship as a member of the bible study group. She also was involved with St. John’s Episcopal church of Vernon. She looked forward to getting together with the ladies of the knitting group. She helped knit caps for the newborns at Manchester Memorial Hospital and shoulder shawls for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
She was a true survivor and never quit even through very difficult times of her life. Over the last several years of her life, she survived and rebounded from several medical challenges. She worked hard through multiple rehabilitations in order to maintain her independence. She was blessed and thankful to have a safety net of physicians who took tremendous care of her from both the ECHN and Hartford Hospital communities. The family would especially like to thank Margaret Powell NP, Doctors Anwar, Reale, McLaughlin, Suede, Roth, Becherl, Micheals and the Hartford Hospital Neuro Team. The family would also like to thank all the care givers she has had over the years, especially Gail and Vivelyn, her Holiday White Oaks community and the staff at Manchester Rehabilitation and Health Care center in Manchester for their loving care and support during her final days.
Pat was extremely proud of both her sons and gave of herself to ensure they became educated and successful. She tolerated and supported multiple exotic pets in the household from rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, turtles, possum and even skunks and a flock of turkeys. She was supportive of scientific experiments and dissections of various specimens on the kitchen table. She encouraged learning to play noisy musical instruments and fostered participation in swimming, baseball, soccer and hockey. She took her sons camping. A famous quote was, “You can never waste time or money on education or travel, as if you think about it, they are the same thing”. She was a great “Mum”. She leaves behind her sons, Roger S Hancock RN DVM of the island of St Kitts, Caribbean and Martin J Hancock MD and his wife Barbara DePaolo-Hancock of South Windsor, CT and her children Fred F Leone III and Dawn L Leone-Benson and her husband Jeff and their children Marissa and Ryan. Extended family Micheal and Nicholyn DePaolo and their children Duke and Ruby, Lisa DePaolo-L’Italien and her husband Corey and their daughter Mia. Mark and Joanne Tosi and their daughter Lauren and husband Stephens Lima. Pat was predeceased by her fiance’ Colin Massie and survived by his daughters Leslie Massie and Marilyn Massie-Clarke and her family, all of Nova Scotia, Canada. Pat was predeceased by her sister Roma Graves-Caddy and her husband David of Uplands Farm, Botley, England. She is survived by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; nephew Raymond Caddy and his wife, Jan Caddy of Cornwall England, their children Georgina Caddy and Robert Caddy, his wife Tasmin and their children Rubin and Eloise, niece Joy Caddy-Carlisle and deceased husband Ivor of Botley, England, niece Susan Caddy-Horne and her sons James and Christopher of Botley, niece Trisha Caddy-Newbury and her husband John of Durley, England. Pat was predeceased by her loving cats Chumley and Aloysius.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Stella Patrica Hancock’s life will be held on December 13th, 2025 at 2 pm at the Salvation Army Citadel located at 661 Main Street, Manchester. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Manchester Salvation Army (checks can be made payable to The Salvation Army of Manchester, Connecticut at 661 Main St, Manchester, CT 06040) or St Judes Children’s Research Hospital (checks payable to St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital at P.O. Box 1999, Memphis, TN 38101). To leave an online condolence please visit www.holmeswatkins.com
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