Edith (Gelt) Prague

Edith Gelt Prague passed away surrounded by love on the morning of December 16, 2021. Born in Methuen, Massachusetts, Edith was fortunate to live a life she loved, filled with family, friends, work and making a difference in this world. We were all so blessed to know her and to love her. When Edith’s father died when she was a young girl, she worked alongside her mother and brother in the family grocery store and there, she also learned the value of helping those in need as her mother delivered baskets of food to people during the Depression – early lessons that stayed with her forever, stories she could recount so clearly. Edith was a teacher, a medical social worker, a Representative in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1982-1990), a State Senator from 1995-2013 (she loved this role so much and took tremendous pride in her work) and Connecticut Commissioner on Aging. She represented the people in her districts with tenacity and honesty and she listened to anyone who needed to be heard or needed help in life. She fought to protect the rights of people to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect and never gave up on a cause she believed in. Edith called herself “a social worker with power.” Of all the awards Edith earned, the real rewards came from individuals who wrote, called or stopped her in public to thank her, to tell her how she had helped them in their lives. Family mattered most to Edith. The best mother and grandmother any child could dream of, Edith will forever a part of her children’s souls: daughters Shelley Prague, Benay Smith and Joanne Prague Doyle (Tom Doyle) and grandchildren Nathan, Matthew, Sam, Josh, Chris, Brian, Katie, Tim and Michael. She was predeceased by her husband, Frank and daughter, Susan as well as her brother George with whom she shared a very special bond and her sister, Beatrice. What her children will remember is a mother’s protective love and the lessons instilled in us to always, when we can, help others, to stand up and speak out and to live fully and honestly. Services to pay tribute to Edith will be held on Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 11:00 at Temple B’nai Israel, 383 Jackson St., Willimantic, CT. Guests must be fully vaccinated and must please wear a mask. Seating is limited due to CDC Protocols. Burial will follow the service at Temple B’nai Israel Cemetery located at the junction of CT Route 31 and CT Route 32 in Mansfield, Connecticut. To continue her work to help those in need and those who serve, please honor Edith with a donation to Generations Family Health Center, 40 Mansfield Avenue, Willimantic, CT 06226 to the Attention of Allison Heneghan, The Center for Medicare Advocacy at 11 Ledgebrook Dr., Mansfield, CT 06250 or The Columbia Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 26 Columbia, CT 06237.

To continue her work to help those in need and those who serve, please honor Edith with a donation to Generations Family Health Center, 40 Mansfield Avenue, Willimantic, CT 06226 to the Attention of Allison Heneghan, The Center for Medicare Advocacy at 11 Ledgebrook Dr., Mansfield, CT 06250 or The Columbia Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 26 Columbia, CT 06237.