Emma Carberry Paley

SHARON - Emma Carberry Paley, 95, of Sharon, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.

Emma was born on Sept. 12, 1927, the daughter of Lena (Clum) and Joseph V. Carberry. She attended Sharon Center School and graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1945. Emma attended nursing school in Albany, New York, and became an LPN. Following graduation, she worked in the maternity department of Sharon Hospital. She married Morris Paley in 1948 and they shared 62 years of marriage until he predeceased her in September 2010.

Emma will be remembered for her kindness and her sense of humor. She was a good listener and usually one of the first people to show up when a family experienced a loss. She had particular compassion for families that lost young children. Among her belongings, were letters of thanks from strangers that she had reached out to over the years when they lost a child.

Emma’s childhood home had no running water and no electricity. At six years old, her family moved to a “modern” house across the valley, right next door to the man she would someday marry. As one of 13 children during the Depression, she had many household responsibilities especially when her mother was sick with cancer. One of her jobs was to bake a cake for her family every day. Because of that, Emma could whip up a cake in no time!

Emma and Morris’ home was a lively, welcoming place. As the mother of eight children and a farmer’s wife, every day was full of the unexpected. In addition to caring for her children, feeding the hired men and running errands for the farm, she still found time to be part of the Sharon Beach Committee, the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary and the Sharon Center School Nurses’ Association. In later years, Emma and Morris traveled around the country to attend antique car meets where they had many adventures and made lifelong friends. Morris and Emma also hosted several antique car events and many still remember the apple pie she served on the front porch of the farmhouse. When the youngest child finally left for college, Emma and Morris began spending their winters in Florida where they made many new friends. After Morris’ passing, Emma joined a small group of widows for Monday night dinners at the Sharon Hospital cafeteria. The small group grew to a tribe of more than 20 women that still gather as often as possible. One of Emma’s last outings was a celebration of a dear friend’s 90th birthday.

Emma was predeceased by her brothers; Vincent (Idella), Robert (Doris), Joseph (Sophie), Paul (Frances), Donald (Beth), Francis (Dorothy), and Thomas (Mary), by her sisters; Virginia Kendall (Frank), Dorothy Frasier (Thomas), Helen Passante (Julius) and Mary Lango (Joe), her sisters in law, Lila Zlotoff and Mae Benson and by her sons, George (Judy) and Douglas, and her grandson, Ben.

She is survived by her beloved sister, Barbara McEnroe (Joseph) and her sisters-in law, Dorothy Carberry and Gladys Paley. She is also survived by her children Will (Elaine), Susan Kent (David), Roberta, Elizabeth Tong (David), Charlie, and Sarah Coon (Chris).

Emma adored her 12 grandchildren and had a special relationship with each one of them: Dalton, Austin, Max, Amanda, Jack, Katie, Emily, Ben, Sam, Nathan, Ashley and Anna. She was blessed with nine great-grandchildren: Wyatt, Easton, Asa, Tyler, Georgia, Emma, Lila, Maren, and June. She loved her many nieces and nephews, as well.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ben Paley Scholarship, c/o Berkshire Taconic Foundation, 800 North Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257. (Please write Ben Paley Scholarship in the memo.) Donations can also be made online at berkshiretaconic.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1855

The family would like to express its deepest gratitude to Emma’s many caregivers over the past several years, especially her niece, Donna Carberry DiMartino, Joanne Lunning and Hazmik Hovhannisyan.

We will miss you, Mom. You will live on in our hearts forever.

A funeral mass was held at St. Bernard’s Church, 52 New Street, Sharon, CT on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 11:00 a.m.