Jennie A. Rubera

OLD LYME — Jennie A. Rubera, of Old Lyme, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at her residence on February 12, 2022.

She was born in Waterbury, the daughter of Angelo and Rose Petraroia and was the wife of the late Joseph A. Rubera.

Mrs. Rubera lived a life of serving others as a nurse and business owner before embarking on a 37-year career as a teacher in the Old Lyme public school system, first at Center School and then at Mile Creek Elementary School.  

Teaching was not just a career it was her passion.  Her years in the classroom were marked by many accomplishments including the study of the Connecticut River and its tributaries, her yearly Broadway East second grade play productions (Bambi: The Musical and Turkey Turkey Tell Me True were among the more memorable), her 1999 State of Connecticut Celebration of Excellence Award for Exemplary Teaching and her Memorial Day Commemoration Program celebrated by her 2nd grade students for 29 years in the small cemetery next to Mile Creek Elementary.

It was for her leadership in that Memorial Day Commemoration that she was nearly featured as ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson’s Person of the Week in 2009. ABC News was about to send a news crew to Old Lyme before deciding instead to profile a 107-year-old Army veteran, the last surviving American veteran of World War I.  She and her son in law B.J. Finnell would joke that the first line in her obituary would read: 

Jennie A. Rubera, who was almost ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson’s Person of the Week, passed away in Old Lyme, harboring no ill will toward the 107-year-old World War I veteran who edged her out for national recognition of her patriotism and commitment to her students!

She could laugh about it because her patriotism and commitment to her students were unquestioned and she never sought any kind of recognition for her efforts.  Her family always knew the Memorial Day ceremony was held in part to honor her brother Michael, who was killed in action in Germany in February 1945, a loss similar to those suffered by so many American families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

Mrs. Rubera retired from teaching in 2011, having left a permanent impact on her colleagues and the hundreds of students who passed through her classroom for nearly four decades. She believed each student could become president of the United States and she asked only that they remembered her when they became famous!

She was a graduate of a two-room schoolhouse in the Bucks Hill section of Waterbury, Wilby High School, the St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing, the University of Connecticut (Bachelor’s Degree of Science) and Southern Connecticut State University (Master’s Degree of Science).  She also spent a summer at Oxford University in England, where she participated in an international program on teaching the gifted child (her philosophy was that every child was gifted and that such programs could be open to all students).

She began her career as a nurse, caring for polio and tuberculosis patients in the Hartford area, even after she and her husband moved to Old Lyme in 1951.  She also served as a Justice of the Peace in Old Lyme since 1981, marrying many couples on Old Lyme beaches, in private homes and in her own living room on Mile Creek Road.

Her colleagues, friends and in particular her family appreciated her enthusiasm, love of travel and  quirky sense of humor. She was known for telling jokes, most of which were told out of order, usually starting with the punchline then working backwards to the set-up.  Her unique approach to these anecdotes was actually funnier than the jokes themselves, adding a unique level of hilarity for which she will always be fondly remembered.

She is survived by her daughters Nancy Rubera of Berlin and Joan Finnell and her husband B.J. of Chester, VT; her sister Angela Brunetti of Prospect; her granddaughters Jennifer DelBiondo, Sarah DelBiondo, Kimberly DelBiondo and Melissa Casso and her husband John; grandsons Nicholas Finnell and Benjamin Finnell; her great grandchildren Madison, Anthony and Peyton Casso; and nieces, nephews and cousins. 

She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, her sister Marie and brother Michael.

There will be no calling hours and burial will be private.  A celebration of her life will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of her dedication to educating the children of Old Lyme, donations in her name can be made to the Lyme Youths Services Bureau at www.lysb.org.  

To share memories of Mrs. Rubera’s extraordinary life and to sign the online guest book, visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.com.