Mary Claudette Ziegler Blozy

In Loving Memory of Mary Claudette Ziegler Blozy (Claudie)

December 27, 1945 – August 5, 2025

Mary Claudette Ziegler Blozy (Claudie) was a master gardener of both plants and people. With soil under her fingernails and kindness in her heart, she nurtured everything she touched to grow, bloom and thrive.

Claudie was raised in rural Harrison, Ohio, where she helped pick strawberries and tobacco on her family’s farm. Those early years sowed the seeds of her deep connection to the earth and her tireless work ethic for all things good.

Claudie’s compassionate spirit led her to a career in nursing, taking her first position in the ER at Cincinnati General Hospital. She later worked at Shriners Hospital for Children, offering tender care to severely burned children. Her hands were healing hands—whether through medicine, quilting or a hug.

While caring for others professionally, her heart belonged most fiercely to her husband Jack - her soulmate and partner of nearly 57 years and their three children. The best of moms, Claudie was ever-present: the Room Mom in class, cheerleader at their game, the midnight seamstress crafting Halloween costumes, Christmas dresses and doll clothes, the baker of brownies and holiday-themed sugar cookies, the loving hand behind a lifetime of small, beautiful moments.

In 2001, Claudie & Jack moved to Connecticut to be near their grandchildren and she fulfilled a long-held dream of becoming a certified Master Gardener. She was happiest at the Hill-Stead Museum, where she joined the Garden Gang and helped restore the historic Sunken Garden to its former glory. She also co-designed the little garden at the corner of Fern & Mountain Road. Her own garden was featured on the West Hartford Garden Tour in 2008—one of her proudest achievements.

Her devotion to the Hill-Stead extended beyond the soil. Claudie co-chaired the annual May Market three times and served as a museum docent. She brought the stories of art and history to life with the same vibrancy she brought to her own life.

In her later years, Claudie took on her favorite role yet: Grandma. Whether hiking, skipping rocks, wolf watching, geyser gazing or searching for wildlife in her beloved Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, she created magical memories for her grandchildren Jake, Luke and Tessa.

Claudie was preceded in death by her loving parents, Evelyn and Aloysius Ziegler; her brother Phil and nephew Anthony. She is survived by her devoted husband, Jack, who wouldn’t take no for an answer when he first asked her to dance in 1967, her beloved “three bears”: Tom (Kathy), Stephanie and Carrie; her cherished grandchildren; her sister Zita Edwards (Gary); her brothers Andy (Peggy), Mark and Rick; nephews, her niece Susan and grandniece Maci along with a loving circle friends, including the Mariemont Walkers, who were lucky enough to know her. Special thank you to Georgia, the sweetest caregiver, and to Jan for being the best of friends to the very end.

Claudie’s life was a patchwork of grace, empathy, and love—stitched together by laughter, wisdom and flowers in full bloom. She faced the challenges of Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia with remarkable courage and dignity, supported by the compassionate care of the Hospice team at Hartford Hospital.

A funeral Mass will be held at Saint Peter Claver in West Hartford on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at 10am. Her ashes will be laid to rest among family in her hometown where her story first began.

In honor of Claudie’s beautiful life, we invite you to plant some flowers and pull a few weeds—but not Joe Pye Weed. In one of her final conversations, she gently reminded us that it is a favorite of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds – nurturing the beautiful web of life around us.