Gunvor Wing passed away in her home surrounded by family on August 13, 2024 at age 78. Born in Bergen, Norway, August 12, 1946 she was the daughter of Per and Synnove Larsen. She came to the U.S. in 1972, having married her loving husband, Stephen. They met in Frankfurt, Germany and moved to Milford in 1979. Gunvor chose to be a stay-at-home mom for her daughters before rejoining her work in insurance at Equitable, and American Skandia (later Prudential).
In addition to her husband, her survivors include their daughters, Synne Wing (Tim Sullivan), Kari-Anna Adrian (Alex), her sister Gerd Sjursen (Kolbjorn), sister-in-law Alice Schedlbauer and her children and adored grandsons, Cole Venuti, Oskar Adrian and Gus Adrian.
Beyond her parenting and grandparenting skills, she was an expert knitter, a gourmet cook, a brilliant flower arranger, interior designer, and masterful Scrabble player. She hosted many dinner parties large and small. Her annual ‘Gunvorfest’ garden parties for colleagues were a hit. Her skill and discipline as the family finance minister allowed for many enjoyable family trips abroad and improvements to their fixer-upper home. Many of the best parts of that stemmed from her ideas.
The first and only of her Norwegian family to leave Bergen, she aimed to build relationships between here and there and she succeeded to an amazing degree. We see our Norwegian connections, spanning four generations, often.
Early on she became a keen follower of American politics and fervent Democrat. When changes in the law allowed, she added U.S. citizenship and voted.
Through her 15 month struggle with cancer she received expert and loving care from the cancer team at Yale-New Haven Health’s Smilow Cancer Hospital, for which she and her family are truly grateful. Through some tough stretches, her team leader, Dr. Jeremy Kortmansky told her ‘you’re the toughest cookie we’ve got.’
Friends are welcome to join us for visiting hours on Friday, August 16, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Cody-White Funeral Home, 107 Broad St., Milford. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Smilow Cancer Hospital or to your favorite charity.
