It is with sorrow and gratitude that we mark the passing of Veronica S. Kim of Manchester, CT — sorrow at the loss, gratitude for the life.
What remains is memory — and the gratitude of those she loved.
A parent's life is measured, in part, by the lives she shaped.
Veronica S. Kim, 83, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, May 4, 2026, with family by her side. She was born November 17, 1942, in Hartford, daughter of the late William and Antoinette (Nesta) Scalzo. After high school she received her nursing degree from the St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing and subsequently a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Connecticut State University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut. While working at St. Francis Hospital she met Dr. Cyril K. Kim, and they were married for the next 60 years. She later spent over 30 years as a school social worker for the Town of Coventry, and in her retirement she served as a volunteer reader to students at Martin Elementary School in Manchester.
Veronica is survived by children, Jonathan and his wife Gabrielle of Coral Gables, Florida, Matthew and his wife Rebecca of Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Justin and his partner Barry Gilman of Northampton, Massachusetts and New York, New York; her grandchildren, Ellen and Sarah of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and many loved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. In addition to her parents, and her husband Cyril, she was predeceased by her siblings, Anthony & Joseph Scalzo and Lena Civitillo.
Veronica's family would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for her St Francis Hospital School of Nursing classmates, her former colleagues from the Coventry Public Schools system as well as relatives and her many dear friends nationwide and abroad for their love of someone who always put others first. They would also like to thank members of the hospice care team at VITAS Healthcare and Jemima Entsiwah who helped both Veronica, and previously her husband Cyril, in their final days.
Relatives and friends are invited to the John F. Tierney Funeral Home, 219 West Center St. Manchester on Monday, May 11th for a visitation from 9 to 11 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Bartholomew Church, 45 Ludlow Rd. in Manchester at 11:30 a.m. The burial will take place immediately after at Holy Cross Cemetery in Glastonbury.
Donations in Veronica's memory can be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) or the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org).
