Geraldine Toporek McCarthy Britton

September 25, 1929 – January 18, 2023

Geraldine Toporek McCarthy Britton, aged 93 years, passed away peacefully in Lake Mary, Florida with her family by her side after a short illness.

Geraldine ("Jerey" to all who knew her) was born to parents Felix and Josephine (Guzinski) Toporek in Plainfield, New Jersey. As a young woman, she worked in New York City as a PBX operator in a Manhattan skyscraper and enjoyed the big city life, often attending pop concerts and Broadway plays and visiting Coney Island.

Her future husband Joseph F. McCarthy would stop by her office to visit when on leave from the US Navy. They had known each other from childhood, living a few houses apart in Sayreville NJ. She married Joseph in June 1955 in Elizabethtown NJ.

The McCarthy family moved to Tampa, Florida soon after son Kevin was born in 1956, when Joseph decided he wanted a warmer climate. Son Patrick was born there in 1957. Following short stints in Tallahassee, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, the family eventually settled in Daytona Beach where Joseph continued his career as a retail store manager. She and the boys made regular summer trips to New Jersey to visit the Toporek family farm and see all the relatives and friends. Jerey always considered New Jersey "home" no matter where she lived.

After the passing of Joseph McCarthy in 1970, Jerey returned to the workforce to support her family by working at T.G. & Y., from where she retired in 1996. While her sons were in school, she was active in the PTA and supporting athletic events in which the boys participated. Many an afternoon, despite the weather, she was there to cheer them on.

During this period Jerey returned to school at Daytona Beach Junior College, studying horticulture and flower arranging. She volunteered at the local library. She became active in her churches at both Our Lady of Lourdes and Prince of Peace parishes as a member of the Council of Catholic Women. Jerey was also a long-time member of the Daytona Garden Club, enjoying plant growing and flower arranging — having been blessed with a green thumb as effective as her mother. She was active in the VFW Auxiliary in Ormond Beach, supporting their patriotic speech scholarship competitions. She married fellow VFW member Joseph B. Britton in 1982.

After the passing of Joseph Britton, Jerey relocated to Viera, Florida where she attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, participating in the Sunshine Ministry and the Centering Prayer group. She baked dozens of cookies to donate to local nursing and veteran's homes.

Being a bit of a daredevil, over the years she flew in a hot air balloon, rode in a helicopter, floated in the Virgin Airways blimp, and soared in a vintage open cockpit biplane, always relishing the experience immensely.

She very much enjoyed attending musicals and plays to watch her grandchild Daisy perform. A simple pleasure she delighted in was a cup of hot tea with honey and sweets. She made regular visits to "help the economy" by visiting local thrift shops and retail outlets, making fast friends with all the clerks — especially those hailing from her beloved New Jersey.

She always wrote Thank You notes for any gift or favor sent her way. She had a huge Christmas card list and never forgot to mail out birthday cards, singlehandedly responsible for keeping the U.S. Postal Service in business.

Jerey was blessed with an exceptionally strong Catholic faith and was a firm believer in "the P.O.P." (Power of Prayer). She prayed for people ceaselessly — including many she did not even know. One of her great joys was enjoying the Florida weather while saying the Rosary. In her later years, she made it a point to watch the Daily Mass on television, becoming familiar with the priests on the broadcast to the point of considering them as her friends even if she had never met them.

Jerey was predeceased by her parents Felix and Josephine Toporek of Clarksburg NJ and older brother Clement Toporek and sister-in-law Eleanor of Robbinsville NJ. She is survived by her brother James Toporek (Patricia) of Clarksburg NJ; her sons Kevin McCarthy (Nancy), grandchild Daisy Josephine McCarthy of Longwood FL; son Patrick (Mary) McCarthy of Rockledge FL; many Nieces, Nephews, Grand Nieces & Nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations in memory of Geraldine Toporek McCarthy Britton to Father Lopez Catholic High School, 3918 LPGA Boulevard, Daytona Beach, Florida 32124 - Father Lopez Donation Link

Jerey will be laid to rest beside her parents at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Millstone Township NJ. Funeral service will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 91 Stillhouse Road, Millstone, NJ at 11:00am on Monday, February 6th. A luncheon in celebration of Jerey's life will be held at Jimmy's American Grill, 140 Route 130 South, Bordentown, NJ 08505 following the funeral.

Notable quotes:

- "I'm over 29 (or 39, or 59)."

- "I believe in P.O.P - The Power of Prayer."

- "That car in front of us must not have a turn signal."

- "When someone else is driving I can look at what's alongside the road."

- "I don't drive at night."

- If she was out to dinner: "It always tastes better if someone else does the cooking," and "No dishes to wash!"

- "My brother Jim asks me why I am so nosy. I say I am not nosy; I am curious."

- "I only pick on you because I love you." To which the proper response would be: "Don't love me so much!"

- "Give me a hug!" (If you did not, you were likely to get a light kick in the shin.)

- If she did not like a suggestion you made for her activities, she would say "Whatever!"

- Most recent: "Role Reversal!"