Jill (Pudlinski) Tavano

Jill (Pudlinski) Tavano, 50, of West Island (Fairhaven, MA) and Torrington, CT, passed away on June 22, 2020 at Tobey Hospital in Wareham, MA, after a brief illness. She was the beloved daughter of Barbara Pudlinski, of Torrington, CT, and recently predeceased by her father, John.  Jill is also survived by her brother, Christopher (and his wife Donna) of Cromwell, her 4 nieces and nephews [Kristin Haug, and Nicholas, Christopher and Anna Pudlinski], her ex-husband, Matt Tavano, of Wareham, MA, and her current partner of 7 years, John Williams, of Fairhaven, MA.

Jill was born on September 27, 1969 in Torrington, CT. She was a 1987 graduate of Torrington High School and a 1991 graduate of Colgate University, where she played in the Pep Band and majored in Biology.  Previously employed as a manager at various Encore Books stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, Jill was currently Senior Report Writer at Smithers, a scientific research firm located in Wareham, MA.  She was also cantor, choir member, and women’s retreat team leader at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Fairhaven, MA.

Jill was a math whiz, jigsaw puzzle queen, who enjoyed playing all sorts of card and board games with family and friends. Being the winning team at Thursday night trivia was one of many activities that gave her great joy. She would call her mother every Thursday night to test her on the trivia afterward.

Jill was foremost a lover of animals and especially passionate about dog rescue. A member of ASPCA for many years, she adopted all of her pet dogs from shelters and was proud to provide them a loving forever home.  She leaves behind her current pet, Jack. Recently, she befriended a wild female fox, who also lived on West Island. Jill would purchase raw chicken breasts and leave them out for the fox and her kits to enjoy. Sometimes the fox would join her on morning walks with her dogs.

Jill also played various music instruments, enjoyed water sports, and was a certified scuba diver, who felt at home living on a small island just off the south coast of Massachusetts. She liked to travel and made it to many places on her “bucket list”, including Iceland (with her parents in May 2019), Hawaii (with her niece Kristin), the 2016 Olympics in Brazil (with her two nephews), Alaska, the Panama Canal and cruises to various islands and destinations in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

Jill was solely responsible for getting The Cake Boss to film her parent’s 50th anniversary in 2013, and she too is featured on the Season 6 episode entitled Icing The Cake. These trips, special occasions, and her beloved pets live on through memories carefully curated by Jill into elaborate annotated scrapbooks. Jill will be deeply missed by family and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday July 2, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at St Peter Church (St. John Paul the Great Parish), 99 E. Main St., Torrington. Relatives and friends are asked to meet directly at the church. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery. There will be no calling hours. All relatives and friends attending the Mass are reminded to follow CDC recommendations for COVID prevention -- please follow social distancing guidelines and wear protective masks. Arrangements by Cook Funeral Home, Torrington.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jill Pudlinski Tavano Memorial Scholarship Fund on GoFundMe.com, or the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, MA, from which she adopted her beloved dog Bailey in 2002.

Condolences may be sent to Jill’s family by visiting www.cookfuneralhomect.com