Obituary of Harriet Doolittle

Harriet E. (Milliken) Doolittle, proud former U.S. Navy WAVE, homemaker, flag-waver, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and Red Sox fan, passed away peacefully in her home in Herndon, Va., on Sunday, July 14. A long-time resident of Richmond Street in East Haven, she was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, William "Bill" Doolittle. Survived by two sons, Paul “Doc” W. Doolittle (Julie) of Centennial, Colo., and Robert E. Doolittle (Joanne) of Fairfax, Va., Harriet is the grandmother of Tom and Will of Centennial; Greg and Carly of Fairfax; Tina Groth of El Paso, Tex.; Becca Martin of Centennial; and Clint Martin, USMC, of Jacksonville, N.C.; and the great-grandmother of Hannah Stringfellow and Sam Hayes of Centennial, Caleb and Kaylee Groth of El Paso, and Wyatt and Hudson Martin of Jacksonville. She is also survived by a beloved brother, Charles W. Milliken Sr. and Brenda, his wife, of North Walpole, N.H. Harriet was born March 31, 1935, in Boston, one of six children of the late Elliot and Nellie (McMann) Milliken. She graduated from Jamaica Plain High School in 1954 and enlisted in the Navy as a Communications Yeoman. She was assigned to NAS South Weymouth, Mass., for training and her initial duty assignment, where she met and married Bill, also a sailor, in May 1960. She earned two Good Conduct medals and the National Defense Service Medal while on active duty and was honorably discharged after 6 years of service. Paul and Robert came along soon after and the family traveled compliments of the Navy as Bill was assigned to various U.S. and foreign locations, sometimes with family and sometimes without. When Bill joined the U.S. Dept. of State Foreign Service, the family world tour continued to Monrovia, Liberia; Beijing, PRC; Tokyo, Japan; and Seoul, South Korea. In 1988 Harriet and Bill retired to East Haven, his boyhood home, to enjoy family, friends and neighbors. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 PM on Thursday, July 25, 2019, at the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home, 43 Kirkham Ave., East Haven. Funeral service will be held at the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home on Friday, July 26, at 11:00 AM with Committal and Full Military Honors to follow at East Lawn Cemetery, East Haven. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the United States Navy Memorial, Washington, D.C. (https://www.navymemorial.org/donate-gift-in-honor-form ) in memory of her honorable service.