Joyce Diggdon
Winthop Resident
Joyce R. Diggdon of Winthrop, formerly of Arlington, died on January 31 at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She was 80 years old.
Born in Revere, the daughter of the late Andrew W. and Katherine (Mahar) Diggdon, she was the sister of Teresa M. Diggdon of Winthrop and the late Kathleen Dewhurst, Sara Kricman and Herbert A. Diggdon. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in The Church of St. John the Evangelist, 320 Winthrop St., Winthrop on Saturday, February 6 at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Perkins School for the Blind, 175 North Beacon St., East Watertown, MA 02472-2790. Funeral arrangements are by the O’Maley Funeral Home, Winthrop.
Helen Chace
Town’s Oldest Resident, Boston Post Cane Recipient
Helen E. (Belcher) Chace of Winthrop died at her home on January 31. She was 101 years old.
A member of the Margaret Circle (UMW), the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association, and the Popular Authors Literary Club, she was a graduate of Lesley College, Class of 1931, and was a second grade teacher in the Winthrop Public School System from 1931 to 1974. She was the recipient of the Boston Post Cane, an award given to the oldest town resident, on January 21, 2009.
She was the beloved wife of the late Boardman H. Chace. Born in Winthrop, she was the daughter of the late Alphonso and Mary (Moses) Belcher; devoted mother of Bradford A. Chace of Winthrop; dear sister of the late Galen, Alden, and Wallace Belcher and is also survived by several cousins and many friends.
A Funeral Service was held at the First Church of Winthrop United Methodist Church. Burial was in Winthrop Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home, Winthrop. Donations in her name may be made to the First Church of Winthrop United Methodist, 217 Winthrop St. Winthrop, MA, 02152. For guestbook, go to www.mauricekirbyfh.com.
Virginia Shaughnessy
Retired Switchboard Operator, Active at Local Senior Centers
Virginia R. (Nappa) Shaughnessy died on January 31 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was 79 years old.
The wife of the late Richard H. Shaughnessy, Jr., former Revere Firefighter, she was born in Boston and raised in Beachmont Revere, the daughter of the late Modestino and Ernesta (Storniuolo) Nappa. She was a graduate of Revere High School. Mrs. Shaughnessy was a retiree of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston where she worked as a switchboard operator. She was very active at the Saugus, Winthrop and Revere Senior Centers.
Mrs. Shaughnessy leaves two sons, Michael R. Shaughnessy and his wife, Jeanine, of Revere, Paul J. Shaughnessy and his wife, Linda, of Revere; two grandchildren, Joseph P. Shaughnessy and Matthew P. Shaughnessy, both of Revere; one sister, Lorraine Parkes and her husband, Michael, of Revere; one niece, Carolyn Sasso of Revere and one nephew, Stephen Parkes of Revere.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, Saugus. Burial was at Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett.
Paul Cheney
Winthrop resident
Paul W. Cheney of Winthrop, Formerly of East Boston, died recently.
A US Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was the beloved husband of the late Rose ( Muise); father of Maureen Graves of Maryland, Paul R. Cheney of Andover, Kathleen Hanlon of East Boston, Judith Masterson of Nevada, Teresa LaPointe of Maine, Patricia Bouvier of East Boston and the late Sharon Millerick, Frances Keith, Robert and Michelle Emmett; brother of Helen Picone of Springfield and the late Fr. Robert, John, Marie and Charles Cheney. He is also survived by many grand children, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the Magrath Funeral Home, East Boston. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Joseph McNicholas
Decorated veteran, N.E. Telephone retiree
Joseph E. McNicholas of Winthrop and Clearwater, FL died on January 29 after a brief illness. He was 87 years old.
Born in Boston, he was the beloved son of the late Anna (Burke) and Michael McNicholas. A decorated US Army veteran of World War II, he retired from the New England Telephone Co. in 1981.
Affectionately know as "Grank" to many friends, but especially his grandchildren, he enjoyed many summer vacations on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, golfing in the warm Florida sun and strolling around downtown Nantucket in search of the best clam chowder during the summer months. He returned to the comfort of the New England winters two years ago to be closer to his family.
He was the beloved husband of the late Mary (Sullivan) and the loving father of Helen McNicholas of Winthrop, Joanne Longacre and her husband, Jim, of Plainfield, NH, Gerry Lynch and her husband, Jeff, of Hingham, Joe McNicholas and his wife, Mary, of Jersey City, New Jersey and Eileen Keough and her husband, Paul, of West Roxbury; cherished Grank to Mike and Chris Walker; Julie Degenhardt; Sharon and Emily Longacre; Ryan, Kevin, Justin and Hilary Lynch; Ryan, Mary, Kevin and Allison Keough and great grank to Paige and Noah Walker, Liam Lynch and Colin Degenhardt.
His funeral was conducted from the Ernest P. Caggiano and Son Funeral Home, Winthrop. Burial was in the family lot in Calvary Cemetery, Waltham. Expressions of sympathy may be made in the honor of Joseph E. McNicholas to: Harvest Hill, 121 Mascoma St., Lebanon, NH 03766, the Independent Living Facility that provided him with wonderful care during the last two years of his life. To sign his online guestbook, go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
Patricia ‘Patty’ D’Avolio
Member of Survivors by the Sea
Patricia A. "Patty" (Lazzari) D’Avolio of Winthrop, formerly of East Boston, died on January 28.
A member of Survivors by the Sea, she was the beloved wife of Richard D’Avolio; devoted mother of Richard A. and Steven D’Avolio, both of Winthrop; loving twin sister of Lanie Zampanti of Winthrop; cherished daughter of the late Gus and Louise (Grieco) Lazzari; adored aunt of Ronnie and Kristen Zampanti and Tracy Caeran; fond great aunt of Ronnie, Lexa, Craig and James and loving daughter in law of Nick and Betty D’Avolio of East Boston.
Funeral arrangements were by the Ruggiero Mazzarella Funeral Home, (Orient Heights) East Boston. Burial was in Winthrop Cemetery. For more information or to send an online condolence www.ruggieromh.com
Irving Herman
Retired Dental Lab Owner
Irving Herman died on January 27 at the Kirkwood House in Wakefield. He was 90 years old.
Born in Boston, he grew up in Winthrop and lived in Revere for 25 years and in Brookline for 25 years. He was educated in the Winthrop Schools and was a graduate of Winthrop High School.
A US Army veteran of World War II, he was a dental technician and the former owner of the Needham Dental Lab for many years. He was very devoted to his entire family.
He was the beloved husband of the late Ida (Levine) Herman; the devoted father of Eileen Herman-Haase and her husband, Howard, Nancy Auerbach and her husband, Paul, and the late Jane Perry. He is also survived by his son in law Skip Perry. He was the dear brother of the late Rose Bloomfield, Abraham Herman, Isadore Herman, Phillip Herman, Cyd Bozaan and the loving grandfather of Michelle Perry, Joshua Auerbach and Haylee Herman-Haase.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the Torf Funeral Chapel, Chelsea. Burial was in Woburn. Donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimers Association 311 Arsenal St. Watertown, MA 02472. For online guestbook visit www.torffuneralservice.com