Obituary of Alison D'Errico

Date of Funeral Changed Due to the snow storm the funeral for Alison has been changed to Tuesday, March 3. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday, March 3 at 8 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Malachy Church at 9 a.m. Visiting hours will remain the same on Sunday 5 - 9 p.m. Alison M. D’Errico passed away surrounded by her family after a long and courageous battle with Breast cancer on Wednesday morning, February 25, at the Lahey Clinic. She was just 37 years old. Alison was born in Winchester. She grew up in Burlington and was a 1989 graduate of Matignon High School. Alison always had a great desire to be of service and care to others. This compassion was what guided her in her life’s choices. She was extremely independent and not afraid of hard work. Even while undergoing treatment for cancer, she was working at the Lahey Clinic as a Nurses Assistant, a Personal Caretaker for an elderly friend, and a waitress at Legal Sea Food. She loved caring for others in need and shared a special bond with her cousin Christine who has special needs. She had previously worked in the marketing departments of Comcast and Disney and also sold real estate part time for Century 21 Gr in Stoneham. Alison had a number of hobbies and interests that she enjoyed sharing with family and friends. She enjoyed camping in Vermont as one of her favorite destinations. She loved the ballet, movies with her son, her yearly trip to Laconia, NH and spending time with her nieces. She enjoyed skiing, swimming, and sitting by a pool. She was a faithful fan and supporter of her son’s Motorcross racing and her niece Alisa's hockey. She was a fantastic baker, always putting in the extra time and effort to make her desserts look as good as they taste. Although her life was cut short, she leaves a lasting legacy of love. Alison was the loving mother of Jonathan Marshall of Wilmington & Billerica. She was the daughter of Robert D’Errico & his wife Sandra of Peabody and the late Joan (Pasquale) D’Errico. She was the loving sister of Melissa Canney & her husband Michael of Burlington and stepsister of Michael Rapoza, John Rapoza, Kara Hennessey all of Peabody and David Rapoza of Georgtown. She was the special aunt of Alisa and Avery Canney. She was also survived by many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, March 2 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Malachy’s Church at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday 5-9 p.m. Interment in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. Memorials in Alison’s name may be made to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 204, Norwood, NJ 07648 or www.TNBCFoundation.org. A Mesesage from Melissa Today we are here to remember my sister Alison but the truth is, she was such a force in life, it is hard to imagine that she is not here with us at least in spirit. Alison arrived in this world four days before my third birthday and growing up as sisters we laughed together, fought for each other and sometimes against each other but always traveled through life together. As a kid Alison was funny, imaginative and always adventurous. Some of my fondest memories were of the days we spent playing Little House on the prairie in the woods behind our house, roller-skating on our tennis court and hanging by the pool at our grandmothers. We had family camping trips to Vermont and lived in Wyoming and in Saudi Arabia. Alison was the kind of kid who tried everything, building elaborate blanket forts in my grandmother’s formal living room, eating periwinkles picked from the ocean on vacation in Maine when no other kid would dare, and inventing her imaginary purple friend who was to blame when she did anything wrong. Our family moved to Saudi Arabia in the early 80’s for a year and a half. When our parents informed us we would be leaving, Alison and I were less than enthusiastic about moving to the desert and I know we plotted for months on how we could try to get out of it. As it turned out it was an experience of a lifetime and one that bonded our family in a way that no one could understand. When we returned from Saudi it was 1983 and Alison’s style would never be the same. Alison was a true 80’s girl in every sense of the word and embraced every crazy style it had to offer. Besides the clothing and excessive accessories, there was the infamous “perm” given to her by a friend of the family. That perm was so big it prompted our extremely ill grandmother who rarely spoke, to have a moment of clarity and ask Alison what the hell happened to her hair. There was also the time Alison shaved only one side of her hair in what we later referred to as her “Cyndi Lauper” period. Alison loved Duran Duran during the 80’s and spent most of her time was calling her neighborhood friend Amy to tell her when they were on MTV. I remember our days together at Matignon when our friend Lisa would pick us up in her 1970’s Malibu. Alison always enjoyed climbing through the window of the car door that didn’t open, uniform and all. I remember us being late for school and Alison calling pretending to be our mother so we would not get into trouble and arriving to school to a very unhappy sister Carmelina who would promptly give us all detention. In 1990 Alison and I suffered the loss of our mother but as life had it, shortly after Alison got what she considered her greatest gift in life, her son Jonathan. As a young parent Alison was never afraid to take a job, no matter what it was help support their young family. She worked overnight jobs to be home for Jonathan while he was young and went to EMT school. She however ended up falling into a lengthy career at Comcast in the marketing and customer service department instead. Three years ago she made the decision to return to the medical field and got her job at Lahey Clinic as a nursing assistant and planned on going to nursing school. She also took a second job waitressing at Legal Seafoods in Burlington. But once again, life had other plans and three months later Alison was diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been just two and a half years from that time and it would be impossible to fully explain the courage, grace and dignity with how Alison handled her illness. While she was sick, she worked two jobs and took a third helping care for my friend’s aging mother after that family suffered a tragic loss of their own. Alison always wanted to help others, often going out of her way to help someone move, be there in a time of need or simply be their friend. She had a wild and dark sense of humor often joking when her hair grew back in thick and curly after chemo, that she looked like David Hasselhoff. She loved to participate in anything Jonathan was involved in and supported him in everything he tried. Alison loved all things Christmas, especially the nutcracker ballet, family time and baking desserts. Alison’s favorite holiday though was Halloween and she rarely missed an opportunity to dress up and always brought Jonathan to trick or treat with my daughters. Even this past Halloween when her hair fell out again due to chemo, she decided it would be best to use it to her advantage and came to our house dressed as GI Jane. Alison lost her battle with cancer but she never lost her fight. Her fear of dying was about leaving those she loved behind, especially Jonathan. She and I knew how hard this would be for him, having sat exactly where he is sitting now. But Jonathan there are a few things that she wanted you to always remember. Your mother was extremely proud of the young man you have become and wanted you to be encouraged to continue to live your life, enjoy your motocross racing and never doubt the love she had for you. When you find yourself wondering or doubting I will be there to remind you. I loved your mother and it was an honor to care for her when she was sick and I am honored that she trusted me enough to help care for you now. You have the love and support of your dad, Christine and so many other family and friends that even though there may be times when you feel lonely, know you are never alone. As we leave today I ask that you all do so feeling inspired by Alison’s courage in the face of adversity and call on that in challenging times of your own. Enjoy your memories of Alison and share them freely with Jonathan so he may be reminded often of how many lives she touched. Remember her humor in times of sadness but mostly just remember the wonderful person she was. Thank you.