Obituary of Ann Carabello

Ann M. (Sederquist) Carabello passed away at the Woburn Nursing Center on Friday morning, November 20, 2009, she was 78 years old. Ann was born in Quincy. She was the daughter of the late Elmer and Marjorie Spraker. She was raised and educated in Malden. Ann worked at Filenes Department store for 15 years. She enjoyed playing bingo and going to Foxwoods with her friends. Ann’s family and home were the most important part of her life. Ann was the beloved wife of the late Francesco N. She was the loving mother of Steven Conley of FL and Dianne Sawyer & her husband Harry of Burlington. She was the sister of Donald Spraker and Larry Spraker both of Somerville, Marilyn Casey of FL, John Spraker of MD and the late Richard Spraker. She was the grandmother of Erik Vendittelli, Keith, Jared and Kyle Stanley. Great grandmother of Bianca Vendittelli. A visiting hour will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, Nov. 23 from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Malachy’s Church, 99 Bedford St., BURLINGTON at 11 a.m. Relatives & friends respectfully invited to attend. Interment in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford Memorials in Ann’s name may be made to Make A Wish Foundation, One Bulfinch Place, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02114 www.mass.wish.org Eulogy by Marcia Spraker-Cavallo I first met my sister-in-law, Anne, at my niece, Diane’s , 10th birthday party in 1967-42 years ago It was so evident to me from the beginning that Ann loved her children, Steven & Diane, very deeply & that she was dedicated to them. It seemed to me then (& this has never changed)that the sun rose & fell on them. In Anne’s eyes they did no wrong-Diane & Steven clearly knew this and they relished this! Anne’s life was simple at that time-she was a stay at home mom & many afternoons & evenings I found the three of them together in their kitchen playing cards-lots of cards, or Yahtzee-lots of Yahtzee, or just talking-her neighbors, including dear friends Betty Cochran & Mary, frequently dropping in to chat as well. I remember that Ann made a particularly great carrot soup-and her brother Dick & I always tried to “drop” in on those evenings at supper time. I was the new kid on the block-but Anne was always welcoming to me. Anne had a large family-her mom, Margie (aka Ski), her dad, Elmer (aka Elmo) & sisters & brothers, Donny, Marilyn, Larry, Dicky, and Johnny-as well as a close cousin & lifelong friend, Peggy. She adored each & every one of them-they ,too, could do no wrong & I was amazed by this dedication. After Dick & I were married I saw first hand her love for her brother-because they spoke @ least every other night without fail-& this went on for decades until Dick died. I must also mention that one of the things Anne was very very proud of was that her mother had sung & danced w/the Buzby Berkeel Vaudeville team-& had taught her to kick her legs quite high-but Anne could also kick a leg backwards to touch her rear-end & she loved to show this off if asked-even up to 1 or 2 yrs. ago. Anne’s husband, Frankie (aka Beepa), rounded out her family –he loved her &Steven & Diane & proudly supported all of their whims & wishes-sometimes reluctantly but always, finally, giving in-always! They were a Team! At one point they ‘adopted’ Yankee, a large black dog. He was a very big & active pet, particularly for their very small apartment. He could easily knock Ann over. We all thought this was crazy & amazing-Ann had a dog. Boy, did she love him! Well time began to pass & Anne’s grandchildern came along. First Erick (she was so excited that she insisted that each brother & sister come to see him at the hospital when he was born-several time each). She made a point to spend a lot of time w/him since they both lived in Somerville when he was young. Then Peter, Tracey, Keith , Jarad, and finally Kyle came along(frequent hospital visits were not required by then). She adored each & every one of them as well---her grandchildren were the best!-I know because she told me frequently! She talked about how Peter & Tracey loved their children & were wonderful parents, bragged about Keith’s travels to Japan & Korea & his love of studying, loved that Jared would spend free time w/her playing cards or just hanging, and was so proud that Kyle was a great sportsman & budding drummer like her brothers Dickey and Donny. Her grandkids lovingly called her Nana, Anna Banana & Belle. Well, the family again expanded & Anne became a great-grandmother to Erik & Darlene’s princess, Bianca Rose-a beautiful little girl. She looked like Anne-I knew this because she told me so-many times! Anne was also a very proud & attentive Aunt to my & Dick’s children, Chris & Ryan-very proud & very supportive. Her home has always been open to them & she loved their visiting w/her. I will always be so thankful to her for that. One thing that is important to mention is that we in the family all knew that Anne loved a good time-never missing each & every family party (& there were many of them-particularly at my or Diane’s homes) for Holidays, Birthdays-whatever-it just didn’t matter. If Anne wanted to party we accommodated her! Besides loved loving to party Anee loved going out for years & years with Peggy to play cards or Bingo (even after residing in her Nursing Home)/going to Fox Woods & Las Vegas/& visiting with friends she had made when working at Kmart & Filene’s Basement. She was always there/always wanted to be part of whatever was going on- and she loved it! I remember a particular trip she took w/Diane, her husband Peter, & the very young grandkids to Disney during Donald Duck’s birthday year celebration-she sang “It’s Donald’s Birthday” for months & months–she was so fun loving! Well, time does pass on & unfortunately it was not kind to Ann who developed not only Alzheimer’s Dementia but metastatic Cancer as well. Throughout this difficult & sad journey Anne & Diane’s relationship strengthened & blossomed. As often happens with illness the mother : daughter roles reversed. Anne was aware of this and spoke to me of Diane’s devoted care w/deep love and appreciation whenever I visited her-Diane had become her shining star. Anne suffered severe pain during her last months but as Dianne often said she was a ‘trooper’-she never & I mean never-complained. It was amazing. Well, Anne’s journey here has ended. She has left a huge hole in our family. She was loved & will be greatly missed. But-I must say it gives me personally great pleasure to think of her now w/her beloved mom, dad, Frankie, Dick & even Yankee. What a great group!