Obituary of Alice Ryan

Alice Louise (Aruda) Ryan passed away at the Winchester Hospital on Sunday afternoon, July 29, 2012. She was 83 years old. Alice was born and raised in Somerville. She was the daughter of the late Manuel and Alice Aruda. She was a graduate of Somerville High School. Alice worked for over 30 years as a Secretary for New England Gas & Electric. Alice loved life and her family. She would spend 2 weeks a year in Aruba with her daughter Donna and family. Alice was outgoing and had a wonderful personality and everyone on the beaches in Aruba knew her name. She would also spend time at her daughter’s vacation home in Rhode Island which was affectionately known as “WHELK”. Her life was all about her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was also extremely close to her nieces and nephews and their families. Every summer Alice would take her grandchildren as well as her nieces and nephews on a trip to Cape Cod. Alice and her sisters Gloria and Eileen were very close and she had a special relationship with each of them. Alice leaves a legacy of wonderful memories of special times spent together with her loving family. Alice was the beloved mother of Martin “Tom” Ryan & his wife Lindy of Burlington and Donna Sherrill & her husband Peter of Woburn. She was the sister of Gloria M. Mozzicato & her husband James of Burlington, Eileen E. Ciccarelli & her husband Anthony of Billerica, and the late Manuel Aruda, Jr. Alice was the grandmother of Tinamarie Piscatelli & her husband Donald of Billerica, Anthony Salvucci & his wife Carrie of Methuen, Jason Ryan & his wife Jill of Norwood and Melissa Ryan of Burlington. Great grandmother of Andrew Sciascia, Adrian & Buddy Weathers, Dominic Salvucci, Julianne & Ryan Piscatelli and the late Lil-Ant Salvucci. Alice was the life long friend of Mary Mason of Andover. Also survived by many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Thursday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Cambridge Cemetery. Memorials in Alice’s name may be made to the Globe Santa Foundation, 135 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125. Tinamarie's Euolgy Alice Louise Ryan was born on April 25, 1929. The oldest of 4 children, mother, sister, Vavo, Tia, and lifelong friend of Mary Mason, she spent her younger years working at Sears and Grover Cronin and retired from Commonwealth Gas Company, where she worked for over 30 years. Many don’t know that she is also a Saltine Cracker Whistling Champion of Lincoln Park, Somerville. During WWII, she worked part time in a store named Clear Weave in Davis Square, Somerville. It sold nylon stockings and undergarments. Next door was a Fannie Farmer candy shop and around the corner was a small supermarket. At the time, sugar and butter were rationed by stamps. Her Vavo loved at least 3 teaspoons of sugar in her many cups of tea, as did her parents, and her Dad liked real butter on toast and veggies. When a shipment of nylons was delivered, my Vavo would buy as many as she was allowed and trade them with the girl in the candy store, but more importantly with a cashier in the supermarket for butter and sugar without any exchange of ration stamps. I guess you could say she was trading in the black market. But her family loved their butter and sugar for drinks and making root beer, and they nearly always had chocolates. My Vavo loved to travel. She traveled the world with her sister Gloria and brother-in-law Jim, and was proud to purchase a timeshare in Aruba in 2004, where she spent almost 2 weeks with her sisters, their husbands, and Donna and Pete, every year until 2011. She would be on the plane heading to Aruba and she would already be talking about what she and Pete would be eating for brunch. My Vavo loved a lot of other things, too…shopping, sales and coupons, Wet Walnut sundaes, slot machines, Pinwheel cookies and other sweets, “fadoodling around”, and, of course, “schnoozies.” My Vavo loved her dear friend Mary Mason. Mary was one of my Vavo’s biggest supports during difficult times. She loved spending time with Mary when she was younger, especially at Old Orchard Beach, and always looked forward to lunches with Mary when she was older. What my Vavo loved the most, was her family. She was a devoted daughter, visiting her mother every single day at the Woburn Nursing Home. She loved spending time with her children and looked forward to her daily early morning phone calls from her son, Tom, and when he would arrive with the special treats she wanted from the grocery store. She loved visits from the Ryans, especially when they brought a furry friend for her to cuddle. She loved coffee with Donna, and went on for days after Pete would go alone to visit her at Sunrise. She looked forward to Sisters’ Day each week, with her best friend, Gloria, and her baby sister, Eileen. She enjoyed visits with the little ones and especially loved when my brother, cousins, and I would coordinate visits and bring all of the children to Sunrise at once...especially if there was a meal and dessert involved. As much time as I spent seeing and talking to my Vavo, I guess I never truly realized just how full my life was with her. It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon, when I was hit with an overpowering feeling of emptiness, that I realized the weight of her love. I spent hours trying to figure out just why I felt so empty and it wasn’t until I started compiling my own memories and reading those written by the family that I fully understood the significance of her place in our family. When I read everyone’s memories of my Vavo, I wasn’t surprised to see that many of us mentioned a lot of the same things. We all loved traveling with my Vavo. She saw many countries with Gloria and Jim and spent time in Rome with Susan. She vacationed in Aruba with Donna and Pete, Gloria and Jim, and Eileen and Tony, who enjoyed watching her wear her lucky outfit and eat like a queen. And she never missed the drink of the day. She went on Disney, Caribbean, and Millennium cruises and enjoyed every last midnight buffet. She actually booked the Millennium cruise while she was on a trip to Vegas with her sisters and brothers-in-law. She travelled to Hawaii with her mother, to visit Tom and Lindy, where she had her very first snorkeling experience with Lindy. My brother, cousins, and I all have precious memories from our annual visits to Cape Cod, where we played on the beach, went for ice cream, put on shows (in which my Vavo was always willing to play a role), and played pitch n’ putt...until she became a casualty of pitch n’ putt. One of her favorite destinations was the Whelk. She had her own key, and always made sure Pete knew it. Her great-grandchildren have spent countless Whelk vacations sharing sweets with her, cuddling with her, and making memories with her. As toddlers, Dominic, Julianne, and Ryan all spent hours on the beach eating watermelon with her and napping on her lap – they got their best beach naps wrapped in a towel in her arms. Mom, Donny, and I loved seeing her face light up when we would decide at 8pm to get dressed and drive from the Whelk to Mohegan Sun. She always moved so quickly when we said, “Casino”. The ladies in the family loved spending ladies weekends with her at Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, and Twin River. My brother, cousins and I share the memory of New Year’s Eve Celebrations. My Vavo and the Other Vavo would take us to the Ground Round, where we would celebrate New Year’s at 8pm, and then we’d head back to Desmond Ave to celebrate again, with hats, sparkling grape juice, and noisemakers. The ladies in the family celebrated Christmas together at our Annual Housewives Christmas party, which included delicious desserts, a special cocktail, and “nifty gifties”. I’m sure we will all eat an extra dessert next year. Her sisters share memories of days at the beach when they were younger, and taking a train and a bus to get there…her children and Gloria’s children share that same memory. Her great-grandchildren Adrian, Buddy, and Dominic were the lucky recipients of fresh-baked brownies every time they went to her house – they could smell those brownies as soon as the walked in the door and they knew she had baked especially for them. Her oldest great-grandchild Andrew was lucky enough to eat breakfast at her house one day every weekend when he was little. She made sure he had bacon, strawberries, waffles, and even a few M&Ms. My own children both told me that their favorite things about Vavo include hugs and kisses. They loved bringing their breakfast to Sunrise in the summer and over school vacations just so that they could eat with her…and they always came home with bags of oyster crackers that she had stockpiled. The Kilmon kids loved doing with their Tia what their Tia did best…shopping and going to lunch! My sister-in-law Carrie shares that same memory…and my Vavo was always so impressed at how much Carrie could buy for $20. My brother, Anthony, and sister-in-law, Carrie, share the precious memory of my Vavo sitting in the NICU, singing to their Little Ant. I remember us all giggling because it was June in a very hot Oklahoma, and she was singing him Frosty the Snowman, but it was amazing to see how her singing calmed him. I have no doubt that she’s singing to him right now. Lindy and Tom share the special memory of watching my Vavo meet Jason and Melissa for the very first time at Logan Airport. Melissa loved bringing her dog and sitting with Vavo, talking about work and feeling her Vavo’s support and Jason and Jill enjoyed bringing her lunch. Richard was lucky enough to celebrate April Birthdays with her…sometimes with two cakes…and he remembers her snack drawer, filled with scooter pies, ring dings, and cookies (when I got older, that drawer was a cabinet). She didn’t consider a meal complete unless it included a dessert. Her sister Gloria shared a bedroom with her…and a bed, and a closet, and secrets, and dreams, and wishes…a very special friendship began in this bedroom. Those who married into the family, all remember a woman who welcomed them with open arms. When they were sitting alone at a family party, she sat next to them and told stories. Looking back, I think maybe she just saw them as a fresh set of ears. And this isn’t even the half of it… She was proud of her family and talked about her children’s accomplishments excessively. Everyone she met knew where her children worked, what they did, and how important they were. Quite simply, my Vavo was a special woman. We love her and will miss her very much.