Obituary of Mildred Hennessey

Mildred F. Hennessey, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, passed away after a long illness at the Wilmington Health Care Nursing Facility on Friday afternoon, January 22, 2010. She was 89 years old. Mildred was born in Watertown, the daughter of the late Michael and Margaret Kelly. She grew up and was educated in Watertown. She was a graduate of Watertown High School Class of 1938. She would meet her husband William and they settled in Burlington in 1952 to raise their family. She had worked as a manager at the Northeastern Book store, but she would have considered her career as one of Homemaker. She made a loving home for her family and supported her children and grandchildren in their interests, activities, and athletics. She loved the holidays and being surrounded by her family and friends. She leaves a legacy of family. Mildred was the beloved wife of William F. Hennessey, who passed away in 1978. She was the loving mother of Judith Mazzola & her husband Robert of Roslyn, PA, Jeanne Hennessey, William Hennessey, Jr. and John Hennessey & his wife Karen all of Burlington. Sister of the late John Kelly, Marguerite Lowney, Evelyn Waters, Helen Joyce, and Joseph Kelly. Grandmother of Jennifer & Lisa Tripodi, Kristin, Colleen & Lauren Hennessey, Bob Mazzolla, Jr. & Kate Mazzolla. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (ext 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Wednesday, January 27 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 Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Mildred’s name may be made to People Helping People, P. O. Box 343, Burlington, MA 01803. Family Remembrance - Jennifer Gramma was a woman full of contradictions. She was one of the most irreverent, social, hilarious, and fun-loving people. At night in her nursing home they would bring her out to the nurse’s station just to talk and make them laugh. They called her their “spark plug.” At the same time she was quiet, private, solitary and stoic. On one hand we can all imagine her sitting at a brunch table, laughing, talking, and joking with family and friends. Then on the other, at home sitting quietly at her table, playing solitaire with soft, worn playing cards before bed. Gramma grew up in Watertown Massachusetts with her parents and siblings John, Marguerite, Evelyn, Helen and Buddy. Just the other day I asked her to think about her favorite place. She said it was her home. I asked her where that was and she said “Watertown.” Lately she had been having vivid dreams about her brothers and sisters. I could sense that she was with them all in her mind. I love looking at the pictures of her with her family and friends—she was so spirited and cute! But that was all before she became my Gramma. You recall that I said she was full of contradictions. She wasn’t grandmotherly as in baking cookies and being sweet. Yet, as each grandchild was born and grew she was always there. In fact, my sister Lisa and I saw our grandmother each and every day of our lives growing up. She met me in the first minutes of my life. She would say, “I’ve known you since you were 20 minutes old!” Colleen told me a story about how Gramma let her practice giving injections on her for nursing school. She sat and patiently waited while the needle bounced off of her skin and missed the mark. All she said was “oh! You’re doing a great job! You’re going to be a great nurse. I didn’t feel a thing.” We all have so many good memories of being together around Gramma’s dining room table for Thanksgiving and with her at John and Karen’s at Christmas. Gramma loved to travel. She has been to Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Hawaii, Tahiti, and all of the National Parks in the US. Through it all her favorite place continued to be Hampton Beach. She spent so many happy summers there with her family and friends. I loved hearing her stories about sneaking out of her family’s cottage to run wild with her friends on the beach. She just loved Hampton. When she got older she went back each summer with her girlfriends. Later when John and his family would go to Hampton for vacation, Millie would come up to visit and John would always drive her by the old cottage on Highland Avenue—it was like she was going to visit an old friend. I admire my grandmother’s long and abiding love for my grandfather. She married later than other women in her generation. I think she waited until she found just the right man. Jeanne told me a story about Mill and Bill doing crosswords together. She would complete as much of the Sunday crossword as she could, in pen and then put it down. Bill would pick it up and finish the puzzle and then slap it down as if to say, “in your face Mill.” She would get so miffed! Recently my Gramma’s friend and neighbor Penny Newton passed away. In spite of Gramma’s own physical pain and sadness, she was able to talk with all of her buddies at the nursing home about how she had thought her friend would live forever. Years ago they made plans to have lunch together but never got around to it. I can just see my Grammie sitting at the table in Heaven with Mrs. Newton, eating the lunch they promised each other when their 2 youngest started school. For me, Gramma was a friend and companion and witness to my life. She loved me and took care of me. She was interesting, smart, funny, non-traditional and independent. She was open-minded and progressive in her thinking. She was GOOD at things: as a cook (she used to make me the best holes in one—those are when you take a little jelly jar, press it into the center of bread to make a hole, crack and egg in the middle and then grill it all in butter); an artist (she would draw me ladies faces that I just thought were the most beautiful things in the world—she was actually very good), a dancer (she used to dance with me all the time in her kitchen) she was very funny (one of the last times Lisa spoke with Gramma she asked her how she was feeling and her response was, “No too bad for an old broad!”) We all were lucky enough to not only witness that old broad’s life, but to be products of it. I can see Gramma in all of us kids and grandkids. The good-natured sarcasm delivered in the characteristic Hennessey tone, the independent streak we all have. The very process we went through writing this eulogy was a reflection of how Gramma made us who we are—we laughed so hard, imitating the Millie voice and thinking about the things she had said and done, and as our laughter quieted we remembered the quietly loving, solid presence she was in our lives. We’ll miss her forever, we’ll always want her back here with us… and we know anytime we need to be reminded of her we can just look at each other. There’s a little of Gramma in all of us.