Obituary of Jacqueline DeBye

Jacqueline “Jackie” C. DeBye, a woman who loved live and her family, passed away after a brief illness at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Monday, May 31, 2010. She was 59 years old. Jackie was born in Cambridge. She grew up in Burlington and was a graduate of Burlington High School Class of 1969. She had many friends. She was retired from Verizon where she worked as a Maintenance Administrator for 17 years. Jackie had the last 10 years living in Cape Cod, mostly in Falmouth. She embraced all that the Cape Cod offered. She loved going to the beach, clamming, boating, and entertaining. She enjoyed spending her time in her vegetable garden. She was a huge Red Sox Fan. She loved the holidays and spent hours decorating her home for each upcoming holiday with Halloween and Christmas being her favorites. She was one of 6 children and treasured the time with her family. She was blessed to have her children living nearby and being major part of her life. She was extremely close to her 10 grandchildren and was also able to see the birth of a great grandchild. She will be remembered for her appreciation of family and friend, her humor and laughter, and the love she showed to all those she met. She will be lovingly remembered. Jackie was the loving and caring mother of Kristin Arzola & her husband Francisco, Guy Patierno & his wife Justine, and Jill Estrella & her husband Robert all of Falmouth. She was the devoted daughter of Eleanor (Joyce) DeBye of Burlington and the late Paul J. DeBye. She was the sister of Paul L. of Londonderry, NH, Philip of Burlington, Michael of Tewksbury, Susan of Nashua, NH, and Jody of Westford. She was the proud grandmother of Katelyn, Karli, Lorretto, & Rowen Arzola, Dempsey, Juliet, Mia, & Finn Patierno, and Robert & Jaclene Estrela and great grandmother of Kayden Estrela. A funeral mass will be at St. Anthony’s Church, 167 East Falmouth Highway East Falmouth on Friday, June 4 at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Anthony’s Cemetery. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Memorial donations in Jackie’s name may be made to the American Heart Association, 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701 or www.americanheart.org. Eulogy Jackie DeBye 6/4/2010 When we are born onto this earth we begin establishing relationships. It is these relationships that define us as people. Jackie was a daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother. She excelled at all of these. Family was very important to her. She was full of life during the holidays decorating more than most and emphasizing the importance of being with her family. I have many fond memories of my Mother during these times. No holiday was beyond her over the top approach. In fact, Halloween was one of her favorites, earning her the nickname the “Halloween queen”. My mother loved to cook, and I loved to eat. I used to linger around the kitchen while she cooked. Sometimes she would allow me to help. Once she was making chicken soup. She had the pot on the stove on low all day while she was at work. When I got home from school she phoned asked me if I would like to help her by picking the meat from the bones. I jumped at the chance. When my Mom got home I was so proud of how well I did getting all that meat. I even bragged how I went the extra mile and strained the little pieces from the broth. When she went to the kitchen and asked where is the broth? I said “I strained it”. You strained it where? she asked “In the sink” I replied. There was no soup for dinner that night. She got a good laugh from that one. Jackie loved to laugh. Her smile and laughter was contagious. We could sit and talk with her for hours. She loved to visit with her Mother and Father, spend time with her brothers and sisters, and there was always plenty of good times and laughter when they would all get together. Although today her laughter is silenced it can still be heard in the laughter of her Mother, Brothers, and Sisters. There are many things I will remember about my mother, her passion for life and family, her sense of humor, and her laugh and smile. And I will always remember my mother as the young beautiful woman that cared for us as children. She would allow me to snuggle in bed with her when I was frightened, although she was never a fan of my inability to lie still. A fact that I would come to understand when I had children of my own. During our journey of life we can only hope to leave our mark. Although my mother passed at a tragically young age her mark is ever present. I see that mark ever day when I look in the mirror, when I look in the faces of my children, and my sister’s children. I see her face in the faces of my siblings, my mother’s siblings, and my grandmother. There is a piece of my mother woven into the fabric of us all and therefore she lives on. We are all better people as a result of our relationships with her. Therefore she led a successful life. While writing this I tried to find positive things to say about the end of my mother’s life. Not much positive to be found within a tragedy. What we should all take from this is that life is a gift. Don’t waste its moments. Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today. Mom all the good in me I got from you. I love you and I miss you very much. You are in god’s hands now. May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.