Obituary of Helen Lombard

Helen F. (Donnelly) Lombard, passed away at the Kaplan Family Hospice House, after a brief illness, on Thursday morning, December 20, 2012. The beloved wife of the late Eugene M. Lombard, she was 86 years old. Helen was born, raised and educated in Somerville. She was the daughter of the late Arthur and Mary (McGuiness) Donnelly. Helen worked as a Billing Clerk at H. P. Welch Co. as well as both Syms Hospital and Choate Hospital retiring when she was in her 70’s. Helen led a full and active life and she was not one to sit idle. She had her daily routine which consisted of working out at Curves or Planet Fitness at 7 a.m., then 9 a.m. Mass at St. Barbara’s Church followed by “coffee” with her friends at MacDonald’s. Every Friday evening was a visit with her friends to Bickfords in Burlington where they would have dinner and listen to the Irish Music. Helen had a close relationship with her sister Dorothy who she spent much time with. Saturday’s were set aside for her daughter Carole who suffered from MS . Carole’s husband would drop them off at the Mall and they would shop together and have lunch. At the age of 80 Helen took the first of many trips, with her son Michael and daughter in-law Pat together with Pat’s mother Fran Considine, which was to San Francisco and this also happened to be her first trip on an airplane. She made many visits to New York City, one of which was for her 85th birthday. Helen’s last trip was to visit her grandson Michael in Texas. She was very much a part of all her grandchildren and great grandchildren’s lives. Helen was blessed to have lived a wonderful life and leaves a legacy of love, family, faith and friendship. Helen was the beloved wife for 53 years of the late Eugene M. Lombard. She was the loving mother of Michael Lombard & his wife Patricia of Charlestown formerly of Andover, and the late Carole Oakleaf and John Lombard. She was the sister of Dorothy Marks of Somerville and the late Marion Covert, Arthur, Richard, Robert and Leonard Donnelly. Also survived by 8 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Mother-in-law of Ralph Oakleaf of Wilmington and Virginia Lombard–Hall of Tewksbury. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, Dec. 24 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Barbara’s Church, Woburn at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday 1-4 p.m. Interment in Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. Memorials in Helen’s name may be made to St. Barbara’s Church, 138 Cambridge St., Woburn, MA 01801 or Hospice of the North Shore & Greater Boston, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B102, Danvers, MA 01923. Eulogy of my mother Helen Lombard by her son, Michael Lombard. . Saint Barbara’s Church, Woburn, MA. December 24, 2012. Thank you Father Malone – For this beautiful Mass and for visiting my mother at Winchester Hospital and Aberjona Rehab. Thank you Father Gerry – For the beautiful prayer service that you led at the wake at Sullivan’s funeral home yesterday and for visiting my mother at Winchester Hospital and Aberjona Rehab. . Thank you to St. Barbara’s Parish for allowing us to share the church on this special day with all of the beautiful Christmas flowers and to all of the members of the Sodality for your friendship and this special tribute to my mother. My mother attended many funerals with the members of the Sodality and I know she would have been sitting there with you today if this were another friend. . There is some irony in having the funeral Mass today as this would have been my father’s 85th birthday. My father used to tell me that he did not like having his birthday on Christmas Eve and I asked him why. He said that when he was a kid he would get long underwear and he would get the bottoms for his birthday and the tops for Christmas. . The other irony is that my mother’s surgery took place on October 23rd and that would have been my parent’s 63rd wedding anniversary. . I want to say a special thank you to the doctors, nurses, aids, custodial staff, dieticians, social workers and case workers at Winchester Hospital, Aberjona Rehab and the Kaplan Hospice House in Danvers. . Their dedication to their work is truly remarkable and I have a great appreciation for the wonderful care that my mother received everywhere she went during these last two months. . I want to thank my family, especially my wife Pat, who took my mother’s laundry every night and washed and ironed her clothes and laid out her outfit for the occupational therapist to get her dressed each morning even as she was dealing with her own uncle’s illness at Beth Israel. Pat always treated my mother like her own mother and we both said that our kids were lucky to have two wonderful role models in my mother and my mother-in-law who passed away two years ago. We were both lucky and thankful for our mothers and the special times that we spent with them. . I want to thank my mother’s older sister Dot who watched over my mother from the time that she was diagnosed in October all the way up to the time at the hospice house. She stayed by her side every step of the way. . I want to thank my own children for their love and support of their grandmother. My nieces Tammy and Kerri and their families were constantly at my mother’s bedside and thanks to my brother-in-law Ralph who visited my mother every Monday-Friday and for being a great son-in-law to my mother. . To my aunts, cousins and their families who came to visit and called to check-in, especially my cousin Patty and Eileen who were there for my mother making constant visits and tending to all of her needs, a very special thank you. . A special thank you to my mother’s good friend Mary Devine who brought my mother the snow man that is sitting in her casket. My mother truly appreciated all that she did for her. . I want to say a special thank you to my mother’s neighbor, Marion Wierzbicki , a retired nurse who was there directing my mothers care on those four nights that she spent at home. We could not have managed to have her home were it not for Marion and the love and friendship she showed to my mother during her most difficult times. I am forever grateful for all that you did for my mother, from her personal care, medical care and for your very special friendship. Pat, Dot and I took our orders from Marion because she was the boss but I’m not sure we were the most skilled people she ever worked with. . When I think of my mother’s life and who she was I think Father Gerry summed it up best at the prayer service on Sunday when he said that she lived by the three F’s: Family, Faith, and Friends. Whether it was visiting her brothers and sisters in the hospital, wheeling my sister in her wheel chair every Saturday for over 25 years so that she could take her shopping and out to lunch, or taking my aunts to their all important hair appointments when they were very sick, my mother was always there for everyone else. She would always remember her grandchildren and great grandchildren on their birthdays, and would attend their communions , confirmations and graduations. Whatever they had going on in their lives, she wanted to be there to share it with them. . She was so involved in this parish from her attendance at the 9:00am Mass, her involvement in many of the parish functions including St. Patrick’s Day, half way to St. Patrick’s Day, the Christmas with Santa breakfast or the dinner for the special children which she really enjoyed. Her involvement with Saint Barbara’s Church was very important to her. . To her friends at the 9:00am mass, the coffee group at McDonald’s, the group from Bickfords, her old friends from Somerville, her group of friends from Symmes and Choate hospital where she worked, her friends from the Irish American Club in Arlington and her friends in Sodality, she looked forward to spending time with all of them and we know she always had a very full calendar for lunches and dinners to keep in touch. . My mother was a caregiver and she was always driving someone to a doctor’s appointment, going to a wake or just getting together with friends for a walk or a chat. . Of course her most important role was as a mother to my brother, sister and I and a wife to my father. No one should have to bear the misery of burying their children and my mother had to do that two times. She was devastated by the death of my brother Jack in 2000, my father in 2002 and my sister in 2007. Those were very tough times but she persevered and relied on her strong faith to carry her thru. . My greatest memories of recent times were our trips to San Francisco, Spring Training in Florida with the Red Sox, NYC for her 85th birthday and her last trip to Texas to visit my son Michael and his family. My mother never flew until she was 80 and as you all know she was a worrier and had a fear of flying. The trooper that she was , she was determined to visit Danny and Chandra in San Francisco. My mother went to her Doctor to get a prescription to help her relax on the plane. Pat and I were sitting across the aisle from my mother and Pat’s mother. My mother told everyone who would hear her , including every flight attendant on the plane, that this was her first flight and that she was 80 years old. The next thing we know we look over and the flight attendant was pinning wings on her and they brought my mother and Pat’s mother a couple of nips to celebrate her first flight. To those of you who know my mother she was not a drinker other than an occasional glass of wine with Pat and I when we took her out to dinner and she would not even finish a glass. Needless to say at the end of our flight to San Francisco she was feeling no pain and thoroughly enjoyed her flying experience. . The beautiful memories I have of my mother’s last two months were the way she connected with the nurses, aids, physical therapists and occupational therapists. Whenever she would leave to go on to the next place, they would be stopping by to give her a kiss and a hug and wish her good luck. There would always be a steady flow of visitors whether it be members of our family or friends wishing her the best and hoping for the best. Last Sunday at the Kaplan House, the local Kiwanis Club came to sing Christmas carols to the patients and my mother’s face lit up with a smile. But my lasting memory will be of my daughter Kate singing to my mother “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I’m telling you why…” and my mother struggling to speak and singing …. “Santa Claus is coming to town.” She still had the Christmas spirit. . I want to conclude by thanking all of you for attending Mass today during this very busy time and by reciting the Irish Blessing which is a special prayer to me: . May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. . May the sun shine warm upon your face. May the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again. May God hold you in the palm of his hand. . RIP mother and Merry Christmas to all of you. . Eulogy of my mother Helen Lombard by her son, Michael Lombard. . Saint Barbara’s Church, Woburn, MA. December 24, 2012.