Obituary of Patricia A Gillis

Patricia A. Gillis, a woman of faith and family, passed away peacefully after an extended illness on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.  She was 91 years old.  Pat was born in Boston, one of four children of James and Margaret Rooney.  She had a wonderful upbringing in Dorchester and was a graduate of Roxbury Memorial High School.  She married her husband, John “Jack” Gillis in 1953 and settled in Burlington in 1957.  They had seven children.  Jack had a very successful career as an engineer and Pat ran their household, raised their children, and still managed to work part time.  She spent over 25 years working as a waitress at Jordan Marsh and then Macy’s department store restaurants.  She enjoyed working with the customers, her coworkers, and contributing to the household. 

Pat was very active in Saint Margaret’s Parish.  It was just part of her life with seven children there was always something going on with the church whether it was Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Sunday Mass, she was there and managed to wrangle her children along as well.  She volunteered working in the office for the religious education classes, assisted on the Holiday Bazaars, and was a member the church’s bowling league. 

Pat’s life revolved around her family.  She was always there to support Jack, their children, and later, their grandchildren.  Her home was the gathering spot for her family, neighbors, the children’s friends, and many others.  Pat was enthusiastic and willing to host any event.  She hosted weddings, anniversaries, surprise birthdays, Christenings, baby showers, Christmas celebrations, and 4^th of July celebrations.  She loved hosting all her family for the holidays and would coordinate and involve everyone in the preparation for and enjoyment of the celebration.  She took great care to make sure that their planning included “something for everyone”.  Pat also loved to travel.  In 1973, she and Jack packed six of their children in a station wagon and took a 30 day family road trip across the country, to California and back, visiting family and close friends and stopping at historical sites, parks, and other fun destinations along the way.  They also traveled separately and with some of the family and their friends.  They went on numerous cruises to warm weather destinations.  They also traveled across Europe, Ireland, Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and countless other destinations.  In their retirement years, they would spend the winters in Seal Beach, California escaping the cold New England weather and spending time with children and grandchildren on the West Coast.  Pat’s generous and outgoing personality and her welcoming and vivacious persona are what we remember most.   She was always in perpetual motion, ready to celebrate life and share her love and her home with all who entered her life. 

Pat was the beloved wife of the late John Gillis, Jr.  She was the loving mother of John Gillis, III, & his wife Sheryl of Seal Beach, CA, Kenneth Gillis & his partner Cynthia of Billerica, Edward Gillis & his wife Melonie of Livermore, CA, Stephen Gillis & his wife Maureen of Franklin, Margaret “Peggy” Gillis-Keating & her husband Marc Keating of Thornton, NH formerly of Woburn, and Patricia “Tricia” Gillis of Quincy, formerly of Burlington, and the late Janet McFall & her husband James “Jim” of Billerica.  Pat was predeceased by her siblings; Kathleen “Kay” Kelliher, Gerard Rooney, and George Rooney.  She was the proud grandmother of Meganne Giraldo, Ryan McFall, Brendan McFall, John Gillis IV, Brian Gillis, Jacklyn Desmond, Courtney Gillis, Jason Gillis, Jessica Gillis, Erin Tabor, Sean Gillis, Kyle Gillis, Rachel Gillis, and Carly Gillis.  Pat was also survived by 14 great grandchildren.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington on Monday, October 14 from 4-7 p.m. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday, October 15 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Margaret Church in St. Veronica Parish, www.stveronicama.org, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m.  Services will conclude with a burial at Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington.  Memorials in Pat’s name may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org/manh, 320 Nevada St., Suite 201, Newton, MA 02460.  For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net

Eulogy for Patricia Ann (Pat) Gillis

We’ve received many notes and texts from family and friends and those that knew our mom.  They describe her as warm and caring, loving, hard-working, vivacious (that was how Miss Dow my third grade teacher, and my Mom’s friend, described her), a beautiful soul, and as someone who made everyone’s life better.  And she was all of that. 

There are so many words I could use to describe her but a couple that stand out for me are. proud…devout… generous… grateful... and joyful.

My mom was proud of so many things.  She was proud of where she was from.  From Burlington, and from St. Margaret’s church. I remember her longtime friendship to Fr. Crispo and before that Fr. Kinneen who she was good friends with (and most everyone else was a bit afraid of) and with Fr. Riley.  She was proud of her heritage from Ireland where her parents and grandparents were from in Galway Bay and Carraroe.   She was proud of her marriage and it showed in how lovingly and respectfully she and my dad treated each other for over 50 years. She was proud of her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren and she was proud of her home and she worked hard to keep it presentable. 

My mom was devout to friends and family and to her faith and if the topic of faith and the teachings of the church came up, she would, in no uncertain terms say that she had no doubts, absolutely none.  And she was devout towards my dad.  I’m sure there must have been disagreements and challenges with 7 kids who were near perfect when we weren’t getting in a another fight, or wrecking the car, or wrecking the car again, or getting home after curfew, getting hit in the head with a dart or shot in the head …with a bebe gun, or getting in trouble with the law.  I’m sure these events, caused some strain and brought about some strong disagreements between them but I never saw them.  She always honored my father.

She was generous.  To the church giving of what she had which with seven kids, could be a bit thin and more importantly giving of her time volunteering in the office of the CCD building for many years and at the Christmas Fair which was in the old white church.  And generous to her children and our kids.  She was there to help any one of us if we ever got in a spot where we needed it for whatever reason (you can refer to my previous list for some possible reasons plus others like  or breaking your neck, or having your home life come apart and needing a place to stay) and no matter what the sacrifice.  If one, or a few of us, needed somewhere to stay, or money to help you through or get you started, or their master bedroom because the girls need more privacy, or the dining room because her dad needed care and a place to stay, or a reality check on what we were doing, she would try her best to help no matter how sensitive, or difficult the situation or how long or large the need was.

My Mom was grateful for her life and she tried to instill that in each of us and taught us that we should be the same and give thanks.  What also came along with the lesson to be grateful was the lesson that we shouldn’t complain.  If we could fix something then we should fix it and if we couldn’t then the solution wasn’t to complain because as her mom, my Nana, taught her “you shouldn’t complain because nobody wants to hear it and it doesn’t help anyways”.

My Mom was so joyful.  Which I’m sure was a challenge because she experienced tragedy in her life, the young passing of her brother George, the illness and difficulty her father, who she was caring for, went through, and the still birth of her first child.  I think she was joyful because she had such unwavering and strong faith and she just plain loved life.  All of it!  And she was always ready to share and to celebrate just how great life is with those she loved most. her parents, her husband Jack, her kids, her grandkids all of whom are here and thank you, her great grandkids her brothers and sisters Kay, and Gerry, and George and their spouses John, Rita, Terry, and Marge and their kids many who are here, and her good friends.  As I look around, I think almost every one of you have been at our house celebrating something that my mom planned. Including some of the previous Pastors of this church.  Whether it be a wedding, anniversary, birthday, surprise birthday, baby shower, Christening, Christmas or 4^th of July.  She loved celebrating with family and friends and worked hard to make sure everyone felt welcome.

Later in life my mom was burdened with Alzheimers disease which can be cruel and stripped her of many of the beautiful memories that made up her life.  She sometimes wouldn’t quite remember your name, or exactly whether you were her son or her husband, or what town she lived in, or whether she had 7 children, or 13, or just one.

Even though she lost these precious memories, Alzheimers gave her a few new things.   It expanded her vocabulary.  She learned a new word or two that I certainly didn’t realize she knew, and was a bit shocked to hear, and I certainly couldn’t repeat here in God’s house. 

Even more important than what she lost or gained is what Alzheimers didn’t take from her.  The most important things.  Those things that made up her essence that she never lost or forgot.  She would always take time to stop people along her walks to tell them how nice they looked or what a wonderful day it was, or how much she liked what they were wearing.  She would light up when she met one of her new great grandchildren and nothing was more precious to her.  She was always ready to celebrate life and, if we were together, that was a good reason to celebrate and to laugh, and dance and sing.  She always talked about how fortunate and blessed we are and how we should be thankful, and pray for those less fortunate and she prayed often as her faith was as strong as ever.  She would finish every visit with a blessing and a prayer to keep us safe until we see each other again.  She would ask God to bless everyone in the world and to feed the poor and for God’s love to last forever… and ever… amen.