Obituary of Audrey Christiansen

Audrey V. (Holley) Christiansen, a resident of Burlington since 1957, passed away unexpectedly at the Lahey Clinic Hospital & Medical Center on Friday morning, March 7, 2014. She was 81 years old. Audrey was born, raised and educated in Somerville. She was a graduate of Somerville High School. She was one of three daughters born to the late William and Mary Holley. Audrey met her husband Arnie while working at Sylvania. They would move to the Winnmere section of Burlington in 1957 where they would raise their 3 children and enjoy many friendships. Audrey was an outgoing and gregarious personality. Working as a receptionist at Arthur D. Little was a perfect job for her. She greeted visitors, interacted with all her fellow employees, and was in the know with all the happenings within the company. Audrey was not a home body. She loved getting out, whether it was sharing a cup of coffee with friends or neighbor, going on a vacation or trip, going out to eat, shopping, hairdresser, or any activity or event she could share the company with those she cared for. She was a devoted wife to her husband, Arnie, a retired Burlington Police Officer and contractor. They were regulars at the Café Escadrille, loved to dance, and travel. She taught her children to be independent, work hard, and to make the right decisions in life. She was very proud of each one of her children for being successful in their own special ways. Her greatest joy, were her grandchildren and it brightened her day whenever they called or visited her. Audrey had a strong Catholic faith, that began as a child at Saint Polycarp’s Church in Somerville and continued as a longtime parishioner at Saint Margaret’s Church in Burlington. Audrey was the beloved wife of 56 years of Arnold R. Christiansen. She was the loving mother of William & his wife Julie of Weston, Ellen Milkulski & her husband Larry of Burlington and the late Holley Christiansen Barbieri & her husband Paul S. Barbieri of Burlington. Sister of Ruth Holley of Burlington and Dorothy Connors of Medford. Proud grandmother of Christian & Mollie Milkulski, William Christiansen, Jr. & Kirby-Anne Christiansen,and Paul Stephen & Joseph Barbieri. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, March 10th at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday 3-6 p.m. Interment in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Audrey’s name may be made to Floating Hospital For Children Pedi/Onco, 800 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111. Family Remembrance from Bill Good morning On behalf of our father, Arnie, my sisters, Ellen & Holley, my wife Julie, brothers in law, Larry and Paul, aunts, Ruth & Dorothy, the grandchildren, Christian, Mollie, Will, Kirby, Paul Stephen and Joseph, I want to thank you each and everyone of you for all your sincere kindness, loving support and thoughtful expressions of condolence we have received over these last difficult days. Please know that our family is forever grateful and it has been a tremendous source of strength for us during this difficult time. To know our mother Audrey was to know someone who really enjoyed having a good time. That summed up her up…. She loved a good time… But that wasn’t only thing that defined her…. She was the youngest of three sisters, one of the Holley girls. The Holley sisters, as they were known to everyone. Although each one of the sisters, Ruth, Dorothy and Audrey were unique in their own way, they shared a close, life long relationship and had a lasting love for one another. It was something that our mom cherished and held dearly. Our mother was a special and one of kind mother to my sisters and me. I know everyone says that about their own mom, but to us it was true, she was special and one of kind. Since Dad worked his construction company business during the day and the Burlington Police at night, it was our mom who was there for us morning, noon and night. She wore lots of hats and stared in many different roles in our family. She was the cornerstone of our family. When were young and growing up she was the one that would make the bump and bruises better, take the trips to the hospitals and there were many. She was the one that picked up at the school dances late at night. She was the one the drove you to the early morning hockey practices at the frozen cold rinks. She did it all. Because our mom knew that there would good times and not so good times growing up in life. There was always an understanding in our house, that if you slipped up or made some poor choices, that things would be ok. There was just one condition, “Don’t Tell Your Father”. For instance, I’m not saying these things happened, but let’s say one her children, maybe her son, walked out the door and left for school and somehow… a short time later the school called the house to ask her how her child was feeling, since they were absent and quite didn’t make to school that day. You knew it would be ok when you got home. And you knew what mom’s answer would be to the school, it was the answer she always gave, “not my Billy”. And let’s say for instance, one of her children, maybe a daughter, stayed out late on occasion, past curfew and would have to scale the outside chimney to crawl through the window to get back in the house. It would be ok. Mom’s reply to dad when asked if one of the kids stayed out too late, would be, as it always was in these instances, “not my Ellen”. Noticeably, in our house, we never heard the phrase “not my Holley”. It was because Holley never did anything wrong, she was our baby and the perfect child. We tried our mom’s patience growing up on occasion, as all kids do. You could never get anything by her, partly because she grew up in Somerville. She always told everyone she was from Saint Polycarp’s church, because no one from Somerville ever gave his or her real address. It was the church parish you were from not the street that mattered. Our mother was very religious, she had a strong catholic faith and she made sure it was an important part of our home. She was so inspirational and committed that she converted my dad and they became a fixture here at Saint Margaret’s. Her faith was something that she practiced on a daily basis and relied upon through her entire life. I will say though, my mother on occasion would carry it to the extreme. Especially when Audrey wasn’t pleased. It was easy to know the times that she wasn’t pleased, because she would be calling out loud, religiously…. It was mostly calling out to Jesus, Mary and Joseph and all the saints in heaven. And it was generally in that order.... but at higher voice and usually directed at the person who messed up. Mom would pick you up when things weren’t going so well and always made you feel better. That’s what she did. She was the shoulder you cried on and the person that made things right. There was saying in our house, go see momma, momma will make things better. She loved her daughter’s, Ellen and Holley very much. Everyone talks about a mother’s love for her son, I truly know we shared that, but there was a special bond between my mom and her daughters, Ellen and Holley. Friendship was very important to our mother. She valued it, promoted them and held onto friendships. She had a lot of friends, a countless number of life long friends she valued and kept close to heart. We would consistently hear mom start her stories with “ you know my girlfriend… so and so… We couldn’t keep count nor would be able to count and name all the people our mother called friend. She maintained childhood friendships, “her girlfriends” as she called them. She really looked forward to and enjoyed going out to lunch or dinner socializing with them or even just talking on the phone to catch up and see what’s going in there lives. Her girlfriends, Cynthia, Mazzie, Terry, Brittie, Carol, Madeline and Loretta, “her girlfriends” were an important part of who she was, friends for life and to this day part of our family. Audrey wouldn’t have it any other way. Growing up through the years, my sisters and my friends quickly became our mother’s friends. Our friends loved “Audrey”. They loved her high energy and her “have a good time personality”. Our mom had a knack for talking, but more importantly, a greater knack for listening. There were countless times my mom would be having conversations with our friends and she’d be listening to them, wanting to know more about them, more about their family. She wanted to know the details of their lives and let them know they were important to her. These conversations usually occurred around our kitchen table and usually included a bowl of Audrey’s pasta. Some people talked over coffee, not Audrey; it was bowl of pasta made by an Irish girl from Somerville. Our mom had a remarkable gift of meeting people, making conversation and keeping lasting friendships. The Grandchildren were the “be all” and “end all” to our mother. Christian, Mollie, Will, Kirby-Anne, Paul Stephen and Joseph were who and what she lived for. When our sister Holley passed away suddenly, the void, the hurt and the pain that our mother endured was filled, as best it could, with the love of her grand kids. She loved the time with the “kids”, her face lit up whenever she would see them. Nana recognized and had fun with the different personality each of them possessed. She loved being around them so much so, she had the swimming pool that we had grown up with, done over just to have the kids come to swim, play and have good time at nanas. No matter which grandchild it was, she loved each one of them with all her heart and soul. Our mother was an incredibly loving, tolerant and devoted wife to her husband Arnie, our Dad. She never called him by his real name, he was just “Chris” to her. She called him by a few other names on occasion over the years, but I’ll hold off on sharing them because we’re in church. There personalities couldn’t be anymore different. Audrey was outgoing, a firecracker, talkative, life of the party, sharp as a tack, then there was Arnie, quiet, reserved, kept his thoughts to himself. Audrey loved to dance, go out, especially to the Escadrille, tell a good story or listen to one. Dad, not so much. They were uniquely different but a perfect match. They met at the Sylvania Company in Woburn while working together, and began dating and from what I’m told, dated secretly for a while at the beginning, because no self-respecting girl would date a guy who rides a motorcycle. Mom tells us she would sneak out of the house and meet dad down the street to meet up for their dates. During their early years of marriage they loved to travel and go to dinner with their friends. There was always something going on at our house or they going out together to some fun place with friends. Our Mom loved and supported our Dad. She was an exceptional wife who he relied upon. They were married for 56 years and had a long journey together as husband and wife. Their incredible devotion for one another was something to see and behold. As time passed and their health started to decline in the last few years, they were inseparable, except for their ever-increasing hospital stays. They hated to be away from one another. They fully understood how short life was and the unexpected life changes that could happen. We all knew how much they appreciated their time together. They sat together whenever they could on the couch enjoying the simple pleasures of watching television together… holding hands and enjoying each others company and mom calling our dad, her boyfriend. Recently, our parents were both ill at the same time. Mom was at the Rehab Hospital recovering from surgery. Dad had gotten sick with a bout of pneumonia and then a stint in the Rehab as well. They both were at the same hospital, on the same floor… and yes; we finagled them to be in the same room. You can’t make this stuff up. It was pretty comical but in the end they were where they wanted to be - Together We called it their honeymoon suite. Words can’t truly express who Audrey was… There are no words that really describe her. Not wife, mother, sister, mother in law, grandmother, aunt or friend. Audrey was an experience, one that all of us were fortunate to share in. We love you mom and we know that you and Holley are together once again looking over us…. And please don’t worry about Dad…. We’ll take good care of him…. As Dad, “the man of few words” said to Ellen and I the other day, “We’ll be ok” God Bless...