Obituary of Dorothy DePiano

Dorothy Marie (Gallagher) DePiano, a woman who devoted her life to her family, passed away at the Winchester Nursing Center on Thursday, October 30, 2014. The beloved wife of the late Angelo “Bill” DePiano, she was 88 years old. Dorothy was born, raised and educated in Arlington. She was the daughter of the late Hugh and Mary Gallagher. Bill and Dorothy moved to Burlington in 1961 where they would raise their 3 children. Dorothy was an amazing seamstress. She loved to make clothing for her family and friends. She also enjoyed knitting and quilting. You were one of the special ones if you received one of her afghans, quilts or if Dorothy made you one of her finer clothing items. Nothing made Dorothy happier than providing for her family whether it was cooking a family dinner or a holiday meal. She was blessed to live a life that spanned 88 years and to play an important role in her husband of 60 years and children’s lives and in later years her four grandchildren’s lives. Dorothy was the beloved wife of the late Angelo “Bill” DePiano. She was the loving mother of Thomas & his wife JoAnn of San Diego, CA, Susan Breslin & her husband Bill of Westford and William of Burlington. Sister of the late Mary Govini, Ruth Palmeri, Irene Churchill, Patricia Ciano & Thomas Gallagher. Proud grandmother of Riley DePiano, Tyler DePiano both of San Diego, CA, Jeff Breslin & his wife Jessica of Chelmsford and Kate Breslin of Westford. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, November 3rd 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 Sunday 5-8 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Dorothy’s name may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, MA Chapter, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02742. Family Remembrance by Susan My brothers and I would to thank all of you for coming today to honor our mother, Dorothy DePiano… that’s piano…with 88 keys as mom was known to say. Our mom was wonderful. She wasn’t a doctor, lawyer, CEO or teacher, her only job was to be a mom and she truly excelled at it. Together with our dad, they modeled for us the Christian values of love, compassion, and commitment. We are grateful for that and have tried to pass those values on to my own children, her grandchildren, Jeff, Riley, Tyler and Kate. My mom was devoted to my two brothers and me and she had the “knack” for letting us each believe that we were number one in her heart. But Thom and I both knew that it was Billy who was the favorite. My brother Billy had my mother’s heart. They had a special bond. And it is through their relationship that my mother modeled those Christian values of love, compassion and commitment. It was a running joke at the Winchester Nursing Center that Mom’s demeanor would change dramatically when Billy entered for his visits. Her smile would light up the room. Even in the end when she was so sick, and barely awake, she would rally and push out the biggest smile when he came in….yet again showing us love, compassion and commitment. I do have to say…that Billy wasn’t exactly humble about this…when mom would have a bad day with “Sun Downing” and I would be the beneficiary of her wrath, I would call Billy and say…you know Billy, mom didn’t have a good day with me yesterday just want to give you a heads up. And he would proudly tell me …”I know SuAnn, but not with me” then he would proceed to crackle over the phone with laughter. But beyond those basic values it was our mom’s sense of humor and zest for life is the thing that we will miss most about her. Mom loved a good laugh, a good joke, even when she was the brunt of it, which she was quite often. Mom could laugh at herself…an attribute that not all of us possess. Mom was a true fashionista. She was up on all the latest trends from boots, to leather skirts, capes, hats you name it she wore it and she could pull it off. And jewelry…an outfit was not complete unless you accessorized. There were times that she entered my house to just babysit that I would chuckle and say…Mom you are so well decorated you look like a Christmas Tree. And we would just roar. She was an amazing cook. Mom loved to cook. Her stuffed chicken breasts, meatballs, chicken parm, and chicken wings were awesome. She loved to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren sitting around together sharing a meal. Then say around the age of 75ish, mom decided that she would simplify her life and one warm August day, mom with the help of Dad packed up her special Christmas Dishes and brought them up to my house…saying she thought I could use these…. She and I just both laughed….it was her way of saying….You own it baby girl Mom also inherited the sewing gene from her mother. She could sew anything….from clothes, to curtains, to quilts to draperies. She was truly amazing. Mom made all of my skirts, dresses and pants all through grade school and above. It was her passion. She loved buying patterns and fabric. When would get on a role of making clothes for me and her biggest delight was to work on an outfit overnight and have it hanging on the my bedroom door by the next morning. I would throw on the outfit and mom would kiss her fingers and smile in delight. And this happened over and over again with each new outfit. As she got older she transfered those skills to knitting. At one point she knitted so many afghans that everyone in our family had at least two…and when we said whoa…slow down big girl…then she took up making smaller lap afghans for our cars. Mom’s final knitting project was making dish clothes. Mom’s fingers always needed to be busy. Love, compassion and commitment is exemplified through my parents’ marriage. She and Dad were married for 60 years…quite a feat in this day and age and something to be admired. Together they played hard and traveled lots with their close group of friends. There were trips to Bermuda, Hawaii, Mexico and of course California. Laughter and fun always prevailed. Our mom was devoted to our dad and was a rock during Dad’s long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Not an easy road to travel. But when life handed my mom a lemon or two, she looked at it as a challenge and always tried to rise to it. Mom battled though Dad’s illness with the strength and compassion that was admirable, truly honoring the vows that she took before God, “ I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health…I will love you and honor you all the days of our lives, till death do us part.” And she did. It was also my mom’s sense of humor and love of life that endeared her to so many people and helped to sustain her through her years at Winchester Nursing Center. They loved her there, particularly when she was outrageous, which was quite often. She would always joke with the workers and when asked… Dorothy how are you feeling today? Her quick response would always be “tippy top”. She said it so often if became her mantra. Even as her illness progressed she would weakly udder that phrase to us. It was mom’s way of showing us her love, compassion and commitment to us …being brave till the end….trying to elevate our pain…just the thing that a mother would do. Our mom was a special person, quite a character, a true treasure. We will miss her smile, her words of wisdom and her big presence in our daily lives. But we take comfort in knowing that her faith in God has lead her back to him, where she is reunited with our Dad and together they are feeling “Tippy Top.”