Obituary of Margaret Lewis

Margaret “ H. “Peg” (Hussey) Lewis, passed away at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon, July 11, 2015. The beloved wife of the late William Lewis who passed away in January, she was 89 years old. Peg was born in Lynn. She was the daughter of Irish Immigrants the late John and Katherine Hussey. As a young child Peg’s family moved back to Ireland for a few years returning to the United States when Peg was 4 years old. She was raised and educated in Lynn and went on to received her Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching from Salem State College. After graduation Peg taught in Nashua, NH. When her children were born she became more of a full-time mom but continued to keep her hand in the teaching profession. She was a substitute teacher in Saugus and then in the late 1970’s into the 1980’s she was a permanent substitute teacher at Burlington High School. Peg also worked at Dig Safe Systems in Burlington part-time in the Customer Service Department. Peg and Bill settled in Burlington in 1967 where they would raise their children and became an important part of the St. Malachy’s family. Peg was a woman of deep faith. She was a Lecturer and Eucharistic Minister at St. Malachy’s. Together with Bill she donated her time as a Eucharistic Minister at Lahey Clinic as well as volunteering at the Soup Kitchen and Shelter in Lowell. Peg’s home and her family were the center of her life. She was very much a part of her children and grandchildren’s lives. She was devoted to her husband Bill. They would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this past June. They were always together. If you saw one – you saw the other. They had a lot of fun together through the years. They travelled extensively taking many cruises and visiting such destinations as Ireland, England and Hawaii to name a few. Peg had a great personality. She loved to have fun and laugh! She had quick “Irish Wit” and which was evident even through her last days in the Hospital when she would kid with the doctors. Peg will be remembered for her warmth and her love and dedication to her family and her faith in God. Peg was the beloved wife of the late William Lewis. She was the loving mother of William J. Lewis of Burlington, Margaret M. Houlne & her husband Daniel V. of Tyngsboro, Mary K. Tyler & her husband Robert of Bath, NH, Katherine M. Fitzgerald & her husband James of Bath, NH and John M. Lewis & his wife Julie of Brookline, NH. Proud Nana of Sarah A. Pieroni & her husband Steven, Kyle D. Reynolds & his fiancée Marla Pasquerello, Anne T. Howells & her husband James, David B., Caitlin R. & John P. Reynolds, Erin K. & Rachel E. Clegg, Augustine J. & Bernadette M. Lewis. Great Grandmother of Jason J. Clegg, Taylor Sartwell, Ivy Rose Reynolds, Annelise C. Pieroni, and Ella M. Howells. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Thursday, July 16 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Malachy’s Church, 99 Bedford St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Wednesday 5-8 p.m. Interment in St. Joseph Cemetery, Lynn. Memorials in Peg’s name may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 480 Pleasant Street Watertown, MA 02472 Family Remembrance by Peggy Good morning and thank you for being here to help us celebrate our mother's life. I am Peg's daughter Peggy and I would like to say a few words about our mother today. Everyone here appreciates that to know our mother was to love her. She was a beautiful Irish lass with a twinkle in her eye, mischief up her sleeve and a wonderfully quick Irish wit. She was very proud of her Irish heritage. We would wake up every St. Patricks Day to her belting out Irish songs, like Its A Great Day for the Irish and Old Danny Boy. We would all wear green and be very proud to be Irish. But even though she loved being Irish she always wanted to marry someone who wasn't Irish because she loved brown eyes and wanted her children to have brown eyes. She also had bragging rights not only to being Irish but to breaking a record by having the largest twins in New England. She was even featured in a newspaper article. She loved telling these stories and stories about her childhood. She loved her parents and sister dearly. They were very close. As a matter of fact they were so close that my mother insisted on living with her mother after she married my father. She thought her mother would be lonely without her. Now my father would have done anything for mom so they did live with my grandmother for a year before they bought their first house. I know you all know that our mother was a very funny, clever lady -- Lucille Ball funny -- and anyone here who had the chance to be with her in a social setting had the chance to enjoy her zany sense of humor. I will bet that most of you have laughed so hard that you've cried while listening to her quick-witted one-liners . Her comedic sense of timing was impeccable. And even right after her fall last week she was joking with us and the doctors after she came out of surgery. She had us all in stitches (no pun intended). She was one lady that knew how to have fun and share the gift of laughter. Our mother's sense of comedy and storytelling that she shared with the world was what most people knew and enjoyed about her, but she had serious side to her that I would like to also share with you. Our mother was a high school teacher. She loved teenagers and had a special way of connecting with that age group. She had a special fondness for troubled teenagers; and we know she touched many a teenager that crossed her path in the classroom with her love, understanding and acceptance of them. All of our friends loved to come and hang out at our house when we were teens because our mother was so genuinely fond of them. We know she made a difference in many a child's life with this special gift, including our own lives. Some of these people were our friends and many we have never met because they were her students. There were other gifts that were mainly bestowed upon us, her family. We were very lucky to have such a devoted mother. She had unconditional love for all of us. We always knew she was there for us through thick and thin. She proved this many times. She truly loved being at home, cleaning, cooking, and being there for all of us. It was so comforting to know that she was always there. Even after we grew up and moved to our own homes, she would be there when we called. She would be there if we just wanted to drop by, and she was always so happy to hear from us or see us. Her main joy in life after our Dad passed was being with us. We spent lots of time with her because we knew it gave her great joy. Ultimately, the way she loved taught us how to love unconditionally, which we then passed down to our children. And now our children are having children, and we can see that this in turn is being passed to them. What a wonderful legacy for my mother. Our mother was also very devoted to God. This was something she lived every day. Mom always talked about her faith in God to us, went to church, and said her novenas and prayers every day naming each of us in her daily prayers. She taught us how to say our prayers at night, believe in God, attend church and know our catechism lessons. As a result a strong faith has been instilled in each of us, and it has helped us to be strong in the face of adversity. The last six months have been very tough, and if it hadn't been for our mother's sense of humor, her wit, her strong faith and unconditional love through the years we would not have had the strength to draw upon and get us through these tough times. Thank you Mom for these lifelong gifts. We will always treasure them. I would like to end with something she said to all of us every day after my father passed away in January. She said &quote;don't cry when I die because it will be the happiest day of my life. I will be with Dad and God.&quote; She missed our father terribly, and even though she derived joy from being with us --the love of her life, her life partner-- was gone. There wasn't a day, even with her memory problems, that she didn't ask for and miss our Dad. So even though we have cried and will cry some more, we know she is with Dad and God now, and she is happy and at peace. We also still miss our Dad terribly, but knowing they are together again makes us all feel that it is as it should be. Mom and Dad together forever.