Obituary of Maryellen Rounds

Maryellen (Sheehan) Rounds of Burlington, formerly of South Pasadena FL, passed away with peace and God’s grace on Sept. 23 at Wilmington Health Care Center, Wilmington Ma. She was the beloved wife of the late Irving F. Rounds. She was a loving, kind, and gentle mother to her children Eileen Donhoffner & her son in law Lawrence Donhoffner of Burlington, Anthony & daughter in law Colleen of Parish, FL and Irving F. Jr. of Burlington. Maryellen was “grannie” to Lawrence Jr., Anthony & Mary Donhoffner who she loved dearly. She was the sister of the late Nora Moore and Nicholas, Joseph, John & Dennis Sheehan. She was “Auntie” to her beloved niece Theresa McFall and her children Marie, Adam and Ben, and to her nephew Wendell Moore and his children Kristy and Katy, and the late P.J. Moore. She had a very special bond with her great niece Marie Kelley who was one of her primary care givers. Marie and Mom had many laughs together and Marie had a way with mom that helped mom with many of the challenges she faced after 3 strokes. Maryellen also had special relationships with many of her caregivers-Kristin, Susie, Renee, Olivia, and Katie to name a few. She treasured her friendships with Julie, Karen and old friends Marie Los Cocco and Catherine Hart. When WHCC became her recent “home” she was so pleased with the TLC and the wonderful care she received from all the nurses, therapists, CNA’s, and Doctors there. Maryellen had many good times and mini adventures after she left Florida in 2012 while she lived with daughter Eileen and son in law Larry. The recent most and memorable time was singing at her niece Marie’s wedding this summer and staying at the beautiful home at Timbertop with the family. Maryellen was a graduated from St John’s High in North Cambridge 1944 and then went onto graduate from the Boston Conservatory of Music. Then she had a brief career singing and acting. She did summer stock theater and had professional jobs singing. She was excited and thrilled when she landed an understudy role in musical on Broadway but then her dad urged her to leave NYC to come home and become a teacher. She became a music supervisor in Watertown MA. After a few years she married Irving and became a mom full time and delighted in raising her children. She had a love for sewing, making tasty meals from the Toll House cookbook and liked to host Christmas parties or family get togethers. Mom for few difficult years raised her young children and went back to work as a music teacher in Bedford MA to support the family when Dad got sick. Maryellen was a person who had a kind, gentle, loving, spirit but had a will of steel as her friend described her. She was a sincere and trustworthy person. She loved talking and debating politics. She was inspired by her faith in God during the times in her life when she faced many challenges. She was a big fan of the Big Bang Theory and the “Middle” and Face the Nation T.V. shows and even as her memory was fading she somehow knew when these shows were on T.V. She learned to love football and liked watching the patriots on T.V. with Larry sr and jr. In the 1980’s she had moved to Florida. Living there she enjoyed visiting with her step great grandchildren, working as a volunteer for NAFE as the events coordinator and also as a volunteer playing piano in Pasadena Manor nursing home. When she moved back north in 2012 when her health declined she felt fortunate she could then be with grandchildren and children Eileen and Irv. She had lots fun going to Cooperative Elder Day Program in Burlington doing arts, crafts and socializing with her new friends there. She found a true love of nature and she loved to sit on the deck after the day program and as she looked out at the trees, birds, and small creatures. She was fond of going to Horne Pond in Woburn or Devereaux Beach in Marblehead. She would often comment she didn’t realize till later in life just how beautiful nature was. She passionately believed that the hungry and the homeless shouldn’t be forgotten and often spoke about what should be done to help the less fortunate and poor. We will all miss Ms. Maryellen, also known as Grannie and Mom but we all realize she had become weary and the Lord thought the time had come she should come home for her heavenly rest Maryellen was the beloved wife of the late Irving F. Loving mother of Eileen Donhoffner & her husband Lawrence of Burlington, Anthony & his wife Colleen of Parrish, FL and Irving F. Jr. of Burlington. Proud grandmother of Lawrence, Jr., Anthony & Mary Donhoffner. Sister of the late Nora Moore and Nicholas, Joseph, John & Dennis Sheehan. Also survived by many nieces, nephews & friends. Funeral from the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, Sept. 28 at 9 a.m. . Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Anthony Church, 851 Main St., Woburn at 10 AM Visiting hours Sunday 5-7 p.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers memorials in Maryellen’s name may be made to People Helping People, PO Box 343, Burlington, MA 01803 My grandmother was a loving, kind, gentle, and strong woman. Some described her as having a will of steel. Grandma was a proud first generation Irish American. She was born to Patrick Sheehan and Ellen Shea of County Kerry Ireland. She enjoyed getting together with her family and friends especially on Saints Patrick’s day either at her mother’s house or Sister Nora’s. She loved being a mother and grandmother. Family Remembrance My grandmother was proud that her children helped others. She loved when my uncle Irv came to stay with her when she needed help these last few years. She was also pleased when my mother became a nurse. She often told my parents how much she appreciated they took care of her in their home. My Grandma had a passion and desire to help the homeless. When she lived in Florida she collected food and clothing for the homeless. Her son Tony over the last few years has been continuing her legacy by working at a homeless shelter in Florida. Grandma loved to hear about when her son would go to the shelter, and would watch videos that my Uncle Tony made showing his work there. She had decided that when she passed that she would like donations be made to a shelter called, People helping People, in lieu of flowers. There is also a separate fund being started in her memory in Florida. Grandma had a lifelong love of music. She graduated college from the Boston Conservatory of Music. She had a brief career in singing and acting but then decided she wanted to teach music. She loved teaching music to small children and taught in the Watertown and Bedford school systems. She loved singing and I heard that she would sing lullabies to me as a baby. She came to my communion and played piano during the service. After she did this she decided she wanted to use her music to play for others in need of joy and started playing piano at a nursing home in Florida. Her most recent singing “gig” was at her grandniece’s Marie and husband Ralph’s wedding this past summer. It was a touching moment when she sang “let me call you sweet heart” and this was a very special moment for her too. Grandma had been taking singing lessons recently. I’m sure her new teacher would have been very proud of how she sung at Maries and Ralphs wedding. Grandma had a dedication to her grandchildren especially Larry jr. She loved Little Larry so much and enjoyed watching, and supporting him at his ball room dancing over the last few years. She always loved to hear about what I was doing in graduate school at USC or what my brother Tony was accomplishing in his career at Abbott Labs. My grandmother’s favorite words to me were “always keep your sunny side up”. Grandma had a deep love of all animals. She used to love her family dog Sheila and cat Shiloh very much. She really bonded with mom’s three cats skippy, shadow, and chocolate when she moved to our house in Burlington. Grandma’s faith was to the Catholic Church and Christianity. She was a devout Catholic. She was very happy to join her new Parish of Saint Anthony’s Woburn. She was pleased to go the masses to hear Father SMEAR-ICK’s homilies. She also received one of her most important wishes of having her funeral mass here at Saint Anthony’s. “Grannie” we all loved you so much and will miss you dearly but we know your time had come to leave us but until we meet again – May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.