William, Cyril "Bill" Feeney, 74, beloved husband of Margaret "Peggy," passed away peacefully at Lahey Clinic, after a brief illness, Saturday, May 5, 2012. He was surrounded by his loving family. Bill was born in 1937, in Clondra, County Longford, Ireland, son of the late William and Josephine (Clabby) Feeney, he was the oldest of four children.
In pursuit of work, Bill left Ireland for Boston in 1954, at the age of 17. Sponsored to the United States by his cousin Margaret, and her husband Danny Donoghue, Bill settled in Woburn.
Bill quickly got involved in the Irish culture in the Boston area. He was a GAA member and played Gaelic Football for Erin's Hope and Kerry Football Clubs for many years. Bill attended the Lithograph School of Boston, where he earned a certificate in typesetting and offset printing.
Two years after emigrating to Boston, while at an Irish Dance at Hibernian Hall, Bill met Peggy Murphy, who became the love of his life. The two shared their love of dancing and socializing. They married three years later in 1959. Bill and Peg went on to become the proud parents of four children and the exultant grandparents of seven children. Bill and Peg enjoyed many trips and cruises to the Caribbean islands, family visits back home to Ireland and especially looked forward to their time at the family cottage in New Hampshire as well as their winter home in Florida. Bill loved watching all of the Boston sports, especially the Boston Bruins, and always enjoyed a great chat about the game the following day. A man of great faith, Bill was a parishioner of St. Barbara's Church. For many years, he and Peggy helped to organize the St. Patrick's Day dance at the church. The couple was married for 52 years.
After a few years of working for Hub Mail and Colonial Printing, Bill decided to open his own company in the cellar of his home. Woburn Printing Company was born. With success on his side, Bill was fortunate to have found his niche in the business community. Bill's printing company flourished and as his children grew up, each proudly worked alongside him and Peggy at one point or another. Bill instilled the importance of hard work into each of his children. He and Peggy knew the value of higher education and with great pride put their four children through college.
Bill was dedicated to family. A loving husband, father and grandfather, Bill's free time was often spent attending his children's and then more recently, his grandchildren's, sporting events and school activities. He could often be overheard giving them advice after a wrestling match, hockey, basketball and soccer games. With that hearty laugh and contagious, giant smile, Bill was a friend to all. In earlier years, Bill was one of the founding members of the Woburn Irish American Club.
A very energetic and active person, Bill completed his first marathon in 1991. He went on to complete 32 marathons in all, many of which were the "the biggest dance of all," the Boston Marathon. Ten years ago and with much pride, Bill founded the Shamrock Running Club of Woburn. This was his "baby." He spent countless hours organizing, recruiting, training, inspiring and networking to promote the club to what it is today, over 200 members strong. Bill thoroughly enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm for running, a passion he took great pride in. He was known to meet people running on the street, around the Horn Pond area, for which he had a great affection for, or on the trails. He would strike up gregarious conversations about running and invite them to participate in a group tempo run or a road race. This often resulted in new friendships for both Bill and other friends of his running club.
Bill was preceded in death by his brother, Joseph. In addition to his wife, Bill is lovingly survived by his children, Billy and wife, Paula of Foxboro, Patricia of Woburn, Kevin and wife, Kelly of Woburn, and Brian of Boston and grandchildren Liam, Joseph, Lillian, Miranda, Brett, Finn and Margaret and siblings James Feeney and Nuala Neary, both of Ireland, many brothers in law, sisters in law, nieces, nephews and lots of friends.
Funeral services will be held from the McLaughlin - Dello Russo Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St., WOBURN Thursday, May 10th, at 9 a.m. followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Barbara Church, 138 Cambridge Rd., Woburn, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours at the McLaughlin - Dello Russo Funeral Home will be held on Wednesday from 4 thru 8 p.m. Services will conclude with burial at Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. It has been requested that in lieu of flowers contributions may be made in Bill's memory to St. Barbara Church, 138 Cambridge Rd., Woburn, MA 01801. To leave a message of condolence please visit www.dellorusso.net