…retired Nurses Aid; 95
TEWKSBURY - Helen M. (McIassic) Downs, age 95, a beloved mother, grandmother, and great grand mother, passed peacefully on New Years morning 2014, at the Blairehouse in Tewksbury, where she had been in residence since 2005. She was the beloved wife of the late George T. Downs, who died in 1955.
She was born on Prince Edward Island, November 2, 1918, the only child of Bernard and Sarah (Goodwin) McIassic, and emigrated to the US in her infancy. The family settled in Maine, and later Malden, Massachusetts, where she graduated from Bishop Cheverus High School.
While raising her family as a single parent after the death of her husband, she also worked outside her home as a Nurses Aid for Bartlett and Buchanan, and McFadden Nursing Homes, and in later years volunteered at Saint’s Memorial Medical Center.
In her later years she moved to Tewksbury and shared a home with her devoted daughter and son-in-law and their family in Tewksbury. While in Tewksbury, she was active at the Tewksbury Senior Drop-In Center, a member of the Golden Age Club, and a communicant of Saint William’s Church.
She was lovingly described by her family as a fun loving person known for her smile.
She is survived by a daughter, Linda Wareham and her husband William Jr. of Tewksbury; two sons, George T. Downs Jr. and his wife Donna (Puleo) of Billerica, and Richard Downs of Lynn; seven grandchildren, Kimberly Dillon, Thomas Downs, Eric Downs, Kristina Wareham, William Wareham III, Jonathan Wareham, and Sarah Wareham; sixteen great grandchildren.
Her Funeral Mass was celebrated Saturday, January 4, in St. William’s Church, Tewksbury, followed by burial in Tewksbury Cemetery. Memorials to the Tewksbury Friends of the Elderly, 175 Chandler St., Tewksbury, MA 01876 will be appreciated.