Feeney, Mrs. Lillian Pearl (née Curtin) of Westmoreland NH, formerly of Wellesley passed away peacefully on March 31, 2015 at age 99, with her family at her side. Pearl was born in So. Portland, Maine on June 13, 1915, the third child of Ernest Earl Curtin, Jr. (originally from Montreal) and Jensine Curtin (from Scarborough, ME and whose parents had immigrated from Denmark). She is predeceased by her elder brothers Ernest Earl Curtin III (“Ernie”) and William (“Bill) and her younger brother Norman (“Norm”).
Pearl is an alumna of So. Portland High School and of Boston University, where she majored in Accounting, and was one of few female concentrators in that department. After graduating from BU, she worked as an accountant at the Federal Milk Market in Boston. In 1941 she married Peter John (“Johnny”) Feeney, of So. Portland, Maine and a BU alumnus, and the couple honeymooned in Laguna Beach, CA. Pearl and Johnny, high-school sweethearts, had reunited at a BU alumni “moonlight” sail on the Charles River.
Pearl and Johnny raised 5 loving children: Maureen Elizabeth and Peter John Feeney, Jr. (“PJ"), by whom Pearl is predeceased; Joanne Leslie (of NH), Cheryl Ann (“Chez”) (of Greenfield, MA), and James Patrick (“Jim”) (of Lexington, MA) by whom Pearl is survived, along with grandchildren Kimberly Holmes Triggle (“Kim”) (of Avon, CT), Michael John Holmes (“Mike”) (of Westborough, MA), Steven Douglas Kaagan (“Stevie”) (of No. Lake Tahoe, CA), Jensine Kaagan (“Jenny”) (of CA), Anne-Marie Natsumi Feeney (“Annie") and James Taiyo Feeney (“Jamie”).
While Johnny worked first for the airlines (managing reservation systems) and then as a manager in the insurance industry, Pearl was homemaker guiding the Feeney family which lived successively in Hartford, CT, Dorchester, MA, Hingham, MA, Westborough, MA, and Wellesley, MA. After Johnny passed away in 1974, Pearl continued living in Wellesley (for a total of 41 years) until moving with Chez to New Hampshire in 1998. In recent years Pearl was living in Peterborough and then Westmoreland, NH, with Chez as her loving caregiver.
We fondly remember our dear mother Pearl as a beautiful, kind, vivacious, and gentle spirit who welcomed family and friends into her 95 Crest Road home for heart-to-heart chats full of compassion, mirth, and benevolence. She encouraged her children to see the world, and made a point of visiting us in our overseas pursuits in Finland, France, and Malaysia, and joined family trips to Africa. She loved the ocean, and, with Johnny, made the family’s vacation “camp” in New Hampshire a magical place. Wherever she went, her engaging smile, sparkling laugh, great dance step, and powerful swimming sidestroke were in evidence.
A Funeral Service will be held in the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St. (Rt.16) Wellesley, Saturday April 11, at 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Maplewood Nursing Home, 201 River Rd. Westmoreland NH 03467.