NATICK: Patricia J. (Keefe) Braswell, age 86, a longtime Natick resident and ardent hibernophile, died surrounded by her loving family on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at Saint Patrick’s Manor in Framingham. She was the devoted wife of the late W. Earl Braswell.
Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Joseph P. and Mary (Burreby) Keefe. Patricia was raised in Arlington and Winthrop and was a graduate of Winthrop High School. She then married and started a family.
Patricia settled in Natick in 1957 and she and Earl were married shortly thereafter. Earl was proud to be a Dad to her sons, and a daughter born to them in 1960 completed the family. At the age of 50, Patricia decided to become a homemaker
with TLC, work she dedicated herself to for the next thirty years. She forged many warm relationships with those she cared for, creating quite an extended family.
She and Earl traveled often to Ireland, their home away from home. Here again, Patricia’s penchant for making friends came to the fore. Over the course of more than 15 trips to the Emerald Isle, they were never without a number of people they could stop and visit with.
A figure skater in her youth, Patricia encouraged her daughter in the sport and had a great time meeting other skaters and their families who traveled with the Ice Capades. In their later years, she and Earl enjoyed day trips to Foxwoods and visiting with their children, grandchildren and friends.
Predeceased by Earl in 2013, she was the loving mother of Michael K. Johnson and his wife Sharon of Frederick, MD, Debbie Shooshanian and her husband Ed of Natick, and the late David P. Johnson and Kathleen Johnson, and the devoted grandmother of Kimberly Johnson, Katelyn Oursler and her husband Chad, and Megan, Julie, and Daniel Shooshanian. Sister of the late Robert Keefe, Patricia is also survived by a nephew, Lawrence Keefe and his wife Edna.
Her funeral will be held in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common on Friday, October 28th at 12:00PM. Relatives and friends may visit with the family beginning at 10:00AM. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Patricia’s memory my be made to FrateTrain ALS Research & Support Fund at the Celebrities For Charity Foundation, Inc., PO Box 1993, Andover, MA 01810 (www.celebritiesforcharity.org/donations/pete-frates-fund)