Audrey T. Jachthon, passed away peacefully Thursday, November 23, 2017, at the Woodbriar Health Center in Wilmington. She was the beloved widow of Helmut Jachthon, they married in June 1973. She was 90 years of age. Born in Woburn, a daughter of the late Daniel and Veronica (Murray) Kean, she was raised and educated in Woburn. Audrey was predeceased by her sister Nathalie (Kean) Farley.
Audrey graduated from Woburn High School and then earned her Bachelor's degree in English and Liberal Arts at Emmanuel College. She earned her Master’s degree at Boston University.
Audrey began her working career as a Jr. High English teacher when that was located on the grounds of Woburn High School, then moved to the new Kennedy Middle School when that opened. The majority of her career she spent at the grade-school level, and working with younger children was her true calling and greatest joy. She worked well beyond normal retirement age, eventually providing assistance in the libraries and A/V facilities at all of the Woburn elementary schools. Even after she retired, she returned as a volunteer to help out in the libraries. Her love of learning and reading was infectious, and a positive influence on many.
Following her marriage to Helmut, the two participated with the German club in Westwood, and she enjoyed the dances and other social occasions there. She also enjoyed travel and often visited her sister and family in as they moved between Virginia, California, and Hawaii. She doted on and was a major influence in her nephew's lives, instilling her love of learning, as well as her well-known love for ice cream.
Audrey leaves two nephews: Shal Farley of Monrovia, CA and Christopher Farley of Kailua, HI; her sister-in-law: Joan Murray of Waltham; 5 grandnephews and grandnieces: Dominique, Daniel, Kevin, Ronald, and Sarah; and her long-time friend, Mary Hartnett of Wilmington.
Funeral services will be held from the McLaughlin - Dello Russo Family Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St., WOBURN, Friday, Dec. 1st, at 9 a.m. followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Charles Borromeo Church, 280 Main St., Woburn, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours at the Funeral Home will be held on Thursday from 4 thru 7 p.m. Services will conclude with burial at Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn.