Kay Dillon Pechilis, formerly of Weston and Falmouth, a loving wife and mother who was also a devoted English as a Second Language educator, died on April 4th in Bethesda, Maryland, following a long illness. She was 87.
Mrs. Pechilis moved to Weston with her husband, Boston lawyer William J. (“Bill”) Pechilis, in 1960, where they raised a family of three in a house beside the Weston Reservoir on Ash Street. In 1983 they bought and renovated a second home near Quissett Harbor in Falmouth, which was the fulfillment of Mrs. Pechilis’ lifelong love for Cape Cod.
Mrs. Pechilis remained in the area for several years after the death of her beloved Bill in 2004 before moving to Bethesda in 2009 to live closer to her son, John, and his family.
She was a full-time parent when her children were young, but in the mid-1970s Mrs. Pechilis set about resuming the teaching career she had begun before marriage by earning an M.Ed. in Adult Education with a concentration in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Worcester State College.
Positions teaching English to international students followed, including with Project DIAL at Hanscom Air Force Base from 1978 to 1980 and with the American Language Academy (ALA) at Babson College from 1980 to 1984.
“Kay brought a unique and bright light into a room, and in her classroom she worked that same kind of magic,” said Anita Mamoun, a colleague of Mrs. Pechilis’ at ALA. “A very gifted writer herself, Kay inspired her students to enjoy writing. Students who had not written much in their first languages were surprised by their own accomplishments in English. I remember a young Guatemalan student asking, ‘Is good, Kay?’, and Kay responding with that fabulous smile and laugh, ‘Is VERY good!’
“Kay’s classroom was a safe place, a place to learn, a place to share, a place to build relationships. Educators call this student-centered learning facilitated by the instructor. In Kay’s classroom, it was whole-person learning facilitated by Kay and her magic.”
In 1985 Mrs. Pechilis joined Boston University’s Center for English Language and Orientation Programs (CELOP), where she taught international students the language and study skills they would need to complete academic degrees in the United States.
She went on to become a CELOP Associate Director in 1989, a position which included academic counseling, monitoring, and placement upon completion of English language training. The competence and care which Mrs. Pechilis applied to each student’s particular situation during her seven years in this position was reflected by the countless thank you notes and small tokens of appreciation from all over the world that decorated her Commonwealth Avenue office.
“Kay Pechilis often said she had never had a bad day at CELOP,” former CELOP Director Margot S. Valdivia said. “This statement truly captures her positive attitude and spirit of cooperation. She always responded with a quick yet accurate understanding of a situation and treated those people involved with respect, sensitivity, caring, and fairness.”
Mrs. Pechilis was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, one of two children of Joseph and Kathryn (Wake) Dillon. Upon graduation from Barnard College she earned a Master’s degree in English literature from Boston University and taught in the English Department at Northeastern University from 1957 to 1959.
In the years when she was raising her family and following her retirement from CELOP in 1996 Mrs. Pechilis was active as a community volunteer, including as a Trustee at the Meadowbrook School of Weston and as President of the Benevolent Alliance at the First Parish Church (Unitarian) in Weston.
A music lover all her life, Mrs. Pechilis sang in the First Parish choir for many years. She was also a member of the Weston Garden Club, which she enjoyed as much for the many wonderful friends that she had in the group as for the flowers.
Above all else, Mrs. Pechilis loved and took great pride in her family. She is survived by her daughters, Julie of Donegal, Ireland, and Karen of Madison, New Jersey; and by her son, John, daughter-in-law, Cynthia, and two granddaughters, Madeline and Audrey, of Bethesda, Maryland. She is also survived by her sister, Gail Norton, of Galloway, New Jersey.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at the First Parish Church in Weston Center.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mrs. Pechilis may be made to the Massachusetts branch of the Alzheimer's Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452.