Rose (Sibilia) Holahan, age 89, of Brooksby Village in Peabody, formerly a longtime resident of Winchester, passed away on May 29, 2019, surrounded by her loving family.
Rose was the beloved wife of the late Frederick S. Holahan for 60 years until his death in 2011. She was born on April 22, 1930 in Newark NJ, to the late John and Mary (Marchese) Sibilia.
Pushing boundaries from an early age, Rose graduated from high school at 16 and attended Rutgers University, ultimately graduating with a degree in Sociology. While at Rutgers, she met and then married her chemistry lab partner, Fred. Together they had six children, and in 1967 moved from their New Jersey home to Winchester, Massachusetts.
Rose followed the traditional role of staying home to raise her children. Not one for complacency,
however, Rose once again challenged herself, earning a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Northeastern University. She worked as a special education teacher in the Winchester School system for more than 20 years, and was known as a fierce advocate for her students. Rose was passionate about her students; and it was not unusual to have an extra plate set at the dinner table for one of them.
Rose loved politics. As a member of the League of Women voters, she supported many local liberal candidates; a tireless campaigner, she succeeded in getting many of them elected. Her love of national politics continued throughout her life, and Rose kept abreast of every candidate, every debate, and every trending issue, and delighted in a good give-and-take with anyone brave enough to take her on!
For the past six years, Rose resided at Brooksby Village. While active in many clubs there, she especially treasured time spent with her posse of close friends, enjoying an all too competitive game of gin rummy, mahjong or bridge.
Rose was also an avid gardener. She could easily recognize many species of plants, shrubs, and trees; and delighted in creating beautiful landscapes in Winchester and the family vacation home in Owls Head Maine. She even had a small garden at Brooksby with vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Of all of Rose’s accomplishments, her most prized achievement and her greatest source of joy was her family and the time they spent together.
Rose is survived by her ”six good kids” as she often called them; Susan Mueller and her husband Gary of Richboro, PA, Frederick S. Jr. and Kathy Farrell of Woodbury, CT, Marylou Hughes and her husband Robert of Andover, Lisa Sheehy and her husband Michael of Reading, Carol Holahan of Boston, and Stephen Holahan and his wife Christina of Winchester.
Dear sister of Marie Scardilli of Parlin, NJ, John Sibilia of Livingston, NJ, Teresa Cifelli of Parlin, NJ and Anthony Sibilia, of Livingston, NJ, and the late Louis Sibilia.
She leaves behind 14 wonderful grandchildren: Nicole Mueller, Kristin Jayne, Jennifer Farrell; Kelley Johnson, Kristin Holahan, and Leigh Brickett; Sarah Sheehy, Julie Chen and Peter Sheehy; Ryan Steiner, Elise Hacker, and Erica Steiner; and Daniel and Linnea Holahan, and nine great grandchildren; Owen, Ashleigh and Oliver Jayne; Gabriella Farrell; Harper and Cora Chen; Peyton Sheehy; Lillian and Jake Steiner; and many nieces and nephews.
While we are overcome with grief over our loss, we take great comfort in knowing that our dad is reunited with both his lab and life partner.
A Celebration of Life Service will be announced at a later date.
Donations in Rose’s memory may be made to Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/ or Smile Train, https://www.smiletrain.org/ or to the Brooksby Village Scholarship Fund, 200 Brooksby Village Drive, Peabody, MA 01960.