…former English Professor; 68
TEWKSBURY – Mr. Christopher Anthony “Chris” Maher, age 68, a retired College Professor of English, died Wednesday morning, July 24, in the loving care of his family at his Tewksbury home, after a long courageous battle with cancer. He was the life partner and best friend of Linda E. Almeida, with whom he had shared his life for the past twenty years.
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, a son of Christopher and Brigid (Power) Maher, emigrated with his family to Canada at the age of seven, and settled in the Malden area of Massachusetts when he was nine years old. Upon graduation from Malden Catholic High School, he entered University College in Dublin, and while accepted to Harvard University, chose to earn his Bachelors Degree at Boston College. He later earned Masters Degrees in both Education and English at Northeastern University.
He worked as a college professor, but also dedicated time to training and teaching adults to earn their G.E.D. certification. Chris was also an accomplished musician, and enjoyed attending concerts, in spite of his failing health, as recently as two weeks ago.
Besides his beloved Linda, he is survived by Linda’s children, Michelle Mulik and her husband Chuck, their children, Gina and Julia, all of No. Reading; Anthony Almeida and his children, Devin and Kali, and Anthony’s life partner, Sheri Palmisano and her children, Erin, Jon, and Steven all of Wilmington; a brother, Dr. Kevin Maher, M.D. and his daughter, Sheila Maher of San Francisco, CA; a sister, Ursula McCord and her husband Mark, and their children, Seamus, Roisin, and Declan all of Ohio; many cousins, including his closest cousins, David and Mairead Hegarty of Medford; and many friends throughout the great Boston area.
Relatives and friends are invited to his Memorial Mass, to be celebrated on Saturday, August 31, at 11:30 a.m. in St. William’s Church, 1351 Main St. (Rte. 38) Tewksbury. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000-Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142 or www.stjude.org are encouraged. visit: tewksburyfuneralhome.com