…Tewksbury School Principal; 85
TEWKSBURY – William J. “Billy D” DeGregorio, age 85, a former Principal at the Tewksbury Memorial High School and a beloved member of the community, died unexpectedly Saturday morning, June 27, at Lowell General Hospital. He was the adoring husband of Jane (Garofalo) DeGregorio, with whom he would have celebrated a sixty-second wedding anniversary on August 30.
Bill was born in East Boston on October 21, 1934, one of four sons of the late Albert A. and Natalie V. (Miragilia) DeGregorio, and raised in “Eastie.” He enlisted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and served both stateside and in Japan. He graduated from Boston University and earned his Masters in Education at Suffolk University. He began his distinguished career in Education as a Guidance Counselor in Deer Park, Long Island. He returned to Tewksbury in 1970 to become Assistant Principal at the Tewksbury Memorial High School, and completed his career at Tewksbury Memorial High School, as Principal from 1974 to 1995. He also served as a member of the Tewksbury School Committee.
Bill was a communicant of St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Andover, a member of the Fr. Coppen’s Council K of C in Tewksbury, was a life member of the Mass. School Administrator’s Association, and had also served as a Cub Scout Master. In his retirement years, he and Jane were frequent visitors to the Tewksbury Senior Center.
Besides his wife, he leaves a daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Arthur Mailloux of Lowell; a son, Robert A. DeGregorio of Tewksbury; four grandchildren, Michelle and William Mailloux and Cameron and Adam DeGregorio; three brothers, Albert A. DeGregorio of Warrham, Ronald P. DeGregorio and his wife Susan of Salem, NH, and Past Mass. B.P.O.E. State President Daniel P. DeGregorio of Wareham; and many nieces and nephews. He was also grandfather to the late Owen William DeGregorio.
With strict adherence to Covid-19 health precautions and social distancing rules, relatives and friends will be received Wednesday, July 1, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Tewksbury Funeral Home, corner of 1 Dewey and 975 Main Sts. (Rte. 38) TEWKSBURY CENTER, Ph. (800 in MA or 978) 851 2950. Friends may gather for his Funeral Mass on Thursday, July 2, at 11:00 a.m. in St. Robert Bellarmine Church, 198 Haggetts Pond Rd., Andover, which will be live streamed at www.sainrtroberts.net Burial at St. Mary Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the William DeGregorio Sports Award Scholarship Fund, c/o T.M.H.S., 320 Pleasant St. Tewksbury, MA 01876 will be appreciated. For e-condolences, visit www.legacy.com visit: tewksburyfuneralhome.com