Patricia (Cummings) O’Keefe, formerly of Dedham, passed away peacefully on June 2, 2022 at her new home in her daughter’s house in Chelmsford where she lived for about two months. She was born to the late Mary E. Daley and Albert F. Cummings in Boston, MA on November 10, 1932 and lived 89 full years.
Patricia grew up in Dorchester, MA with her brother and three sisters. She graduated from Girls Latin School in Boston and received a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Boston University. She was a nursing supervisor at the Floating Hospital for Children when she met her future husband William J. O’Keefe. They married in 1961 and lived in Brooklyn, NY and Whippany, NJ before settling in Dedham, MA in 1966.
In addition to her loving husband, she is survived by her children Maureen Totino and her husband Paul of Dedham, MA; Brian O’Keefe and his companion Susan Davey of Plymouth, MA; Brenda Brady and her husband Alan of Wilmot, NH; and Elaine Desmarais and her husband Ernie of Chelmsford, MA. She is also survived by her nine beloved grandchildren, Michelle Carilli of Medfield, MA; Lauren Totino of Waltham, MA; Liam O’Keefe of Plymouth, MA; Clare and Matthew Brady of Wilmot, NH; Evelyn, Douglas, Eleanor and Lillian Desmarais of Chelmsford, MA; as well as one great-grandchild, Nathan Carilli of Medfield, MA.
Patricia was very active in her children’s lives as a CCD teacher, Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout den mother, PTO president, member of various Parents Councils, and was a founding member of the Dedham High School Music Association. She also volunteered as a public health nurse and a substitute school nurse in Dedham. She was President of the South Shore Lupus Group and the Dedham Women’s Club for several years. Mostly, she loved spending time with family, and creating the many family traditions that we treasure today.
A visitation will be held at the George F. Doherty & Sons Wilson-Cannon Funeral Home, 456 High St., Dedham on Tuesday, June 7 from 9:00-10:15am followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Mary’s Church, Dedham at 10:30am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment in Old Calvary Cemetery, Roslindale. Masks preferred indoors.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023, (diabetes.org) or The Autism Research Foundation, 72 E Concord St., Boston, MA 02118, (https://greatnonprofits.org/org/autism-research-foundation)