Irene May (Clifford) Jeffery, 84, a longtime Tewksbury resident, passed away on Tuesday, October 17 at Lowell General Hospital peacefully with her family by her side after a long battle with Huntington’s Disease. She was the widow of the late Leonard "Jack" Jeffery, who passed away in 2017 after over 56 years of marriage.
She was born on July 13, 1939, and raised in Malden, graduating from Malden High School with the class of 1957. She was a daughter of the late John A. Clifford and the late Edith May (Wells) Clifford. After graduating high school she worked as a bookkeeper with Malden Knitting Mills for many years and eventually retired from Lady Grace in the 1990’s. She briefly moved to Pennsylvania before resettling in Tewksbury where she spent most of the rest of her life in her retirement.
She loved to crochet, knit and was very creative in crafting items for church fairs. She loved to read and enjoyed playing bingo. She spent some of her final, but happiest years at Life Care Center of Merrimack Valley in Billerica where she had a close family of friends. Above all else, Irene will be remembered as a happy, kindhearted person who was always smiling. Her beloved family will remain her legacy, by whom she will be sorely missed.
She is survived by her children Scott Jeffery of Tucson, AZ, James Jeffery and his wife Kim of Dunstable, and Jennifer Maccioli and her husband Peter of Tewksbury. In addition to her children she is survived by her grandchildren Sasha Jeffery, Maxwell Jeffery, and Sarah Maccioli.
Sister of the late John E. Clifford, Flora Bjork, and Mildreth Cheever.
All are welcome to attend her visitation on Sunday, October 22, 2023 from 3 until 6 p.m. at the Tewksbury Funeral Home, 1 Dewey Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876. You are also invited to attend her Funeral Service on Monday, October 23, at 10 a.m. at the funeral home in collaboration with Tewksbury United Methodist Church.
For those who can not attend, the funeral will be live streamed and will begin slightly before or at 10 a.m. on Monday morning at: https://www.facebook.com/tewksburyfuneralhome/videos A procession will follow for burial at Tewksbury Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations in Irene’s name to The Huntington’s Disease Society of America, Massachusetts & Rhode Island Chapter, P.O. Box 1407, Newburyport, MA 01950.
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