DONALD A. RAUSEO
1927-2023
RAUSEO, Donald Anthony. Of Tewksbury, at 96 years of age. Passed away on December 2, 2023 at High Pointe Hospice House in Haverhill, from natural causes. Adoring husband of 72 years to the late Marjorie R. (Overlan) Rauseo, who passed away in 2020. Son of the late Peter and Mildred Rauseo. Loving father of Richard and his wife Joan (Marion) of Coarsegold CA; Robert and his wife Mary Kay (Baggs), James and his wife Deborah (Snook), the late Kenneth and his wife Patricia (Trainor), and Keith and his wife Maura (Carr), all of Tewksbury. Devoted grandfather of Sherry Fiore and her husband Nicolas; Nicole Zwirek and her husband Steffan; Thomas Rauseo and his wife Jessica (Carew); Julie Rauseo; Joseph Rauseo; Sheila Christian; Jefferson Rauseo and his wife Coryana (Prendable); Matthew Rauseo and his fiancée Ashley Callahan; and Benjamin Rauseo. Beloved great-grandfather of Emma Pelland, Cordelia Zwirek, Hunter Zwirek, Max Rauseo, Samuel Rauseo, Hannah Rauseo, and Cal Christian. Dear brother of Anthony Rauseo, Jr. and his wife Donna of Lynn, Virginia Jones of The Villages, FL, and Joyce MacKenzie of Stratham, NH, and of the late John, Francis, Paul, and Robert Rauseo. Cherished brother-in-law of Patricia (Overlan) McLaughlin and her husband Stephen of Dracut, and Josephine Rauseo of Kingston MA. Treasured uncle of John McLaughlin and Karen (McLaughlin) Mercado and her husband Michael, who were like grandchildren to him. Much loved son-in-law of the late Walter and Margaret Overlan.
Donald was born in Everett on April 10, 1927, graduated from Everett High School on D-Day in 1944, and entered the U.S. Navy soon after. He proudly served on the USS Anacostia (AO-94) in the South Pacific for the last year of World War II and the first year of peacetime. He returned home to Marjorie, his high-school sweetheart and love of his life, whose picture he carried with him from age 15 to his last day. They married in August 1947, and lived in Everett and Malden before moving to Tewksbury in 1955. He spent 43 years as an automotive frame straightening specialist and business manager at Belmont Auto Body in Everett. He was an active coach, manager, and league officer for Tewksbury Youth Baseball throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. After retirement he and Marge spent 25 remarkable years traveling between their homes in Milton NH, Groveland FL, and with Richard and Joan in California, making a cross-country road trip loop over the course of each year. They also made trips to Hawaii and Europe. He loved and doted on his Milton and Groveland houses, constantly moving about the house, yard, and lakeside, looking for the next thing to build, fix, paint, or clean up, and always trying to “improve on the original design.” Their 35 years of summers on the lake in Milton, surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren enjoying the oasis he and Marge were able to provide, brought them great joy.
Long-lasting friendships are one benefit of a long life, and Don and Marge were blessed in this regard, especially by Gerry and George Hemeon, their friends for seven decades, and Pegge and Frank Heidenrich, with whom they shared vacations, shows at the North Shore Music Theater, and weekends at Hampton Beach throughout a sixty-year relationship. Don’s cousin Dick O’Donnell was his best boyhood and lifelong friend; Marge and Don enjoyed their visits with Dick, his wife Pat, and the O’Donnell clan in Florida, and Dick was always in Don’s thoughts after his premature passing.
At the end of his life Donald received warm and loving care from the staff at Brightview Concord River, Beacon Hospice, and High Pointe Hospice.
Calling hours Thursday, Dec. 7, from 4-7 p.m. at the Farmer & Dee Funeral Home, 16 Lee St., Tewksbury. His funeral procession will begin Friday, Dec. 8, at 9 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by a Funeral Mass celebrating the lives of Donald & his late wife Marjorie at 10 a.m. at St. William’s Church, 1351 Main St., Rte. 38, Tewksbury. Interment at Tewksbury Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Donald’s memory may be made to Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH, 45250-0301, or online at www.dav.org/donate.