Mrs. Antoinette E. (DeVellis) Lord, a longtime resident of Andover, Massachusetts, beloved wife of Robert H. Lord and mother of Robert M. Lord and his wife Laura, and loving sister of Thomas DeVellis and his wife Patricia, passed away on Monday, June 17, 2024. She was 78 years old.
Born in Somerville, Massachusetts on May 23, 1946, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Mary (Balzano) DeVellis. Annette was the first member of her family to go to college, graduating from Boston State College and later earning her master’s degree in education from Lesley College.
Her dedication to education was a lifelong commitment, teaching for more than two decades at Bancroft Elementary School in Andover and prior to that the Morse School in Cambridge. Known for her firm yet compassionate approach, Annette touched the lives of countless students throughout her career and left a lasting impact on all who learned from her.
Along with teaching her students, raising her son Bobby, and making sure that there was never a single piece of dirty laundry in the hamper or so much as a lone fingerprint on the refrigerator, principal among Annette’s many joys was traveling with her family. In 1988, she brought her mother to Naples, Italy, which marked the first time Mary had been back to her native country since emigrating to the United States in 1933 as a 12-year-old.
In the later years of her life, Annette, her husband, son, daughter-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law spent a substantial amount of time traveling in Europe, the United States, and Mexico, visiting the places she had always dreamed of as a child.
On these trips, she never hesitated to demand that the hotel be moved a bit to the left or the right, depending on conditions at the time. She holds an unofficial record for successful replacement requests from hotel and property management, including four refrigerators, dozens of lamps, pillows, linens, and dishes, and countless hair dryers.
She was a deeply loving mother to her son, and this devotion extended to Laura, whom she regarded as her own daughter. Annette was fond of saying to Bobby and Laura that “what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours, and what’s Daddy’s is ours.”
Her dedication to her son was such that she successfully completed overdubbing handclaps on a track for one of Bobby’s musical groups, hitting beats 2 and 4 effortlessly throughout the piece. Her husband, unable to do so, was summarily fired from the recording session.
Besides her beloved husband, son, daughter-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law, she is survived by her sister Cecelia Hender and nephew Jeffrey Hender, his wife Christine, and her great-niece Adeline. She was predeceased by her sister Mary Grace Firth, brother-in-law George Firth, brother-in-law Stephen Hender, mother-in-law Mary F. Lord, and father-in-law Edward C. Lord.
She was also predeceased by her former aide-de-camp, Mr. Giovanni of Sorrento, Italy, a manager at the Parco dei Principi hotel whose demise was undoubtedly hastened by Annette’s frequent visits.
Annette will be lovingly remembered as a dedicated wife, mother, teacher, and friend. Calling hours will be held on Sunday, June 23, 2024, in the Burke-Magliozzi Funeral Home, 390 North Main Street, Andover from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Relatives, friends, colleagues, and former students are most welcome to attend. For additional information, please visit www.burkemagliozzi.com.