Yolande C. (Chouinard) Finneran, age 93, of Marlborough, MA, formerly a longtime resident of Winchester, passed away on April 8, 2025, lovingly surrounded by her family. She was the beloved wife of the late Walter A. Finneran.
Born in Sainte-Perpetue, Quebec, Canada, she was the daughter of Hector and Adine (Giasson) Chouinard. She was raised and educated in Quebec. She met her future husband Walter through friends while he was traveling in Quebec, and, while neither spoke the other’s language, as the saying goes, “the rest is history”. They married and ultimately settled in Winchester in 1962.
Yolande worked as the sole teacher in a rural one-room schoolhouse and later as a nurse until starting a family. In Winchester, she ran an active household with five children, and she and Walter were immersed in the Winchester community, spending time and volunteering at the Jenks Center and St. Eulalia’s Church, among many other organizations. In her spare time, Yolande enjoyed reading the classics, such as Charles Dickens, learned Italian and loved to travel. She and Walter shared a deep Catholic faith and were active for many years in the prison ministries program serving at several Massachusetts corrections facilities. She had a quick wit and was full of warmth but always took charge of her family!
She was the loving mother of Marc Finneran and his wife Jasna of Lexington, John Finneran and his wife Bonnie of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Mary Margaret Finneran of Groton, CT, Denise Finneran of Cortland, NY and Catherine Finneran and her husband Michael Healy of Wayland. She was also the devoted grandmother of Katherine Bosnjakovic, Nikola, Thomas, Lisa, Diane, Christine and Michelle Finneran and the great-grandmother of Kiara and Lina Bosnjakovic, and Cora and Eliza Finneran. She was the dear sister of Rachel Chouinard, Louise Chouinard, Simone Ferland and the late Conrad and Solange Chouinard, and is survived by many beloved nieces and nephews.
Visiting Hours will be held at Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington St., Winchester, on Friday, April 11, from 5-8 PM. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, April 12, at 1:00 PM in St. Eulalia’s Church, 50 Ridge St., Winchester. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend and are asked to meet directly at the church. Burial will follow in Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester. In lieu of flowers, donations in Yolande’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or at https://www.stjude.org.