Pamela P. Howland
‘Mother, wife, grandmother and great-grandmother’
Pam Howland, 86, passed away peacefully at her Lowell home on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, following complications from Parkinson’s Disease. Born in 1940 in Waltham, she was the first child of the late Carlton Smith and Joan (Parks) Smith. She grew up in the Auburndale section of Newton, graduated from Newton North High School and earned an Associates Degree at Lasalle College.
Pam leaves behind her husband of 39 years Stephen Greene, daughters Cynthia (Howland) Gallagher and her husband Richard (Rick) of Arlington, Diana Howland of Dover, NH, stepdaughter Catharine Robertson Szczepanski and her husband John of Andover, and her stepson William Greene of North Andover. She will be sorely missed by her beloved grandchildren Richard Gallagher, Jr. and his wife Erika (Glaser), Meredith Gallagher, John Gallagher, and step granddaughters Maddy, Ella, Lexi and Delilah Robertson. She was so proud to be "THE" great grandmother to her precious great grandson Colin David Gallagher who lit up her life. The eldest of five, she was predeceased by her brother Carlton Kimball (Kim) Smith and leaves her sisters Cynthia Peters, Jennifer Murdoch and her brother Kirk Smith. She was predeceased by her first husband David Howland and leaves behind many nieces and nephews.
Pam lived in Winchester and worked at MIT as an administrative assistant. When her husband Stephen’s career at Digital, and later Polaroid, brought opportunities to travel, she scaled back to part-time work at Camp Dresser & McKee and then Harvard Medical Library so she could share those adventures with him. Together they traveled extensively throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Europe and the Far East.
In her younger years she owned a pop up shop at Faneuil Hall...selling homemade Boston Baked Beans and brown bread to tourists. With a creative spirit, Pam and Stephen renovated a bowfront in the South End and transformed an antique wreck of a house in Barrington, Nova Scotia.
She was an avid quilter and talented seamstress who could make just about anything with fabric and her trusted sewing machine. She enjoyed finding old discarded furniture and recreating it into something useful and beautiful. When living in the South End, she was instrumental in creating a neighborhood community garden, was a force in working with the city on local urban development, was a member of the South End Landmarks Commission, and employed her sewing skills to make banners for the South End Historical Society Garden Tour. Her early work with New England Quilt Museum and help in setting up its current location got her and Stephen interested in Lowell. She quilted at both the Lowell Senior Center and in Nova Scotia and was a devoted member of her "button group". In addition, she was an keen collector; if it interested her, she collected it. This included beach glass, masks, Micronesian carved statues, clothing buttons, fabrics, Mexican pottery birds and local art and books. She was one of the first group of tenants as Western Ave Studios was being developed in Lowell. Though she was the most senior in that group of artists, she was the only one who signed a 5 year lease. Both in the South End and Lowell, she was a wonderful hostess. She loved each of her cats.
Burial services will be private with a celebration of life memorial service to follow at a later date. Arrangements are under the care and direction of McDonough Funeral Home.