Marguerite C. Doyle

FUNERAL HOME

Kfoury Keefe Funeral Home

8 Spring Street

West Roxbury, Massachusetts

Marguerite Doyle Obituary

Of West Roxbury, July 12, 2008. Dear and devoted wife of the late Joseph F. Doyle, Sr. BPD. Loving mother of Sheila Cancella of NJ, Margie Doyle and her husband Nikos of Greece, Joseph Doyle Jr. and his wife Carol of Walpole, Kathleen Doyle of Foxboro, Theresa Doyle of Dedham, and Stephen Doyle and his wife Patricia of Milford. Dear brother of Robert Starkey and his wife Anne of West Roxbury, and the late Doris Sadowski and Phyllis Curtis. Dear grandmother of 11 grandchildren. Also survived by several loving nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Kfoury Keefe Funeral Home, 8 Spring St. (at the corner of Centre St.) WEST ROXBURY Wednesday at 9 a.m., followed by the Funeral Mass at St. Theresa of Avila Church at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Tuesday 5-8 p.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marguerite's memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 311 Arsenal St. Watertown, MA 02472. Marguerite was a longtime resident of West Roxbury and communicant of St. Theresa of Avila Church. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery, West Roxbury. Kfoury Keefe Funeral Home West Roxbury 617-325-3600 www.KfouryFuneral.com

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Published by Boston Globe from Jul. 13 to Jul. 14, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Marguerite Doyle

8 Entries

Terri Doyle

July 18, 2008

It is extremely difficult to take the life of a woman who had so many interests and condense it into one page. Marguerite (Starkey) Doyle was a woman who wore many hats and had many titles. In high school she was Peg or Peggy, to her friends in West Roxbury she was Marguerite, Marge, or Margie. To her family she was Mama, and Auntie Marguerite...my Father called her Marg. She was a wife, mother, sister, aunt, mother-in-law, grandmother, friend, and neighbor.

Each of you who read this knew and loved my Mother, but your knowledge of her accomplishments is probably limited to the type of relationship that you had with her. Some of you knew her from the Parkway Seniors, The Roche Community Center, The Propavulis Club, The Theresians, or line dancing at St. George’s. But she also spent many years as a nursery school assistant, Insurance Coder, Den Mother for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scout Leader, volunteer in the Boston mental health system as a Case Aid Worker. She was also Treasurer of Weymouth High School Class of 1939, something of which she was very proud.

As a young girl, she loved to tap dance. As a young mother she entertained us with her tap dancing in the kitchen while she sang “East Side, West Side” or “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.”...My Mother had many talents, but singing was not one of them. Her routine always provoked her children to ask, “Ma, what did you do with the money we gave you for singing lessons?” In her senior years she joined the line dancers at St. Georges, and even in her declining days, when the nurses had the music turned up in the dining room, she entertained them by trying to dance from her wheelchair. The fact that her voice wasn’t the best in the choir did not deter her. Even as her disease progressed we would find her strolling the halls of the nursing home with her walker and humming the tune to a song that I only know as “Be kind to your web footed friends.” (Colonel Bogie's March)

Because my Father was constantly working or studying for the next promotion for the betterment of his family, raising six children and managing the day-to-day routines of the household were pretty much left to my Mother alone. My Mother was the strongest and most courageous woman I have ever known. Long before major highways, innumerable gas stations and fast food chains were available, with my father living on an Air Force base just north of San Francisco, she saved her money, packed up her three small children and drove cross country to join him.

Like many of you, she lived through the Depression and learned through necessity to be very frugal. She never said that her family was poor, but she would tell stories of walking the railroad tracks as a child with my Uncle Robert to pick up lumps of coal that had fallen from the trains so that they could heat the house. The lessons she learned during The Depression carried her through as the mother of six children. She spent countless hours at the sewing machine outfitting herself and her four daughters…there were dresses for First Communions and Confirmations, proms and semi-formals, weddings, baptisms, costumes for Halloween, and gowns for the annual Policeman’s Ball. She repaired hems, buttons, zippers, baseball uniforms and worn knees for the entire family. She made beautiful wool plaid pleated skirts for Sheila and Margie. When the skirts were either outgrown or out of style, she disassembled them and made coats for Kathy & Theresa.

I admired her strength and courage again when my Father had cardiac bypass surgery, twice in less than two weeks. My Mother, during this time, found the strength to ready us not only for an upcoming family wedding, but for the possibility of a funeral too. And, as my Father lay dying she spent hours day after day by his side...going home to rest only at the insistence of her children.

When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s it frightened her. But as in every other difficult situation during her life, she found ways to manage. She became even more clever than she had always been...recording events indicating who she was with, where she went and even what she had been wearing... all in an attempt to remember. She stopped watching the television and forced herself to read so that she had the best chance of keeping her memory intact. As her illness progressed she suffered enormous pain (pain that was clearly written across her face.) Occasionally she would tell one of her children, but it was rare that she would tell the nursing staff.

It would take weeks to tell you about all of her accomplishments, but it would be accurate to say that she was a kind and loving person who left her mark on this world. She was proud of her family, proud to be a member of St. Theresa’s, and proud of her country. I am proud to be her daughter, and I can only hope that I can successfully follow in her footsteps. I have lost not only my Mother, but also my dearest friend.

Alzheimer's is a progressive and fatal brain disease. As many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. It destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

Jaymie Law

July 17, 2008

Your mother was a wonderful women and a big part of my family's life. She will always remain in my thoughts.

Carl Schoener

July 15, 2008

Dear Terri & Family, Our hearts feel your sorrow. Words at this moment are heard, but not quite consumed by the heart until weeks later when you reread all the entries and you relive a memory, a laugh, a hug and, an I love you. These are the memories and words that swell your heart with love, and stay for always and forever. Our love and prayers are with you and your family.
Love Carl & Debby

Arthur McDevitt

July 14, 2008

Joe:

My prayers are with you and your family on the loss of your mother.

Art McDevitt
CM '65

Tara Law

July 14, 2008

From nursery school to adulthood your mom's presence and good intentions were a constant. You are all in my thoughts.

Connie Bisnaw

July 14, 2008

My heart goes out to all of you....your Mother was such an elegant lady...may she be now resting in peace. Very sincerely,
Connie Bisnaw

Cathy Shanahan

July 14, 2008

Kathy, Theresa and the rest of the family: I was sorry to learn of your mother's death. She was one of my absolute favorite neighborhood mothers. Your mom was always kind and gentle with a smile for all of us, whether we were running and screaming behind the house on the tracks, poking our noses into Joey's "log" cabin, jumping from the sidewall in the back yard holding towels over our heads and pretending to be parachuting or playing peacefully with some craft-type project on the back deck (before its enclosure). I look back at childhood memories of your mother with great fondness and warmth. Your mother always made me feel welcome and safe. I know you all will remember your mother with great affection as the kind, generous, sweet (and talented -- I remember the beautiful gown she made for Sheila's prom!) woman she was. Although it's sad that she's gone, she leaves behind a wonderful, caring legacy. Thank you for sharing your mother with me.

Toni Cassidy

July 13, 2008

In loving memory of a wonderful person. We will love you and miss you always.

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