Maryanne E. Flanagan

FLANAGAN, MARYANNE E., our beautiful and loving mother, daughter, sister and friend passed away on November 30, 2007. Her friends and family had the pleasure of knowing a warm and generous person, a woman of complexity and Intelligence.

Born in Providence a daughter of Anne and John Emma, she spent her childhood in East Providence. After attending Salve Regina College, she worked for thirty years, as a high-school English teacher and as a guidance counselor. During that time, she proved to be strong and independent, raising her two children, Stephen and Kate.

Upon retirement, she took the opportunity to enjoy life, enlarging and enhancing her garden with careful planning and hard work. She worked with the Summit Avenue Neighborhood Association, fighting to improve the neighborhood she shared with many of her friends.

She spent her summers on Martha's Vineyard, going for leisurely walks and swims, practicing her sailing skills, and making clam chowder.

Maryanne was a woman of contradictions. She was gentle yet feisty, refined and so thoughtful, but pragmatic in daily life. She was a pack rat who was always giving. She loved Ebay and the New Yorker. She was our liberated woman who loved afternoon tea and the London Philharmonic. She loved a challenge, and her apparent frailty belied her underlying mettle. She was courageous and ever-hopeful when the weight of life was heavy.

She is survived by her mother, Anne Emma, her sister, Carolyn Cilento, and her daughter, Katherine Flanagan, as well as her beloved grandchildren, Devin and Annika Shah, and her long-time companion, Kenneth DeHertogh. We will miss her deeply.

A service will be held on WEDNESDAY at 11 30am in Swan Point Cemetery, Redwood Chapel. Arrangements are with The RUSSELL J. BOYLE & SON Funeral Homes, www.boyleandsonfuneralhome.com