To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
6 Entries
Peter Ullian
August 6, 2022
These are my remarks from my mom's service:
My mother was a very loving woman. She was also a very stubborn Dutch woman. In fact, my dad always referred to her as "a stubborn Dutch woman with champagne tastes." That stubbornness served her well through some very difficult times, when champagne was in short supply, first as a hidden child of the holocaust raised as an infant by the family who hid her as their own until the end of the war, and then when she found herself suddenly returned to her father, whom until that time she did not even know. Later, she drew on that stubbornness and resolve to travel alone to America, not yet twenty, working first as an au pair and later at Widener library.
I think that stubbornness served her best when, in middle-age, after her kids were grown and starting lives of their own, she went back to school, got her BA at Regis and, already a grandmother, went on to get her master´s in social work at Boston University and to begin a new career. She served clients on the North Shore, during a time when the economic devastation there left a lot of families broken and hurting. It took a very stubborn but also very loving woman like my Dutch mother to help them heal.
It was that stubborn and loving woman who also patiently sewed felt over the worn areas of my childhood Teddy bear to give him new paws. These paws would wear through again within a few months, revealing the straw he was stuffed with. Mom would lovingly - and a little stubbornly -- sew those paws up again. She also sewed button eyes back on stuffed animals when they came loose. The cared for the things her children cared for with the same stubborn diligence with which she cared for us.
I got my early rock and roll and folk music education from my mother´s record collection, which she proudly and stubbornly stored among my father´s classical records. I discovered the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Simon and Garfunkel, and Joan Baez from her. When I was old enough to want to go to concerts, but too young to go by myself, Mom and I shared our love for rock n´ roll at concerts by the Who, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Elvis Costello, among others.
Witnessing the love both my parents had for my children is one of the most profound experiences of my life. Mom stubbornly loved those boys like nobody´s business. She went to every school play and musical they were in, and thoroughly enjoyed herself, even when she didn´t realize until intermission that the actor disguised in wig, mustache, and beard playing Captain Hook was in reality her fifteen-year-old grandson, Alexander.
I learned a lot from my mom. I learned about the importance of family. I learned about the importance of resolve. But most of all, I learned the most stubborn Dutch woman of them all was also the most fiercely loving.
Sandy Fisher
August 5, 2022
I spent many happy moments with Annette in her Lexington living-room discussing books. She was in our book group for a number of years and always contributed to our meetings. She will be missed.
Peggy Swan
August 4, 2022
Dear Peter, Erik, and Alisa,
I'm living in Canada now, but have the sweetest memories of your Mom and Dad and all of us spending wonderful time together years ago in Lexington (and before that, in Cambridge, when Peter and Jonathan were just babes and Annette and I very young and inexperienced moms!). Reading of Annette's passing brings much sadness and also a flood of happy memories. I share your loss! If there's ever an opportunity, I'd love to see you.
Be well and take care. With love, Peggy (Molly) Swan
Follow
Get email updates whenever changes are made.
Send flowers
Consider sending flowers.
Add photos
Share their life with photo memories.
Plant trees
Honor them by planting trees in their memory.
Donate in Memory
Make a donation in memory of your loved one.
Share this page
Invite other friends and family to visit the page.
Lynn Hermab-Atkins
August 3, 2022
Deepest sympathy to the Ullian family. Missing both Bob and Annette. Worked with Bob in his medical practice for many years.
Lynn Herman-Atkins
August 3, 2022
To the Ullian family....so sorry to hear about your mom. She was such a delightful woman, and i was happy to have known her. Missing your dad and working with him for so many years deepest condolences
Lynn and David Atkins
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results
Please consider a donation as requested by the family.
Aug
4

What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read more
Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you.
Read moreIf you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read more
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more