George Dewey

LITTLETON - George W. Dewey, 86, of Littleton, died on Aug. 18 in Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.

He was born July 9, 1920 in Torrington, Conn., to the late Frank Arther and Louisa Julia (Goodsell) Dewey. His youth was spent in Winsted, Conn., where he graduated from Gilbert High School. He matriculated into Northeastern University, where he received his degree in accounting with honors in 1943.

During World War II, after midshipman training at Notre Dame University, he was commissioned in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps with training at Harvard Business School. He served at several Navy facilities and aboard a cargo ship in the Pacific. On Oct. 23, 1943, he married Louise P. Cheverie of Hyde Park, with whom he shared 63 years of marriage.

George received his license to practice as a certified public accountant in 1950 and worked for a Boston accounting firm. He then spent the next 20 years in various controller positions in industry. He established his own tax practice in 1995 in Littleton and completed his last “tax season” this year.

In the 1950s, the Deweys lived in the Houghs Neck section of Quincy, where George served as president of two local PTAs and city-wide PTA Council. He was active in the Republican Party in both Quincy and Littleton and was a convention delegate many times, including serving as a vote tabulator.

His most important advocacy was genealogy, beginning at age 11. Upon moving to Littleton in 1962, he began to accumulate references to Littleton families. In 1991, he began to computerize the vital records for Littleton, including dates from “Families of Color in Nashoba Valley.”

He served six years on the Littleton Library Board, several as chairman, and he also served on the Littleton Scholarship Trust. He was an active member of the St. Anne Parish, serving as lector, participating in living room dialogue, and Cursillo, as a leader of the charismatic renewal prayer group and home bible study.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Louise (Cheverie), of Littleton; his sister, Eunice Hewitt, of Winsted, Conn.; his ten children and their spouses, Annemarie of New Orleans, La., George W., Jr., “Billy” and Genevieve “Bonnie” of Littleton, Thomas and Donna of Ashby, Mary Louise “Marylou” and Ronald DeFilippo of Ayer, Joan and Frederick Schwerin of Littleton, Kathleen and William McKinnon of Leominster, John and Lydia of South Africa, Richard and Margie of Fitchburg, Michael of Littleton and Elaine (Sczylvian) and David LaMachia of Pepperell.

He is also survived by his grandchildren: Michelle Bergeron, Kathy Bray, Jason, Alden and Chrissy Dewey, Jessica, Joseph and James DeFilippo, Andrew Schwerin, Joshua and Rachel McKinnon, Belinda, Jonathan and Gabrielle Bouwer, Rebecca Pitre, Jessica Dewey, Alicia Backholm, Jonathan and Jade Dewey, and Stephanie Sczylvian and his great-grandchildren: Ryan Bray, Colby Kazangian, Timothy Dewey, Darius Pitre, and Damon Backholm.

He was predeceased by his parents; his siblings, Arthur, Donald and Julia Hoffman; and son-in-law, William “Billy” Sczylvian.

DEWEY - Visiting hours will be at Badger Funeral Home, 347 King St. (Rt. 2A/110), Littleton, on Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Anne Catholic Church in Littleton, Wednesday at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Littleton Historical Society, P.O. Box 721, Littleton, 01460.