Corinne Diana Buttaro

CORINNE DIANA (BUTTARO, FORMERLY MERNIN), of Provincetown, formerly of Woburn, died peacefully on February 1st, at the age of eighty-two. A longtime Woburn resident, she lived an extraordinary life as daughter, student, mother, wife, stepmother, feminist, attorney, poet, politician, scholar, sponsor, activist, lover, confidante, mentor, and friend.

Born a wartime orphan in Boston in 1943, Corinne was adopted by parents Ray and Norma (Hubbard) Buttaro, who raised her in East Cambridge before moving to Woburn, where their only daughter attended public schools. A star student, baton twirler, pianist, and acrobat in traveling revues, Corinne graduated from Woburn Memorial High School in 1960. As a young woman, she enjoyed lifeguarding at Horn Pond and tea socials at the old YMCA on Main Street.

She studied Executive Secretarial at Boston University, where she was a member of the Sigma Kappa Sorority and marched at the front of the University Band as Lead Majorette. She earned a B.A. in 1964. Along the way, she spent a semester at New York University, where she befriended jazz musicians like Thelonius Monk and writers like Jack Kerouac. In New York, she gave birth to her first child.

Returning to Woburn, she married fellow Woburnite Thomas J. Mernin and settled into family life, giving birth to two more children. She earned a Master's in English Literature from Northeastern University, protested the War in Indochina, became one of Woburn's top female tennis players, then studied for a PhD in English Literature at Brandeis University, with the goal of becoming a noted poet.

Family responsibilities delayed those literary dreams, so Corinne turned her eye to politics. Elected to the Woburn School Committee in 1976, she served as Chair, negotiating contracts and leading the Committee through a time of financial constraints. As Chair of the Woburn Democratic City Committee, she ran unsuccessfully for State Representative in 1978 and was instrumental in the election of Massachusetts Governor Edward J. King, in whose administration she served as Assistant Secretary for Education. She then studied law at Suffolk University, earning a J.D. in 1981.

For many years, as an attorney in private practice, Corinne was a fixture at the Woburn District Court and at Woburn Square eateries like Marco's, where she held informal court at a table called "Corinne's Corner." A skilled and ribald storyteller, she took great pleasure in sharing tales of frustrating prosecutors and police alike with her skillful work representing a long list of mostly young defendants.

For five decades, Corinne served as an informal, unpaid advisor to generations of women all over Eastern Massachusetts, helping them recover from addictions or rebuild their lives as survivors of domestic violence. These women's lives serve as testimony to her deepest values and tireless efforts.

In 2004, Corinne was proud to be part of the first same-sex couple married in Woburn, soon after legalization of those unions. She lived for decades as a trailblazer, proud member, and public figure in the LGBTQ community.

After her semi-retirement, she moved to Provincetown, where she had long kept a home. There she enjoyed the lively LGBTQ culture, walked the dunes and beaches, served on the Town Licensing Board, performed at poetry slams, wrote and published collections of verse, including "Lesbian in Hiding," and produced and starred in stage performances like "The Vagina Monologues."

Corinne was pre-deceased by parents Ray and Norma (Hubbard) Buttaro, beloved former partners Tracy J. Rollins of California and Janet Murphy of Melrose, and many loving relatives and friends.

She is survived by children KD Mernin of Provincetown, Brendan Mernin and his wife Laureen Gage of New Jersey, and Tracy Grenier-Mernin and her wife Karen of Somerville; stepsons Philip Dumont of Lewiston, Maine and James Dumont of Wayland; grandchildren Gabriela Mernin of Brooklyn, New York, Nuala Mernin of Union City, New Jersey, and Riley O'Rourke of Boston.