Elizabeth A. "Betty" Perrone

Elizabeth Ann “Betty” (Landry) Perrone, 58, of Groton, MA, passed away on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. 

Betty was born July 21, 1965, in Cambridge, MA. She was the daughter of the late Jane Alice Westby, Robert Lees “Bob” Landry, and Stephen Joseph “Stevie” Wilcinski. She was raised in Belmont, MA, alongside her younger sister, Judith Anne “Judi” Landry. 

Growing up, Betty received a large amount of love, affection, and parental care from her late maternal aunt, Judith Ann “Judy” (Westby) Todaro, and her uncle, Gaetano Joseph “Guy” Todaro. Her childhood also began a lifelong love of Barbie dolls and dollhouses, which she continued to care for into her adult years. She graduated from Belmont High School in 1983, where she met many of her lifelong friends. In 1987, Betty graduated from Middlesex Community College with her associate degree in medical assisting, and afterwards began a career in women’s health at About Women By Women in Wellesley, MA.

In 1985, Betty met Paul Perrone, Jr., when they were colleagues at the US Army Material Technology Lab in Watertown, MA. They fell in love, and were married on October 20, 1990, at St. Joseph’s Church in Belmont. In the early years of their marriage, Betty and Paul bonded over their shared love of country music artists such as Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, and especially Willie Nelson, whose concerts they attended each summer for years. Betty and Paul moved to Burlington, MA, and in 1993 they welcomed the birth of their first child, Paul Michael Perrone, who was joined in 1994 by their daughter, Katherine Elizabeth “Katie” Perrone, and then in 1997 by their second daughter, Emily Frances Perrone. 

Betty and her family moved to Westford, MA, in 1998, where Betty took on an active and engaged role as a caring mother to her children, as well as to the children of Hutchins Way and all of her children’s friends. Betty spent several years working as a teacher at Westford Preschool. She devotedly encouraged Katie and Emily's love of dance, proudly sitting through endless hours of dress rehearsals and recitals. She was also the den mother to her son Paul’s Cub Scout group, masterfully corralling a large group of rambunctious young boys with ease and joy through their Webelo years. She enjoyed assisting in the production of community and school theater shows, which started her deep appreciation for Broadway musicals.

A caretaker through and through, Betty devoted much of her time to caring for her parents, Jane and Bob, in their later years, as well as for her beloved nephew, Daniel James Landry. This dedication to those she loved naturally translated into her decision to return to college, and in 2009 she graduated with her associate degree in nursing from Middlesex Community College. She followed her Aunt Judy’s footsteps and began a career as a nurse, working for several years at Westford House nursing home. 

In 2014, Betty reunited with her half-brother, Stephen Joseph “Stevie” Wilcinski, Jr., and was welcomed into her biological father’s family with open arms. 

Betty was an artistic person, and at various times in her life she could be found quietly working away on a variety of projects ranging from quilts to scrapbooks, or simply doodling in her many coloring books. She loved getting the house ready for Christmas, an event which included a ritual viewing of the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy classic Desk Set while decorating the tree. Her gifts, always carefully selected, were notoriously well-wrapped, and they occasionally resulted in minutes-long battles to remove the beautifully hand-tied ribbons which she insisted should be used for each and every package. 

Betty was renowned for several of the foods she cooked, such as peanut butter balls, deviled eggs, tomato sauce, and her mother’s chicken cutlets in tomato gravy. However, there wasn’t a person on the planet who could outdo her eggplant parmesan, which earned its place on the Thanksgiving table every year. 

Betty enjoyed summer holidays with her family and friends at lakes in New Hampshire and Maine, as well as on Nantucket and Cape Cod. She could often be found on these trips “finger dancing” along to her favorite songs by artists such as Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles.

Betty was a reluctant world traveler, but nonetheless she visited Canada, Italy, and South Korea in her lifetime, witnessing sites such as Niagara Falls and the canals of Venice, as well as spending several hours belting out her favorite songs in a Korean karaoke room in the heart of Seoul. 

In her later years, Betty devoted herself to her job at Acton Medical Associates in Acton, MA, where she maintained a weekly trivia board to instill some light fun into the workplace. She found solace in the music of Billie Eilish, whose concert she was thrilled to see with her daughters. Following the amicable end of her 31-year marriage to Paul, Betty made a home for herself in Groton, MA, and enjoyed taking time to sit on her deck to watch birds eat from her lovingly placed bird feeders. She adored animals, and cared for several pets in her life, including her late cats, Willie and Molly, as well as her cat, Ruby, and dog, Luca. 

Betty was a light of love and a safe shoulder to cry on for countless friends and family members. In her departure from this life, she and her never-ending hugs will be sorely missed by many. 

Betty is survived by: her son, Paul Michael Perrone, of Taipei, Taiwan; her daughter, Katie Perrone, of Medford, MA; her daughter, Emily Perrone, of Medford, MA; her sister, Judi Landry, of San Diego, CA; her nephew, Daniel Landry, of San Diego, CA; her brother, Stevie Wilcinski, of Waltham, MA; her uncle, Guy Todaro, of Waltham, MA; her mother-in-law, Rose Perrone, of Westford, MA; and her former husband, Paul Perrone, Jr., of Westford, MA. 

Family and friends are invited to gather and celebrate Betty's life on Monday, April 15, 2024, from 4:00-7:00 p.m. for visitation at Badger Funeral Home, 347 King St., Littleton, MA 01460. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Watertown, MA, where Betty will be laid to rest with “her person,” her beloved Aunt Judy.