Lois E. Treacy

Lois E. Treacy of Newton and Frye Island, Maine, formerly of Pelham, New York and Savannah, Georgia, passed peacefully on October 28, 2022 at the age of 90. She survived her beloved husband, David R. Treacy, to whom she was married for twenty-one years, who died in 2012.

She raised five children and was a strong advocate for them. Her youngest child, Michael Bedell, died in 1986 at the age of twenty. She is survived by four children, nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren and was devoted to them: (i) her son, G. Christopher Bedell of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and his son, Christopher Bedell, (ii) her daughter, Denise Yurkofsky of Wayland, Massachusetts, Denise's husband, Mark Yurkofsky, their daughter, Jessica Yurkofsky and her wife, Rage Hezekiah, and son, Vega Hezekiah, their son Maxwell Yurkofsky, his wife, Amelia Clapp Yurkofsky, and daughters, Isabel Yurkofsky and Evelyn Yurkofsky, and their daughter, Sabrina Rijo, and her husband, Josey Marichal Rijo, (iii) her son, S. Gregory Bedell of Rye Brook, New York, his wife, Jennifer Bedell, their son, Ryan Bedell, and daughter, Caitlin Bedell, and (iv) her son, Eric Bedell of Madison, Connecticut, his wife, Julie Bedell, and son, Zachary Bedell, his wife, Hollis Bedell, and son Tide Gully, their daughter, Hayley Morrison, her husband, Peter Morrison, daughter, Wiley Morrison, and son, Ronan Morrison, and their son, Ethan Bedell, and his partner, Annie Martella. She is also survived by her niece, Sheila Ackerlind, and the children and grandchildren of her late husband, David R. Treacy.

She grew up in New Rochelle, New York, served in the US Air Force and graduated from Teachers College at Columbia University, specializing in Early Childhood Education. She was Director of a nursery school in Rye, New York while her children were young, and then taught Kindergarten and First Grade and was a Reading Specialist at CES 236, an elementary school in the South Bronx, for over thirty years. She was passionate about helping her students become fluent readers and even taught adults from the community after school.

She continued her education, getting a Masters Degree in Education from Antioch-Putney Graduate School of Education at Antioch College in Ohio, and a second Masters Degree, in Literacy, from Queens College in Flushing, New York. She took courses towards a Doctorate at New York University and through that program studied International Education in India and China. She also was an Adjunct Lecturer of Education at Brooklyn College.

One of the highlights of her career was teaching at the American International School of Genoa for two years. She lived in nearby Recco, had an apartment with a view of the Mediterranean Sea and paddled her own kayak there. While based in Italy, she traveled extensively throughout Great Britain, Europe and Israel.

Lois will be remembered for her devotion to her husband, David and her family, her adventures with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, her kindness to all and her great sense of style.

A Memorial Mass will be held for Lois on Friday, Nov. 4 at 10:30AM in Our Lady Help of Christians Church, 573 Washington St, Newton. Burial is private.