Lucy M Burlingame

Lucy M. (Poole) Burlingame died peacefully at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Saturday, November 15, with her husband Jack and daughter Isabel by her side. She was 68 years old.

Lucy was born at Brockton Hospital in Brockton, Massachusetts, in 1957, the sixth child of Alden and Janet Poole. She grew up in Quincy with two brothers and six sisters – a quiet, steady presence in a large, lively family. Her childhood instilled in her a lifelong commitment to children, learning, music, literature, progressive politics, and compassionate social action.

She was educated in the Quincy public schools and distinguished herself at North Quincy High School by acting in drama club productions and singing in the concert choir. Lucy attended Simmons College in Boston where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services and a Master of Arts in Teaching (Elementary Education). At Simmons, she loved singing in the chorale, serving as its president, and going on tour with the chorale in Europe.

Lucy showed her grit by working challenging jobs in human services for nearly 40 years. Her first, as an adjustment counselor at the Vocational Adjustment Center in Boston, provided the fringe benefit of leading to her introduction to her future husband, Jack, through a colleague. Subsequently, for six years, she coordinated respite care for adults with intellectual disabilities at the Walnut Street Center in Somerville. Then, for eleven years, she worked as a counselor and case supervisor for the Child-At-Risk Hotline at Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston.

She took a break from the intensity of these roles by working in a local coffee shop in Hingham while earning her Early Childhood Certificate from the Northeast Montessori Institute. With this training and an intuitive understanding of young children, Lucy found her true calling as a preschool teacher. For the next 20 years, she taught at three South Shore Montessori schools: Bay Farm in Duxbury, Bridgeview in Sagamore, and Old Colony in Hingham.

After seven years of dating, Lucy married Jack Burlingame in 1988. They lived in Cambridge, Brookline, and Scituate before settling in Hingham. When their daughter Isabel was born in 1992, Lucy became a delighted and devoted mother.

With boundless creativity, Lucy made an art form out of her many skills and interests: gardening, photography, baking, sewing, quilting, crochet, writing, singing, and arts & crafts. She was an avid reader and a dedicated participant in two book clubs, a dream group, and countless Poole family musical events. She practiced tai chi for over ten years with two different groups on the South Shore.

She was a loyal and caring daughter, sister, and aunt within her large extended family. She especially enjoyed vacationing with multiple generations of family at the Pooles' summer home on Cape Cod. She travelled the world with Jack and Isabel, visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Uruguay, Argentina, New Zealand, and, most recently, Germany.

Lucy, whose name means "light," was a steady source of light and love for her family, friends, and all the communities and children she served so faithfully. She was shy with strangers but otherwise let her light shine by sharing her gifts of wisdom, devotion, gentleness, seriousness, stubbornness, playfulness, and humor. Most of all, she was a consistently good and kind person. Her only vices were her coffee and chocolate addictions!

She is survived by her husband Jack Burlingame of Hingham; her daughter Isabel Burlingame of Munich, Germany; five sisters: Kaemaple Cotter of Montpelier, VT, Gina Poole of Sandwich, Mary Poole of Bellingham, Sarah McCarty of Quincy, and Joanna Poole of Arlington; and two brothers Tim Poole of Wilmington, NC and Tony Poole of Boston. She also leaves brothers-in- law Dave Osowski of Sandwich, Paul Schreier of Bellingham, John McCarty of Quincy, Jim Spink of Arlington; and the late Michael Bagiackas, plus many beloved nieces, nephews, and Burlingame in-laws. She was predeceased by her parents, Janet and Alden Poole, and her sister Kristin Poole.

A Celebration of Life for Lucy's family and friends will be held next April, with the date and location still to be determined.

Donations in her memory may be sent to: Bridgeview Montessori School, 885 Sandwich Road, Sagamore, MA 02561