Pauline Perry

OXFORD -- Pauline C. Perry, a compassionate, comforting and loving wife, mother and friend, died Wednesday after a sad but stubborn struggle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 79. Mrs. Perry died at the Tippett Home, a hospice house in Needham, where she spent her last week with her daughters, granddaughters and closest friends. Her passing was peaceful. She was born in North Oxford, MA in 1929, the second daughter of Flora and Charles Corey. North Oxford and Oxford became her lifetime home, as it was for her parents and grandparents. Mrs. Perry graduated from Oxford High School where she focused on business studies. When she was 20, she married a handsome soldier back from the war, Francis Perry, who remained the one true love of her life. He died in 2006 at the age of 80. Although it was an era of stay-at-home Moms, Mrs. Perry pursued a career as a legal secretary, taking the bus into Worcester each day to work at the law offices of Arthur Goldstein. Later, she worked for the U.S. Postal Service in North Oxford, first as a rural carrier and later in the front office. She always found time for her family, not only her daughters, but also her mother, who she cared for her entire married life. Her family was always her primary interest. She eagerly anticipated the gatherings that would bring all her girls "home" for the holidays for Mother's Day and a for an annual summer pool party. When two of her three daughters settled in Maine with their own families, the gatherings were often held at the coast, where she loved to spend days at the beach and evenings gathered around the dinner table swapping stories and laughter. After her children were grown, she traveled extensively with Fran and a circle of friends whose bonds deepened over the years . . . . by train through the Canadian Rockies, by cruise ship in the Caribbean and throughout Europe. Mrs. Perry was a devout Catholic, faithfully attending Mass every Sunday and helping out with coffee and baking for funeral gatherings. She and Fran remarried in the church at the age of 50, repeating her vows before her three daughters and two granddaughters. St. Jude was her patron saint and she turned to him often for strength during her times of sorrow: a serious accident that resulted in the amputation of her husband's lower leg, the birth of a disabled granddaughter and the onslaught of her own frightening and debilitating disease. Her love for her family was unflinching and unconditional. She was predeceased by her husband, Fran; a sister, Mary Menard, formerly of Worcester, MA; two sons-in-law she loved as her own sons, Davis Rawson, formerly of Oakland, ME and Michael Phillipo of Oxford, MA. She is survived by the three daughters she adored: Nancy Perry of Carrabassett Valley. ME; Judy Barnie and her husband Walter of Oxford, MA; and Lee Hews of Scarborough, ME. Judy was her primary caretaker after Alzheimer's robbed her of her cherished independence. She is also survived by six granddaughters she cherished, Amy Phillipo of Webster, MA, Jennifer Roos and her husband Joshua, who live in the Perry home on Cypress St. in Oxford, MA; Jessica and Chelsea Hews of Scarborough, ME; Kate Rawson Powell of Baltimore, MD and Sarah Rawson Mann of Hillsborough, NH four great-granddaughters: Haley Fish of Oxford, MA; Julia and Anna Powell of Baltimore, MD and Cadence Mann of Hillsborough, NH; and - finally - one boy, a great grandson, Zachary Roos of Oxford, MA. Her survivors also include two "girls" she always thought of as family: Susan Laporte of Hatfield, MA. and Missy Deboise of West Boylston; and Eileen Macey, her wonderful friend and companion during the last two years of her illness. Calling hours will be held at the Paradis Funeral Home, 357 Main St., Oxford, from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2008, and from 8 - 9:15 a.m. Saturday, December 20, 2008. A Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. will follow at St. Roch's Church, 332 Main St., Oxford. Burial will follow at St. Roch's Cemetery, Oxford. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her name to the Alzheimer's Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472.