Jean A. Halloran was remembered as a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend during memorial observances last week.
Mrs. Halloran, a Lynn resident and Woburn native, died suddenly after being stricken at her home on Dec. 21. She was 73.
At the funeral Mass on Dec. 27 at Our Lady of Assumption Church in Lynnfield, the Rev. Brian Flynn said it was the season of giving and that Mrs. Halloran shared and gave much love to her family and friends. On Dec. 21 with Christmas four days away, Mrs. Halloran spent her day buying groceries and Christmas gifts for her loved ones.
Paul K. Halloran Jr. at Grant Communications and former sports editor at the Daily Item, delivered a beautiful eulogy at the Mass. reflecting on his mother’s wonderful and “full life” of 73 years.
“Her devotion to her parents (Frank and Mary Bactullo) was unyielding, especially throughout their later years, their illness, and deaths. When I was in elementary school, we moved from John Street in Woburn to Montvale Avenue, building an addition to their house so we could live in the same house and she could take care of them.
“Her devotion to her husband (Paul K. Halloran Sr.) and her son was also unparalleled,” said Paul K Halloran Jr. “I remember vividly her and my dad taking second jobs in order to send me to Holy Cross. Every day, they would come home from work, she would make me dinner, then they would go back to work at night. They did whatever it took. I could never repay them for that.”
Halloran also recalled how his mother became the primary caregiver to his father who has battled various illnesses for many years. He also spoke of the wonderful relationship that his mother had with her daughter-in-Julie Halloran (Paul’s wife).
“Starting with our wedding planning 23 years ago, Julie has always been willing to accept my mom’s help and advice – as if there were a choice,” said Halloran.
Paul Halloran said his mother, adored her granddaughters, Kathryn and Martha. “She and my dad moved to Lynn about 18 years ago, building an addition on our house, to help us with Kathryn, and later Martha. She would demand that Julie and I go out, so she and dad could babysit. We were happy to oblige.
“Mom provided invaluable assistance with Kathryn and Martha. She was so proud of Kathryn graduating from Austin Prep and moving to Villanova. She was also proud of Martha and, in her second retirement, took a job as a monitor with the bus company that transports Martha to NLG (Nashoba Learning Group) so we could have a familiar face on the bus with her.”
Paul Halloran Jr. told the assemblage that they may have notice “a theme developing her – taking care of her parents, moving to be with them; taking care of her husband and son; moving again to be with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters; spending her last day buying gifts for others; literally spending her last minutes in the act of giving a present to someone.
“That’s quite a legacy of selflessness, don’t you think,” said Halloran.
Donations in Mrs. Halloran’s memory may be made to Nashoba Learning Group, 10 Oak Park Drive, Bedford, MA 01730