Norman D. Goddu – 82, of Peabody and formerly of Salem, MA, died on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington.

Born in Salem, MA on November 4, 1940, he was the son of the late Lionel and Jeanette (Gagnon) Goddu. Norm was a U.S. Army Veteran, serving from 1960 to 1963.

He worked for 23 years as a heavy equipment mechanic and welder for Northeast Nursery in Peabody. He was always willing to share his extensive knowledge of mechanics with anyone needing help. He had the gift of bartering for goods or services.

Norm enjoyed building custom cars and hot rods. He was a member of the Throttlers Car Club. He has been a resident of Peabody for the past 50 years.

Family members include his loving wife of forty years, Susan R. (Mann) Goddu; his brother Arthur Goddu and his sisters, Joan Raymond and Claire Morong. Also survived by several nieces and nephews.

His Memorial Service will be held on Friday, March 17 at Noon at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. Visitation will be held from 10:30 to 11:45 AM, prior to the Memorial Service. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in his memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

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Donald F. Sharp – 83, of Lowell and formerly of Wilmington, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 19, 2023.

Born in Cambridge, MA on August 1, 1939. He was the son of the late Norman R. and Mary E. (Doherty) Sharp. Don was a star athlete at Wilmington High School, Class of 1957.

Don loved spending time with his family and friends, travelling and summers spent at Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham, NH. Don was an avid Boston sports fan. He was a member of the North Reading Men’s Softball League for many years and he coached Little League Baseball in Lowell in the early eighties. He loved fishing, golfing, reading and card games with friends.

Don was one of the most humble, big hearted personalities you were privileged to know. His love for family and friends was beyond measure. He had the most positive outlook on life and had a wonderful sense of humor.

Family members include his loving wife of 61 years, Barbara A. (Martyn) Sharp; his daughters, Julie A. Mendonca, Donna M. Sharp and Cynthia L. Sharp and her husband Moizes Echevarria; late brothers, Norman R. Sharp and Walter E. Sharp; sisters, Marion (Sharp) Clements and the late Dorothy G. (Sharp) Clements; 5 grandchildren, Shawn, Keiana, Ben, Jordan and Sophie; one great granddaughter, Payton; and his daughters pets, Maisie and Roxy.

His Funeral Mass will be Celebrated on Saturday, February 25 at 11:00 AM at St. Theresa’s Church, 63 Winter Street, North Reading. Calling hours will be held prior to the Funeral Mass from 8:30 to 10:30 AM at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery in North Reading. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in his memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.

St. Theresa’s Live Stream Link

Livestream | St. Theresa | North Reading, MA (sttheresanreading.org)

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Laurie  Ann (Crowe) Powell, 63, of Claremore, Oklahoma and formerly of North Reading, Massachusetts,  passed on February 11, 2023.

Born February 11, 1960, in Boston, MA to Richard Howard Crowe and Elaine Agnes (Brinkmann) Crowe, Laurie Ann grew up in North Reading, Massachusetts. She married Jeffrey Powell on May 25^th, 1985. They have five children: Bethany, Daniel, Rebecca, Benjamin, and Elijah.

Laurie Ann was passionate about sharing the gospel and loved music and storytelling all her life. She and Jeff wrote songs together, which are recorded in several albums. She homeschooled all of her kids through high school, surrounded by instruments and books. A shared adventurous spirit led her and Jeff to move to the West Coast then Japan before making Oklahoma home base, always looking for opportunities to bless others. From that base they travelled to Nepal, India, Croatia, Ecuador and more. Everywhere she went Laurie Ann jumped into connecting to other moms and building communities, starting homeschool groups, a gospel choir, and a healthy living business where she coached others and taught. Always ready to get in costume and put on a show, she was the author of a musical, a memoir, and countless fantastic talks.

While she is rejoicing to be with God after two years of living with cancer, she will be deeply missed by a wide circle of friends in addition to her husband and children, including her siblings Richard, William, James, Catherine, Barbara, John, nine nieces and nephews, and their extended family.

Visitation will be held on Monday, February 20 from 9:30 to 11:45 AM, followed by a Noon Funeral Service at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery in North Reading. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in her memory to younglivingfoundation.org

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Stephen J. Gill – 83, of Wakefield, formerly of Melrose and North Reading, passed away at his home on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Born in Boston, MA on June 9, 1939. He was the son of the late William H. and Mary F. (Leonard) Gill. He was raised in North Reading. He was a former resident of Melrose for 34 years and has been a resident of Wakefield for the past 13 years. He attended the Calvary Christian Church in Lynnfield.

Being the eldest of the other residents in his group home, he liked to ‘’play the role” of a father, telling what or how things are done (especially around the dinner table, lol). He also enjoyed making people laugh, especially the staff in his home.  He loved fishing, going to worship service at church and sharing holidays with his family. He enjoyed watching the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox. Since Covid, he enjoyed “TV” Church, as well as the news. Near the end he very much enjoyed the staff reading Bible Scripture to him.

He worked part time sweeping and cleaning for Mikes Auto Body in Malden.

Family members include his loving brothers, Kevin Gill, Edward Gill, David Gill and Timothy Gill; sisters, Pat (Gill) Reynolds and Donna (Gill) Mondou; he was the brother of the late William, Robert, Richard and Ronald Gill; he is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

His Funeral will be held at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading on Friday, February 17 at 6:00 PM, visitation will be held prior to the Funeral from 3:00 to 5:45 PM. Memorial donations may be made in his memory to the charity of one’s choice. www.croswellfuneralhome.com

Melanie Ann DiVasta,  of Boston, and formerly of North Reading, MA, passed away unexpectedly on February 4, 2023, at the age of 47.

Melanie was born August 28, 1975, to Maureen and Paul DiVasta at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where she spent three short years before moving to North Reading, MA.  After graduating from North Reading High School in 1993, Melanie studied hospitality and hotel management at Boston University.

Finding college life to be more exciting than college studies, Melanie left BU early to start a nearly two-decade career in the hotel industry first at the Westin Copley Place then Le Meridien/Langham Boston.  Melanie later shifted gears entirely, becoming a software tester for health and medical software.  She finally seemed to find her perfect role in the last year, returning to the hotel industry with MGM Grand to become a program manager for an in-development application.

The North End of Boston has been Melanie’s home since she left BU, much to the chagrin of her parents and friends who were often enlisted to help move in or out of her various apartments, none with elevators or parking.  Her love for the Clock Tower and the lights of Christopher Columbus Park are well documented in frequent Facebook selfies, moments in time that capture the beauty of her home, the radiance of her smile and, most of the time, a large Dunkin Iced.

Melanie never married, and never had children of her own, but she loved her feline fur babies Buffy, then Phoenix, and adored her nieces and nephews.  But perhaps more than anything, Melanie loved music – from the early days of NKOTB, to more recent “meet and greets” with Keith Urban, if Melanie wasn’t working, she was listening to music or planning to listen to live music somewhere.  Her home-away-from home and perhaps the only place she would have considered leaving the North End for was Nashville, where she established herself as a regular fan of several local artists.

Melanie is predeceased by her father, Paul, and is survived by her mother Maureen, stepmother Renee, stepfather Karl, brothers Brian, Chris and Mike, sisters Christi and Laura, as well as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends who were like family.

Her Funeral Mass will be Celebrated on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 11:30 AM, at St. Theresa’s Church, 63 Winter Street in North Reading, MA.  Visitation will be private.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society in Salisbury, MA; alternatively, Melanie would love it if you bought a ticket to that concert you weren’t sure of, because that’s what she would do.   Arrangements are by the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. www.croswellfuneralhome.com