Robert  F. O’Brien, Sr. – 91, of North Reading, died Thursday evening, January 27, 2022 at the Blair House in Tewksbury. He was the loving husband of the late Marilyn H. (Magliozzi) O’Brien.

Born in Brighton, MA on July 14, 1930 to the late John C. and Mary Theresa (Lucey) O’Brien. He was a graduate of Roslindale High School and attended Northeastern University and State University of New York at Buffalo.

A U.S. Navy Veteran of the Korean Conflict, Bob served from 1950 to 1954 on the USS Midway.

He was employed as a retail milkman for White Brothers in Quincy from 1955 to 1960. Lux Transportation as a Sales Manager for 5 years, Ormes Transportation as Vice President for 10 years, and Greyhound Van Lines as a District Manager for 10 years.

He was the former president of South Shore Toastmasters and President and founding member of the Professional Moving Consultants of Massachusetts. Bob was a resident of North Reading for over forty years and an active member of St. Theresa’s Church, where he served as a Eucharistic Minister and an Altar Server. He was also a volunteer at the Merrimack Valley Hospice in Lawrence.

Loving children include Kathleen M. Petronzio and her husband Nick, Patricia A. Silverman and her husband Stuart, Theresa J. O’Brien, Donna L. Panopoulos and her husband Ted; Robert F. O’Brien, Jr. and his wife Debby, Christopher D. O’Brien and his wife Catherine; grandfather of Adam, Daniel and Jake Petronzio, Michael Coffill, Nicholas and Jeremy Montecalvo, Kayleigh Dunn, Jessica Greenfield and Conor O’Brien, Samantha Meaney and Madelyn and Riley O’Brien; great grandfather of Sadie and Charlie Dunn and Noah and Sheamus Montecalvo. He was the brother of the late John O’Brien.

His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Theresa’s Church, 63 Winter Street (Rt. 62), North Reading on Saturday, February 5 at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be held at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading, prior to the Funeral Mass from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery in North Reading. Memorial donations may be made in his memory to the charity of one’s choice. www.croswellfuneralhome.com

Nancy  K. (Innis) Williams – 91, of North Reading and formerly of Lynnfield, died at her daughter’s home on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. She was the beloved wife of the late Joseph H. Williams.

Born in Gloucester, MA on November 9, 1930. She was the daughter of the late John and Mary Jane (McDonald) Innis.

Nancy was a homemaker and has been a resident of North Reading for the past 51 years. She was a gifted artist and she loved spending time with her family. She loved walking the beach and going to movies. She especially enjoyed traveling, gardening and cooking.

Family members include her loving son, Wayne J. Williams of North Reading; daughters, Lynne A. Plomondon of Acton, Maine and Pamela Griswold and her husband Keith of North Reading; grandchildren, Rick Plomondon of San Diego, CA, Pamela Plomondon and wife Lesley Wendt of Lebanon, Maine, Adam Griswold of North Reading and Nathan Griswold of Hamilton and her great granddaughter Ariana Plomondon.

Funeral services will be private and are under the direction of the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in her memory to the charity of one’s choice.  wwwcroswellfuneralhome.com

Joyce L. (Wulleman) Doyle- 74, of North Reading, formerly of Allston, died unexpectedly at her home on January 17, 2022. She was the wife of the late Kenneth A. Doyle.

Born in Boston, MA on September 19, 1947, she was the daughter of the late Roger and Tanya (Alpin) Wulleman.

Joyce was raised and attended school in North Reading. She worked at the J.T. Berry Center as a cook and she also worked at Abbott Shoe. She liked to decorate cakes and was an avid collector of antiques. Joyce was a member of the Candy Collectors of America and won Miss Londonderry Fair in 1962. She ran a booth in the North Reading 4th of July festivities, which she enjoyed a lot. She was a fantastic mother and in her words this was her greatest achievement. She was a performer at heart.

Family members include her sons, Daniel Killpartrick and Bill Ellis; her daughter Sue Ellis and daughter-in-law, Kimberly Bellino; her brother Roger Wulleman; grandchildren, Ian Killpartrick, Aidan Killpartrick, Nicholas Killpartrick, Kenneth Ellis, Brianna Ellis (Ribeiro) and her great-grandchild  Hoxton Killpartrick.

Services will be private and are under the direction of the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. (www.croswellfuneralhome.com) In  lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in her memory to the charity of one’s choice.

Mildred G. (Deveau) Orben – 91, of Stoneham, formerly of Wakefield and North Reading died, Thursday evening, January 20, 2022 at the Life Care Center of Stoneham Assisted Living.

Born in Reading, MA on May 21, 1930. She was the daughter of the late George and Helen Minnie (Doucette) Deveau. She was raised in Wakefield and was a graduate of Wakefield High School.

Mildred worked for many years at the Evans Shoe Factory in Wakefield. She has been a resident of Stoneham for the past 4 years, Wakefield for thirty years and North Reading for many years.

Mildred loved children and loved to dance. She also enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles and bingo.
She was the loving wife of 69 years to John J. Orben. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.Services will be private and are under the direction of the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. (www.croswellfuneralhome.com) In lieu of flowers Memorial donations may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association. www.alz.org

Gail E. (Downey) Strong – 83, of North Reading and formerly of Wakefield, died Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at the Royal Meadow View Nursing Center in North Reading.

Born in Melrose, MA on October 11, 1938. She was the daughter of the late Gordan and Grace (Powell) Downey. She was raised and attended school in Wakefield and was graduate of Wakefield High School.

She was a receptionist for Wingate Financial Services in Bedford for twenty five years and she worked for Dutchmaid Clothing as an independent contractor, while her sons were school age. Gail has been a resident of North Reading for the past 60 years.

Gail was a kind hearted woman who loved her family. She always kept the peace, rather than engaging in a conflict. She enjoyed spending time in New Brunswick with relatives in her youth and as an adult spending time with her Canadian cousins as time allowed. She was a sports fan, especially the Red Sox and she loved spending summers in Rangeley, Maine. Gail coached in the original Flower Power Softball League. She took pride in attended her children’s sporting events and raising her family in the Mount Vernon Street neighborhood.

Family members include her loving sons, Jeff Strong of North Reading, Daniel Strong and his wife Heidi of Milton, NH and Christopher Strong and his wife Christine of Hampton, NH; two granddaughters, Nicole and Amy Strong; She was predeceased by her former husband John Strong, her brother, Rae Downey and his wife Jeanne.

The family would like to thank the staff at Royal Meadow View including the Care Dimensions Hospice Service and also the Staff at The Residence at Pearl Street for taking good care of Gail in her failing health.

Visitation will be held at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading on Sunday, January 23 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, prayer service will start at 3:30 PM. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in her memory to/. the charity of one’s choice. www.croswellfuneralhome.com