Westborough Remembers Maureen Holmes

 Maureen Elizabeth Holmes, our forever-smiling, kind-hearted and loving mother, grandmother, and neighbor, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 after a brief period of declining health. She was 69.

Maureen was born in Boston, the oldest of five children of Peter John Feeney and Lillian Pearl (Curtin) Feeney of South Portland, Maine. She grew up in Wellesley, and graduated from Wellesley High School before attending the University of Maine at Orono. She received her B.A. in English literature years later, earning straight A’s at Framingham State College before continuing on to receive her certificate in paralegal studies from Becker College in Worcester. 

For over 40 years, Maureen lived in Westborough and dedicated her life to making a home for her two children. Although unpatented, Maureen was the inventor of the “whole hug," which was liberally and lovingly applied to all who entered or left her home.  “I’m tiny, but I’m tough!” was a favorite motto, to which anyone who knew her can attest, especially after surviving and rebuilding in the wake of a devastating fire that nearly claimed both her home and her life on Christmas Eve, 1995. A plucky, fiercely independent woman, she was extremely proud of her family’s Irish heritage, and kept a well-worn stack of Clancy Brothers’ albums under the couch at all times for dancing. She was not only a music lover, but an outstanding pianist as well. She enjoyed New Orleans Jazz and big band era swing music, and fondly recalled playing “Kitten on the Keys” with Guy Lombardo in Times Square one New Year’s Eve. Favorites like “Sentimental Journey”, “King of the Road”, “Born Free”, and “The Gambler” were a mainstay in her home, where she would sing and play every day. An avid reader and journal writer, Maureen devoured the works of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Voltaire and Rousseau, among others, and could quote long passages freely. She adored a good mystery, and in addition to printed works, enjoyed TV shows like “Columbo”, “Murder, She Wrote”, and “Quincy, M.E.”

In later years, Maureen was active as a volunteer at the Westborough Senior Center and Westborough Public Library. She was possessed of a singularly flamboyant fashion sense and could often be seen buzzing around town visiting friends, running errands on the senior bus, or giving them heck at the Town Meetings, in her trademark pink fedora, jacket, jazzy homemade jewelry and sterling silver bracelets. She loved lobster rolls, broiled scallops with lots of lemon and butter, mini-muffins, preferred instant coffee to brewed, and loved a “good” peppermint stick ice cream, which she claimed to be able to discern with ease. Most of all she loved her family of friends in town who were so very good to her. She was loved by many and will be missed.

Maureen is survived by her mother, Lillian; two children, Kimberly and Michael; her brother, James; two sisters, Cheryl and Joanne, her grandson, David; her dear friend and longtime companion, Bill; and a large extended family in Maine.

Her father and one brother, Peter John Feeney Jr., preceded her in death.

Her memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 at 11 a.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 64 West Main St., Westborough.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Westborough Senior Center, 4 Rogers Road, Westborough, MA 01581.