Obituary for Jeanne Gavrilles
Jeanne K. Gavrilles Feb. 24, 1925-Feb. 17, 2019. Jeanne K. Gavrilles of Dover, Mass., passed away peacefully on Feb. 17, 2019.
She leaves her son and daughter-in-law, Arthur and Laura Gavrilles of Wrentham, her daughter and son-in-law Beth Gavrilles and Philip Juras of Athens, Ga., granddaughters Emma Gavrilles of Wrentham and Christina Gavrilles of Poultney, Vt., sister Lois Patton of Stow, Ohio and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter A. Gavrilles, sister Shirley Nourse, brothers George and William Nourse, brothers-and sisters-in-law Jim and Jean Gavrilles, Bill and Rosemary Gavrilles, Mary Gavrilles and Millie Gavrilles and her parents Elizabeth T. and George A. Nourse.
Jeanne Kathryn Nourse was born in Medfield, Mass., on Feb. 24, 1925. She graduated from Medfield High School in 1942. During WWII she worked at the Bird Manufacturing plant in Walpole producing munitions, and spent several summers on a farm in Hadley, Mass. as part of the “Women’s Land Army.” Later she began working at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, where she was one of the first people to work on IBM computers, programming them by punch cards. While at the Registry she met Peter Gavrilles when he was assigned to audit her department. They married in 1960 and moved to Westwood, then Dover, where they raised their children.
She later returned to work, taking a job at Honeywell where, as at the Registry, she made many friends. Jeanne was an active member of the Stratford Street United Church in West Roxbury, Mass. and served on the board of the Dover Council on Aging for many years, where she was a strong advocate for the town’s senior citizens.
Jeanne loved to travel, and took many trips with her church and other tour groups. She also enjoyed exercising, which she did up until the last weeks of her life, and taking courses offered to seniors through the Town of Dover, Framingham State College and Mass Bay Community College. One of her joys in life was reading, and when macular degeneration robbed her of that ability, she enrolled in the Perkins School for the Blind’s Talking Books Library, which provides audio books through the mail for people who are legally blind.
Visiting hours will be held from 4 to 6 p.m.on Fri., Feb. 22, at the Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home, 15 Miller St., Medfield, Mass., and a funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 23at the Stratford Street United Church, 77 Stratford St., West Roxbury, Mass. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery in Dover, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jeanne’s honor to the Perkins School for the Blind, 175 No. Beacon St., Watertown, MA 02472, or online at https://support.perkins.org.
She leaves her son and daughter-in-law, Arthur and Laura Gavrilles of Wrentham, her daughter and son-in-law Beth Gavrilles and Philip Juras of Athens, Ga., granddaughters Emma Gavrilles of Wrentham and Christina Gavrilles of Poultney, Vt., sister Lois Patton of Stow, Ohio and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter A. Gavrilles, sister Shirley Nourse, brothers George and William Nourse, brothers-and sisters-in-law Jim and Jean Gavrilles, Bill and Rosemary Gavrilles, Mary Gavrilles and Millie Gavrilles and her parents Elizabeth T. and George A. Nourse.
Jeanne Kathryn Nourse was born in Medfield, Mass., on Feb. 24, 1925. She graduated from Medfield High School in 1942. During WWII she worked at the Bird Manufacturing plant in Walpole producing munitions, and spent several summers on a farm in Hadley, Mass. as part of the “Women’s Land Army.” Later she began working at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, where she was one of the first people to work on IBM computers, programming them by punch cards. While at the Registry she met Peter Gavrilles when he was assigned to audit her department. They married in 1960 and moved to Westwood, then Dover, where they raised their children.
She later returned to work, taking a job at Honeywell where, as at the Registry, she made many friends. Jeanne was an active member of the Stratford Street United Church in West Roxbury, Mass. and served on the board of the Dover Council on Aging for many years, where she was a strong advocate for the town’s senior citizens.
Jeanne loved to travel, and took many trips with her church and other tour groups. She also enjoyed exercising, which she did up until the last weeks of her life, and taking courses offered to seniors through the Town of Dover, Framingham State College and Mass Bay Community College. One of her joys in life was reading, and when macular degeneration robbed her of that ability, she enrolled in the Perkins School for the Blind’s Talking Books Library, which provides audio books through the mail for people who are legally blind.
Visiting hours will be held from 4 to 6 p.m.on Fri., Feb. 22, at the Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home, 15 Miller St., Medfield, Mass., and a funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 23at the Stratford Street United Church, 77 Stratford St., West Roxbury, Mass. Burial will follow at the Highland Cemetery in Dover, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jeanne’s honor to the Perkins School for the Blind, 175 No. Beacon St., Watertown, MA 02472, or online at https://support.perkins.org.