Marion R. (McCarthy) Roche, 94, of Upton, died Saturday, November 3, 2007 surrounded by loved ones at Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Westborough. She was the widow of William P. Roche, who died in 1993 after 53 years of marriage.
Mrs. Roche was born in Boston, a daughter of the late Edward J. and Mildred (Thain) McCarthy. She was a devout Catholic and a member of the Catholic Worker movement. She met her husband on a Catholic Worker soup line in Boston and came to Upton 61 years ago, raising their family on the former St. Benedict's Farm, a Catholic Worker settlement house of hospitality on Ridge Road. A close friend of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, founders of the Catholic Worker movement, her home was always open and she devoted her life to helping others.
She worked as a nurse's aide at several area nursing homes and was a communicant of Holy Angels Parish, where she was a member of the Ladies Altar Sodality. She was also a member of the Upton Grange, the Upton Historical Society, and was a lifelong avid Red Sox fan.
She leaves her children, Mary Fedorczuk and her husband Michael, Mildred Morin and her husband Leo, Marion Despres and her husband Louis, Kathleen Schultz and her husband Guy, Patrick Roche, and Edward Roche and his wife Betty, all of Upton; Dorothy O'Neil and her husband Timothy of Westborough; and Agnes Lyman of Whitinsville; 31 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great grandchildren. Another son, William Roche, died in 2006. She was also the sister of the late Edward McCarthy, Dorothy Pryor, and Millicent Ignacio.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to The Catholic Worker, 36 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003 or to Sts. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker, 52 Mason St., Worcester, MA 01610.
Service Details
A funeral mass will be celebrated Thursday at 10 a.m.
in Holy Angels Church, 1 Milford Street, Upton.
Burial will follow in Lakeview Cemetery, North Main Street, Upton.
Calling hours will be held at Holy Angels Church
from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday.