1946
Mary
2011
Mary Ann (Popec) Gormley
August 23, 1946 — September 14, 2011
Mary Ann (Popec) Gormley, 65, of Upton, died late Wednesday, September 14, 2011 in her home after a courageous battle with cancer. She was the wife of James J. Gormley, Jr. and an accomplished and internationally known educator.
Mrs. Gormley was born and raised in Springfield, the eldest child of Estelle A.(Wood) Popec of Springfield and the late Stephen J. Popec, Sr. She was a graduate of Cathedral High School in Springfield and earned degrees at Trinity College in Washington, DC, Emanuel College in Boston, and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. A devout Catholic, she came to Upton from Springfield 35 years ago and was a communicant of Holy Angels Parish.
She taught Social Studies at Ursuline Academy in Springfield, St. Ann's High School in Lynn, Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, St. Mary's High School and Holy Name High School in Worcester, and Alvern High School in Hudson, NH, as well as at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Bridgewater State College, and through the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). She also served as curriculum director at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester. In 2002 she received a fellowship to Japan through the Keizai Koho Center. She authored curriculum dealing with citizenship and social justice which is used throughout the Middle East, and attended and contributed to the iEARN Bridge Conference for Middle Eastern Nations held in Amman, Jordan in 2004. She also designed and authored social studies curriculum to compare and contrast the major forms of government for use in emerging Eastern Bloc nations. For many years, she sponsored high school students from other nations to come to the US to focus on social studies issues.
Mrs. Gormley volunteered for twenty years at Camp Sunshine in Casco, ME, working with terminally ill children and their families. She also served as Director of CCD at Holy Angels Parish in Upton and St. Ann's Parish in Shrewsbury.
In addition to her loving mother and her devoted husband of 39 years, she leaves three children, Colleen Gormley and her husband Andrew McIntyre of Upton, Sean Gormley of Upton, and Shannon Clark and her husband Todd of Grafton; three grandchildren, Ayden, Evalyn, and Emersynn Clark of Grafton; two brothers, Stephen J. Popec and his wife Darlene of Ware, and Leon H. Popec and his wife Tammy of Springfield; a sister, Alice A. Bichard of Springfield; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.
If desired, memorial donations may be made to Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia Rd., Casco, ME 04015 (www.campsunshine.org).
from the Williams-Pedersen Funeral Home, 45 Main Street, Upton,
with a funeral mass at 10 a.m. in the new St. Gabriel the Archangel Church,
151 Mendon Street, Upton.
Burial will follow at 1 p.m. in Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.
Calling hours at the funeral home are Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Mrs. Gormley was born and raised in Springfield, the eldest child of Estelle A.(Wood) Popec of Springfield and the late Stephen J. Popec, Sr. She was a graduate of Cathedral High School in Springfield and earned degrees at Trinity College in Washington, DC, Emanuel College in Boston, and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. A devout Catholic, she came to Upton from Springfield 35 years ago and was a communicant of Holy Angels Parish.
She taught Social Studies at Ursuline Academy in Springfield, St. Ann's High School in Lynn, Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, St. Mary's High School and Holy Name High School in Worcester, and Alvern High School in Hudson, NH, as well as at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Bridgewater State College, and through the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). She also served as curriculum director at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester. In 2002 she received a fellowship to Japan through the Keizai Koho Center. She authored curriculum dealing with citizenship and social justice which is used throughout the Middle East, and attended and contributed to the iEARN Bridge Conference for Middle Eastern Nations held in Amman, Jordan in 2004. She also designed and authored social studies curriculum to compare and contrast the major forms of government for use in emerging Eastern Bloc nations. For many years, she sponsored high school students from other nations to come to the US to focus on social studies issues.
Mrs. Gormley volunteered for twenty years at Camp Sunshine in Casco, ME, working with terminally ill children and their families. She also served as Director of CCD at Holy Angels Parish in Upton and St. Ann's Parish in Shrewsbury.
In addition to her loving mother and her devoted husband of 39 years, she leaves three children, Colleen Gormley and her husband Andrew McIntyre of Upton, Sean Gormley of Upton, and Shannon Clark and her husband Todd of Grafton; three grandchildren, Ayden, Evalyn, and Emersynn Clark of Grafton; two brothers, Stephen J. Popec and his wife Darlene of Ware, and Leon H. Popec and his wife Tammy of Springfield; a sister, Alice A. Bichard of Springfield; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.
If desired, memorial donations may be made to Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia Rd., Casco, ME 04015 (www.campsunshine.org).
Service Details
Funeral services will be held Monday, September 19,from the Williams-Pedersen Funeral Home, 45 Main Street, Upton,
with a funeral mass at 10 a.m. in the new St. Gabriel the Archangel Church,
151 Mendon Street, Upton.
Burial will follow at 1 p.m. in Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.
Calling hours at the funeral home are Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
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