Mary Therese (Devine) Kennedy - Peretti

Mary T. Kennedy - Peretti

Born: November 12, 1926  Died: August 10, 2019

Predeceased by first husband Christopher F. Kennedy in 1989, and second husband Robert A. Peretti June 28, 2019.

She is survived by her children:  daughters Kathy Becker and Judy Higgins (Robert) of Newburyport; Mary Kate Kennedy of Burlington, Vt.  Sons Chris Kennedy Jr. (Cindy) of Braintree, John Kennedy (Sparky) of Salem, NH, Robert Kennedy (Maureen) of Weymouth, and Richard Kennedy (Wendy) of Cohasset.  Predeceased by son James Kennedy (Karen) and daughter Margaret Kennedy.

She is also survived by her stepchildren; Robert Peretti Jr., Pamela Roberts, Deborah Peretti, Jean McKenney, and MaryLu Klum.  She also leaves 17 grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

Predeceased by sisters:  Anne Burke, Ellen McKenney Fahey and identical twin Margaret Davitt;  and brothers James, John, Joseph, Peter, Robert Devine and William Crosby.

Mary graduated from Boston State Teachers College in 1948 and taught kindergarten in the Boston Public Schools.  She married Chris Kennedy in 1949 and left teaching to raise her family in Dorchester and Quincy.  In 1982 she earned her Masters of Education from Eastern Nazarene College and resumed her teaching career in the Quincy Public Schools at the middle school level and then in special education.

Mary and Chris purchased a condo in Naples, Fla., in 1985, close to her twin Peg and sister Ellen, and enjoyed vacations and family time there, particularly sunset cocktail hour at the beach.

Chris died in 1989 from ALS, and Mary assumed many of his community commitments, including to the Quincy City Hospital, VNA and Quincy Symphony Orchestra.  She remained active in the Sacred Heart Parish and starting working for her sister Ellen at ExecuTours, an innovative tour and executive-relocation company founded in 1970 after Ellen was widowed.  Mary’s children and grandchildren all benefited from her Freedom Trail and other historical knowledge that she employed in her work.

Mary and Bob Peretti were married in in 1996, and as “older widowers” wished for just “five good years together.” Instead they were blessed with 23 years of partnership and enjoyed many winters in Naples and summers in Belmont and Scituate.

Funeral will be from the Brown & Hickey Funeral Home, 36 Trapelo Road, Belmont, on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 9 a.m. It will be followed by a funeral mass in St Joseph Church, 128 Common St., Belmont, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited. Visiting hours will be Friday from 4-7 p.m. Interment will be at Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline.

Donations may be made in her memory to: The Angel Fund for ALS Research, 649 Main St., Wakefield, MA 01880. theangelfund.org 

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