Geraldine Wehrly
Retired AT&T telephone operator
Geraldine A. (Fitzgerald) Wehrly of Avon, Conn., formerly of Winthrop, died on Aug. 31. She was 88 years old.
Prior to her retirement, Geraldine was employed by the former New England Telephone Co. as an operator.
She was the beloved wife of Jack R. Wehrly; devoted mother of Donna P. Raymond of Chicago, Ill., Diana Wehrly-Nicholson of Hawaii and Dennis P. Wehrly of Simsbury, Conn.; adored grandmother of Dylan and Ian Wehrly and Emily Nicholson; cherished daughter of the late Ellen and Edward Fitzgerald; dear sister of Michael Fitzgerald of Boston, Ellen and Leo Rowe of North Billerica and sister-in-law of Barbara Fitzgerald and sister of the late William Fitzgerald.
Funeral arrangements were by the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home, Winthrop.
Donations in her name can be made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington St., Suite 200 Wellesley Hills, MA 02481.
For guestbook, please visit: www.mauricekirbyfh.com.
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Santo Noe
Retired U.S. Postal worker and Winthrop Golf Club member
Santo A. Noe of Bayview Avenue, Winthrop, passed away at the Glen Ridge Nursing Care Center in Medford on Aug. 30. He was 75 years old.
Born in the West End of Boston, he was the beloved son of the late Sebastiana and Francisco Noe. A resident of Winthrop for over 63 years, he was employed as a postal worker for the United States Postal Service prior to his retirement. He was also a member of the Winthrop Golf Club for over 50 years.
He was the devoted husband of Loretta T. (Lanzi) and the dear brother of Josephine Patania of Revere and the late Joseph, Carmelo, Vincent, Angelo, Frank, Jimmy and Anna; brother-in-law of Joan Griffin, Cathy Lanzi, Robert Massa, Louis Lanzi, Peggy Noe and the late Paul Lanzi, Walter Griffin, Sr., Joseph Lanzi, Barbara Lanzi and Rosemarie Massa, and is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held in the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home, Winthrop on Saturday, Sept. 2. Rev Charles Burke celebrated the service and offered prayers at the interment in the Belle Isle section of Winthrop Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Association at www.lung.org. To sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
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Edwin Ambrose
Retired MWRA supervisor
Edwin R. Ambrose of Walden Street, Winthrop passed away at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston on Aug. 28. He was 81 years old.
Born in Winthrop and a lifelong Winthrop resident, he was the beloved son of the late Celia (Mack) and Louis J. Ambrose. He was employed as a supervisor for the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority prior to his retirement.
Mr. Ambrose was the devoted husband of Lois J. (Moran) and the loving father of Scott Ambrose of Winthrop and Eric Ambrose of New Hampshire; dear brother of Sheila “Sally†Caggiano of Shrewsbury and the late Marie Turner, James, William (his twin) and Louis Ambrose, Jr. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Funeral arrangements were by the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home. Committal was private. Memorial donations may be made to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund at www.redcross.org/Disaster-Relief/Hurricane.
To sign the online guestbook, go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
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Joseph Giella
Retired civil engineer
Joseph C. Giella of Court Road, Winthrop passed away at the Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett on Aug. 24. He was 78 years old. Born in Boston, the beloved son of the late Ida (Sfarzo) and Edward Giella, he was a resident of Winthrop for over 51 years. He was employed as a civil engineer working for the Metropolitan District Commission and the Department of Conservation and Recreation prior to his retirement.
He was the devoted husband of Odette (Fournier) and the loving father of Christine R. Maxim of Dracut and Paul Giella of Winthrop and the cherished grandfather of Michael, Steven, Kyle and Emerson.
The funeral was conducted from the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home on Wednesday, Aug. 30, followed by a funeral mass in St. John the Evangelist Church, Winthrop. Interment followed the mass was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett. To sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
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Robert DeGregorio
Longtime proprietor of DeGregorio Insurance of Winthrop, former Winthrop School Committee chair, active in many local organizations
Robert M. DeGregorio of Dolphin Avenue, Winthrop, passed away at the Lighthouse Nursing home in Revere on Sept. 4. He was 93 years old.
Born in East Boston, the beloved son of the late Concetta (Buonopane) and Michael DeGregorio, he enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II where he was a fighter pilot serving with the 6th Fleet in the Atlantic. He then went on to serve during the Korean War as a helicopter rescue pilot. After his honorable discharge, he became the proprietor of DeGregorio Insurance in Winthrop for many years. He was a former chairman of the Winthrop School Committee, member of the Winthrop Golf Club, Winthrop Elks, Cottage Park Yacht Club, Knights of Columbus, Winthrop Police Auxillary, former Chairman of the State Housing Authority and a bail bondsman.
He was the devoted husband of the late Phyllis (Belcher) and the loving father of Robert “Barney†DeGregorio and his wife, Michele, Mark DeGregorio and his wife, Nancy, Paul DeGregorio and his wife, Marlene and Tina Donahue and her husband, Sean, all of Winthrop; dear brother of Richard DeGregorio and his wife, Rose Mary of North Reading, Rosemarie French and her late husband, Lawrence, the late Michael DeGregorio and his wife, Florence of Saugus, and the late Pasquale DeGregorio and his wife, Geraldine. He was the cherished grandfather of Mark, Leah, Anthony, Robert M., III, Paula Joy, Leanne, Sean, Maghen and Victoria Rose and great-grandfather of Alianora, Giuliana and Dominic. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Family and friends are cordially invited to attend the visitation from the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home, Winthrop today, Thursday, Sept. 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be conducted from the on Friday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m., followed by a Funeral Mass in St. John the Evangelist Church, 320 Winthrop St., Winthrop, at 10 a.m. Interment to follow the mass will be in Winthrop Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the New England Center and Home for Veterans, Advancement Office, P.O. Box 845257, Boston, MA 02284-5257 or go to www.nechv.org/give.
For directions or to sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
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William Booras
Of California, formerly of Winthrop
William (Bill) S. Booras, loving husband, father, and grandfather, cherished uncle and friend, and a distinguished World War II veteran, died peacefully in his sleep at home on Aug. 23. He was 93 years old.
The third of four children born to Greek immigrants, Stamatios Booras and Anna Papadopoulos, Bill (Billy to his sisters) grew up happy but cold in Winthrop. By his own admission, he spent most of his childhood running about town with his friends, playing baseball or golf in any weather, and working at his father’s import business.
As with so many of his generation, after high school that carefree life gave way to the US Army.
During World War II, Bill served in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1946, taking part in the Philippine (Luzon) and New Guinea campaigns. His unit received the Distinguished Unit Badge. The war stayed with him for the rest of his life.
Bill went home to Winthrop after the war, fully intending to run the family business. Unfortunately, the Greek-Italian import business could not survive both the Depression and the war. So, taking advantage of the GI Bill, he enrolled at Suffolk University in Boston, where he graduated with a BA in business administration. Then he formed a new plan: go to Los Angeles, Land of Opportunity. He had seen this warm, sunny paradise on his way to the Pacific during the war.
Telling his dad the trip was only a vacation, he borrowed the family Plymouth and drove to Los Angeles. He never drove it back. Instead, he started attending Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral – the center of Greek life in southern California. As luck would have it, he met and fell in love with another interstate transplant, Angeline Papas, from Joplin, Missouri. After a short courtship, Bill proposed to Angie during a golf date, on the 15th hole. Three holes later (the 18th), Angie accepted. They were married on June 1, 1958, at Saint Sophia and were inseparable for nearly 50 years until Angie’s passing in 2007.
Bill and Angie lived and worked in West Garden Grove for 25+ years. It was an idyllic place to raise kids, and they succeeded wonderfully. Angie worked in the drama department at Golden West College, which she loved, while Bill worked at McDonnell Douglas Corp in Long Beach, as a parts buyer for commercial aircraft like the DC-9 and DC-10, which he loved. Famously, he also worked at Sears, moonlighting in the credit department, which we’re not sure he loved. He would come home from Douglas, have dinner with Angie and the kids, and then drive to Sears for a four-hour shift.
A near-scratch golfer in his prime, Bill finished among the leaders in many amateur tournaments. But he waited until he turned 80 to make his first hole-in-one. He adored teaching his sons and grandkids to play sports, especially baseball and golf, and enjoyed watching his grandkids ice skate, run track and cross country and perform in color guard. He loved the outdoors and treasured the annual family camping trips across the west. Keeping an open mind, Bill became a drag-racing enthusiast after his pre-license teenage son introduced him to the sport.
Over the years, Bill caught dozens of baseballs, and one hockey puck hit into the stands, the latter likely saving his son’s life. Remarkably, he caught four foul balls in three separate World Series games: two in 1959 at the L.A. Coliseum, one in 1974 at Dodger Stadium, and another in 1978 at Dodger stadium.
Bill possessed true optimism about life and was genuinely happy. He could be shy in groups and disliked the spotlight, but he was great one-on-one. He loved coffee and salads, but avoided alcohol. He had a low-key sense of humor, laughing with and never at others. He disliked off-color or rude jokes and, in fact, promoted civil behavior. He was emotionally steady and quietly caring.
Bill is survived by his sons and daughters in law, John and Leslye Booras and Greg and Anmarie Booras; by his grandchildren, Samantha, Alexa, Andrew and Athena Booras, and by his nieces and nephews; Frank Aralis, Jim (Roberta) Aralis, Maria (Dave) Crabb, Andrea (Mark) Faudree, Sandy (Jim) Feicht, Everett (Theresa) Nickolin, Peter Nickolin, Michael (Donna Jean) Panopoulos, Stephen (Shirley) Panopoulos, Darius (Stacy) Papas, and Stephanie Papas.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Angeline (Papas) Booras; sisters Mary Booras, Julia (Booras) Margolis, and Eva (Booras) Panopoulos; sisters-and brothers-in-law, Helen (Papas) and Nick Nickolin, Mary (Papas) and Danny Tonge, Milton Aralis, Ann (Papas) and Warren Wendt, Mary (Wallace) and Dean Papas, Ann (Orphan) Papas, Mary (Laros) and Speero Papas, and Jim Panopoulos; nephew Tom Liringis. We miss him, and them all, terribly.
The Trisagion (memorial) was held last week on Thursday, Aug. 31, at Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Church in San Juan Capistrano, California. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation in Bill’s name to Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Church or a charity of your choice. http://www.greekobituary.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=4354652&fh_id=13578.