Grace I. Buono

Buono, Grace I, at the age of 96, on May 19, 2003. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., “Gracie” moved to Boston in 1912. At age 14 she entered the convent and became a nun in the Franciscan Order. She attended St. Peter and Paul High School in South Boston, Knights of Columbus Normal School for Teachers in Pittsburgh and graduated DePaul University, Chicago. She taught sixth grade at St. Francis of Assisi School in Cambridge. She eventually left the convent. In 1938 she married George Buono and they had 3 daughters. In 1952 ten women were selected from a long list of applicants to become part of the Police Department under the newly created position of “Traffic Supervisor” for the City of Medford. Gracie was among them. In a newspaper interview she stated that, “(she) and her husband shared the upbringing of their three daughters” and she made the following observations, “I see women taking over other police duties, eventually…” and her pet peeve, “Motorists who disregard (our) signals because they think women have no authority”. She was responsible for the arrest of a motorist who did not take her upheld hands seriously at a crosswalk. In 1968 she became Director of Residence at Mount Auburn School of Nursing and remained at the School until it closed. She was widowed in 1981 and in 1989 became a resident of Quincy. She suffered a stroke and became a permanent resident of SunBridge Care in Weymouth in 1997. Although confronted with the challenge of her lost independence, at SunBridge, as throughout her life, she endeared herself to all who came to know and appreciate her intelligence, her contemporary insight, her challenging mind, her forthrightness and her feistiness. She leaves two daughters Joan DiFiore of Malden and Marie Stamos and her husband Jim Stamos of Quincy, 11 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, her sister, Patrina DiFronzo of Medford, her brother, Jimmy Tocco of Everett, two sisters-in-law, Betty Buono of Cambridge and Betty Tocco of Braintee, and a dear friend, Barbara Stamos of Quincy. Services will be a private celebration of Gracie’s going home. Anyone wishing to do so can make a donation in Gracie’s memory to, “The Resident Council” c/o Jessica Shorter, SunBridge of Weymouth, 64 Performance Drive, Weymouth, MA, 02188 or to Beacon Hospice, 529 Main Street, Suite 1M #7. Boston, MA, 02129.