Helen M. Grealy

Grealy, Helen M. (Ford) of Quincy, died October 14, 2014. 

Helen was born in Boston, on January 5, 1924, to Walter and Rose (Donahue) Ford.  Helen resided at the Ford family home on Dwight Street in Brookline until her marriage to Thomas Grealy, a foreman in the Boston Globe pressroom, on September 9, 1950.  Helen and Tom moved to Sharon in 1954, where they lived for many years. Helen was an active member of Our Lady of Sorrows parish, the Dominican Academy Mother’s Guild, and the Junior Fortnightly Club; she was also a volunteer in several charities, including the local hospice organization.  While living in Sharon, Helen also worked as a bookkeeper and she later became a licensed real estate agent.  Helen was an avid reader; she was also a talented seamstress, and enjoyed gardening. Upon Tom’s retirement from the Globe, Helen and Tom enjoyed traveling with friends to Italy and Germany, and spending some of the cold winter months with relatives and friends in Florida.

After Tom’s death in December 1995, Helen continued to reside in Sharon, where she enjoyed visiting her grandchildren and spending time with her sister Rosemary Flannery, her cousin Marie Heymann and many other relatives and friends.  In November 2007,  Helen moved to Quincy, where she was lovingly cared for until her death by her son Paul and Mary White. 

Helen is predeceased by her brother Walter Jr. (Rosemary), and her sister Catherine Gibson. She is survived by her sister Rosemary Flannery of Attleboro and children Suzanne Curt (Gregory), of Garrett Park, Md., Thomas Jr. of Quincy, Denise Perkins (Steven), of North Middleboro, Paul of Quincy (Mary White),  her four beloved granddaughters, Elizabeth, Emily and Molly Perkins, and Katherine Curt, and several nephews and nieces.

Helen’s family especially thanks the wonderful nurses and staff of the John Adams HealthCare Center and Compassionate Care Hospice for the care and thoughtfulness they showed our mother over the past years. 

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the visiting hours on Friday 4-8 PM in the Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St., QUINCY. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 9:15 AM on Saturday prior to the Funeral Mass in St. Ann’s Church, Quincy at 10 AM. Burial in Rock Ridge Cemetery, Sharon. Donations in memory of Helen may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, 17th Floor, Chicago, Illinois, 60601.