Lillian (Falardo) Haas

Lillian (Falardo) Haas of South Weymouth died peacefully among loving family on October 6. She was 88.

She was born in 1935 in East Boston to parents Carmen and Mary (Villella), both of whom were born in Italy. Lillian was their fourth and youngest daughter. She and her sisters Millie, Phyllis and Rita lived on Maverick Street. Lillian was intensely proud of her Italian heritage and of her tight-knit community in “Eastie”. At sixteen, she lost her beloved mother Mary, who passed eight years after having been one of Dr. Paul Dudley White’s first open-heart surgery patients at Massachusetts General Hospital. Losing her mother at a tender age was a formative experience for Lillian, who loved her own children demonstratively and with fierce attachment, never taking a day for granted.

Lillian loved being a teenager in the 1950s, sharing stories of wearing bobby sox with saddle shoes, roller-skating and going to dances. When her father remarried her stepmother Angela, her family moved to Somerville. After graduating from Somerville High, she worked as a receptionist for the popular radio station WMEX in Kenmore Square, where she put to use her gorgeous soprano “phone voice”. Musicians would often play live at the station, and Lillian loved recounting the thrill of working in what seemed like the heart of Boston at that time.

A blind date with a handsome young widower from the South Shore with a four- year-old son would set the course for her adult life. She and Allan (d.2017) married in 1958, and along with their son Gerard, they completed their family with Gregory, Joel, and Kimberley. Though moving to Weymouth seemed like the sticks for this city girl, Lillian adjusted well to life in the suburbs. She was known as a talented cook and seamstress who hosted lively Saturday night Scrabble parties with friends Alice and Don Hall, as well as grand, food-filled holiday gatherings for family. Lillian loved listening to Andrea Bocelli and her cooking shows, and was an early true crime aficionado, with one ear on her police scanner to monitor the “action.” Lillian’s favorite role, however, was grandmother. She treasured her time with Sarah and Danny; Erica, Matt and Angie; and Jackson, Charlie and Lila, for whom she will always be remembered as their doting Nana.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to greet Lillian’s family on Thursday from 4-8 PM in the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home South Weymouth at 809 Main Street (Rte 18 opposite South Shore Hospital). A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 9:15 AM on Friday prior to the Funeral Mass in St. Francis Xavier Church, Weymouth at 10 AM. 

Burial is in Blue Hill Cemetery, Braintree.  

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Heart Association in honor of Lillian Haas.