Lisa Ann Birrittieri

Lisa A. Birrittieri, Dorchester native, V.P. of Colliers International leaves a legacy of love and strength for all who knew her.

Lisa Ann Birrittieri, of Mashpee, MA, passed away on April 1, Easter Sunday, following a nearly four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Lisa, a native of Boston, MA, was a graduate of Boston Latin School, Wheaton College, B.A., and Northeastern University, M.B.A.

Lisa grew up in the Clam Point neighborhood of Dorchester, and attended Saint Ambrose School and Church. From an early age, she excelled in academics, pursuing Political Science and International Relations at Wheaton College, at one point working in U.S. Senator John Kerry’s Boston office. She later turned her goals toward business and real estate. Lisa worked full time while attending Northeastern University part time over several years, achieving her M.B.A. During this time she worked for State Street Global Advisors in downtown Boston. With M.B.A. in hand, she moved to Colliers International USA, advancing to Vice President of Business Development, and eventually taking her most recent professional position as Vice President of Capital Markets at Cassidy Turley in Boston.

While she was a top executive in the field of commercial real estate, she also enjoyed investing in real estate.

Lisa’s passions were many. She loved her animals and rescued and rehabilitated many wild and domestic animals during her life. She was a water enthusiast with a love of the ocean. She was a skilled water skier, and a certified scuba diver. She fulfilled one of her life long dreams when she met the love of her life David Paparella, and they bought a Formula 27 foot cruiser, they named Evil Twins after the twin engines, a play on words with her twin Gina Birrittieri Enock, and David’s Gemini birthday. Lisa and David spent many glorious days boating throughout Cape Cod and the Islands during healthier times.

Lisa also loved to travel. During college, she spent a semester in Italy, and travelled throughout the country, while fulfilling her college requirements. Later, she also made several trips throughout the U.S., skiing in Colorado, and visiting friends in various cities, including an impromptu road trip to Mexico from Phoenix with a girlfriend. She travelled with the Moray Wheels adaptive scuba diving club to the Caribbean, and more recently, with husband David, made two boating trips on a friend’s 62 ft. yacht, from Cape Cod to Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. Her greatest adventure however, was a two-month trip she planned to the islands of the South Pacific. She and David flew to Tahiti, explored Morea, and Bora Bora, then returned by cruise ship to explore the Hawaiian Islands. Finally, they flew to California and boarded a cruise ship destined for Costa Rica, then through the Panama Canal before returning to the Atlantic Ocean and home.

Family and friends were all extremely important to Lisa. She hosted family reunions, holiday dinners, and parties of all kinds. She was cherished by her husband and family, and will be missed by friends from all chapters of her life.

Lisa is survived by her husband, David J. Paparella, Mashpee,; mother, Michelina V. Birrittieri, Boston; twin sister, Gina Birrittieri Enock (Christopher), NY, NY; sister, Cara M. Birrittieri (A. Jackson Smith Jr.), Lakewood, NY; brother, Domenic M. Birrittieri, and his life long partner, Katherine Gaughan, Boston; also half brother, Harold Birrittieri (Janice), Coral Springs, FL; nephews, Alexander Enock and Andrew Enock, NY, NY; nephew, Allen “A.J.” Smith III and niece Victoria M. Smith, Lakewood, NY; niece, Leanne L. Paparella, Merrimac, nephew, John J. Papparella, Arlington, niece, Claire T. Punte, Mashpee; sister-in-law, Ann T. Paparella, Mashpee; brother-in-law, Stephen J. Paparella (Patricia), Georgetown; mother-in-law, Edith T. Paparella, Mashpee; Aunt, Catherine A. Paparella, Worcester. She was preceded in death by her father, Domenic Birrittieri; half sisters, Lucille Fournier, and Carolyn Topping; nephew, Thomas Birrittieri; and cousins, Carol Loud Cappuccio, Frederick Loud and Adam Loud.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the visiting hours on Sunday 1-6 PM in the Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St., QUINCY. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 9:30 AM on Monday prior to the Funeral Mass in St. Ann’s Church, Quincy at 10:30 AM. Cremation will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Lisa may be made to the Mass General Lunder Nurses Fund, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston MA 02114, the MSPCA, Attn: Donation, 350 S. Huntington Ave., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, or to the Boston Latin School Association, 27 School Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02108.