Theresa C. Cowley

Theresa C. Cowley, age 89, of Quincy passed away peacefully on March 8, 2017, at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. She had endured a long period of poor health.

Ms. Cowley was devoted to her family, and in particular to her sister Mary, with whom she lived for many years in the Montclair section of Quincy. Ms. Cowley was the youngest of eight in the Cowley family, having been predeceased by John, Mary, Anne (Desmond), Gertrude (Kowalik), Francis, Walter, and Laurence. The Cowley family grew up in Dorchester, and then most migrated to Quincy, with the most intrepid (Walter, Anne and Gertrude) settling with their families in Braintree.  Her parents were Francis of Enniscrone, Sligo and Mary (Cunningham) of Mohill, Leitrim.

Theresa valued education, and was a perfectionist in all of her endeavors. She graduated from the Dorchester High School for Girls in 1945, and thereafter pursued a variety of clerical jobs, including work at the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Social Security Administration, all in Boston. She was also employed as a legal secretary at prominent Boston law firms.

Having always regretted not pursuing college after high school education, Theresa later in life attended Bentley College, receiving an Associate’s Degree in accounting in 1973, graduating with Highest Honors. From there, Theresa pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management at Boston State College, graduating with a 3.9 GPA. Theresa then pursued further graduate education, learning computer programming and becoming proficient in some of the early business languages in what was then a male dominated field. Following that, Theresa spent the rest of her professional life in the accounting field, working for major Boston accounting firms.  Theresa enjoyed corresponding with her family and others. She prided herself on her persuasive writing skills, and great attention to detail.

More than anything, Theresa valued the family that surrounded her, and she was particularly grateful for the assistance in her later years of Gerard Kowalik and Paul Cowley, who always managed to be there for her when she needed them. Theresa leaves behind many other nieces and nephews as well.

Visiting hours will be in the Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St., Quincy on Friday, March 17 from 5-7pm.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home on Saturday morning at 9:15 am  prior to  A Mass of Christian Burial  at St. Joseph’s Church, 550 Washington St., Quincy on Saturday, March 18 at 10am.

Burial will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery in Quincy.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph’s Church in Quincy.