Keohane Funeral Home

Gloria R. (Morise) Awalt, of Quincy, and formerly of Dorchester, died peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, July 6, 2019 at the John Adams Healthcare Center in Quincy. She was 87.

Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Evelyn (Morise) Leondike. Gloria was raised in Dorchester and attended local schools. She became a hairdresser and later in life started her own salon, Uptown Hair, on Hancock Street in Quincy. She retired after 25 years of service to the community.

In her spare time, Gloria enjoyed cooking. Her family loved her food as it was gourmet and delicious. She loved to decorate her home and care for her yard. Gloria was very meticulous and everything had a home. Her house was always clean, beautifully decorated with antiques and her yard was well manicured. She took pride in her home and liked to share it with friends and family. Gloria enjoyed visiting yard sales and flea markets to find antiques that she could add to her home. When she was younger, Gloria enjoyed traveling to Cape Cod and spending time with family and friends in Truro and Provincetown. She was also blessed with a beautiful voice. Gloria was told to take singing lessons as a young woman to hone her skill.

Family was the most important thing to Gloria. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for the people she loved and cared for. She was a caring, fun loving, social, artistic and a selfless person. Her life lessons and examples are her legacy that continue through her daughter, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Gloria will be missed by all the lives she touched.

Gloria was the devoted mother of Virginia A. O’Sullivan of Quincy and the loving grandmother of Thomas O’Sullivan and his wife Lorrie of RI and Keith O’Sullivan and his partner Christine Bittorie of Weymouth. She was the loving great grandmother of Thomas O’Sullivan, Jr. and his partner Caitlin Vandermeel of RI and Laura Buffenmyer and her husband Jake of Georgia. Gloria was the loving great-great grandmother of Luke and Dax Buffenmyer, both of Georgia. She was the dear sister of John Leondike and his wife Irene of Billerica, Helen Correia and her late husband Augie of Abington and Rose M. Doucette and her husband Stan of Quincy. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the visiting hours on Wednesday, July 10th 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 AM on Thursday, July 11th prior to the Funeral Mass in St. Ann’s Church, Quincy at 10 AM. Services will conclude with interment in Blue Hill Cemetery, Braintree.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Gloria may be made to American Heart Association, P.O. Box 417005, Boston, MA 02241-7005.