Keohane Funeral Home

Marie Loretta (Parkes) Kenerson, 89, died peacefully and surrounded by love on September 14, 2017, after hospice care in Wenham, MA, at the home of her son Paul.

Throughout and at different times of her long life, Marie was a happily active member in a multitude of clubs and groups. In MA, she was affiliated with the Womens’ Sodality of St. Mary’s Parish, Hull Yacht Club, Hull Garden Club, Orton-Gillingham Society (F0011/AOGPE), DKG (Delta Kappa Gamma Society – Alpha Zeta branch), HART (Hull Association of Retired Teachers), Anne Scully Senior Center and the neighborhood “Pooped-out Mothers”. In FL, she participated in St. Isabel Women’s Guild, Sanibel Senior Center/Fit for Life and Big Arts Sanibel Island. The connective tissue among many and varied communities, Marie was a clear reflection of her commitment to “Love one Another”. She was a city girl who became an oceanfront woman, leaving her childhood Dorchester neighborhoods and urban education for a quieter life on Nantasket Beach. It wasn’t long before she fell in love with crewing on their family Ensign, spending days on the beach with her red-hatted children, playing an integral role in her husband’s Hingham business, The Garden Gate, and deepening roots in the small town. Her life was decorated with lifelong girlfriends from St. Peter’s School, Jeremiah E. Burke High School and Teachers College of the City of Boston (now UMass Boston); relatives who spanned multiple generations and branches of our complex family tree; long time neighbors and dear friends from Hull, MA, where she lived for more than 68 years; cherished relationships nurtured in Sanibel, FL, where she finally had the time and freedom to explore new and expanded interests and hobbies. With a natural talent for deep and lasting relationships, she lived and died with a full heart. Her presence, quiet strength and humility were gifts she offered freely and these qualities strengthened her impact on others. As we have heard from so many who loved her, she was indeed “beautiful inside and out” and always offered open arms and open doors in her small family homes by the sea, creating a sense of extended family to those who entered.

Although perhaps most recognized as the devoted mother of eight, Marie was also very proud of her accomplishments as an educator. Upon graduation from Teachers College of the City of Boston in 1949, just weeks before her wedding date and move to Hull, she eagerly accepted her first job as a special education classroom teacher. It wasn’t long, however, before she began her own family and subsequently left the traditional school setting. Many years and many children later, she studied at MGH’s early and distinguished Dyslexia Program, earning the honor of becoming one of the first Orton-Gillingham Fellows (11th). During years spent as a private tutor and classroom reading specialist at the local Jacobs Elementary School, her heart exploded with love for and dedication to her work, students and colleagues. Her patience, kindness and unrelenting commitment were gifts to many who had struggled before meeting her. After more than three decades as a homemaker, this professional facet of her life was deeply meaningful and brought great depth and breadth to her days.

As she began to redefine herself in later years, she welcomed opportunities to take classes, travel, “rock and talk” with friends, enjoy her grandchildren and great grandchildren, teach and participate in social, service and academic circles of educators. After retirement, Marie spent many winters on her beloved Sanibel Island on the west coast of FL with her late husband, John. There, they enjoyed 25+ years of sunset boat trips, interesting arts, literature and exercise classes, outdoor adventures with the Seniors and many deep friendships. This proved to be a wonderful balance to her summers in Hull and she was able to live by the ocean year round, enjoying decades of sunrise walks along Nantasket and Sanibel beaches, even perfecting the “Sanibel stoop” with her effortless flexibility and passion for shelling.

Marie understood the rhythms of life and had a trust in the waves of activity and quiet, crowds and solitude, distance and proximity. Most of all, she believed that God had guided her life decisions and path; she had no regrets, but only gratitude for a life well lived. She birthed a nation of good people and this was her greatest legacy. It is so comforting to know that, true to her word, she is leaving us with “oceans of love”.

Marie was the daughter of the late John B. and Loretta (Costello) Parkes. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband John and son Brian Kenerson. She is survived by her children, John, Paul, William, Thomas, Marie, Kevin Kenerson and Carol Wilson. She loved all her daughters-in-law, Lisbet, Elaine, Julie, Hirity, Kathy and LuAnn as her own. Marie was the cherished grandmother of twelve and great-grandmother of eight. She was the loving sister of Ann Murphy and the late John, Richard, Robert, Donald, Leo Parkes and Dorothy McCarthy.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend visiting hours Thursday, September 28th, 4 – 8 p.m. at the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St., Hingham. The funeral mass will be held on Friday, September 29th, in Saint Ann’s Church, Hull at 11:00 a.m. Internment to follow in Hull Village Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marie L. Kenerson may be made to Little Sisters of the Poor at 186 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143 or visit: www.littlesistersofthepoorBoston.org, Or, to Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators at AOGPE, PO Box 234, Amenia, NY 12501 or visit: www.ortonacademy.org. Kindly notate any donations “In memory of Marie Kenerson”.