Mary M. “Mae” (Cantillon) Holbrook

MARY M. “MAE” (CANTILLON) HOLBROOK – of Woburn, Thursday, April 4th. Devoted wife of the late Joseph C. Holbrook. Beloved sister of the late Elizabeth “Betty” Maher, Edward J. “Ned” Cantillon, Jr., Richard M. “Dick” Cantillon, William F.X. “Gus” Cantillon, and Helen T. Cantillon. Loving sister-in-law of Mildred Cantillon of Winchester, Geraldine Cantillon of Woburn, and the late Francis Maher and Kathryn “Kay” Cantillon. Cherished aunt of many nieces and nephews and their families. Funeral from the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Monday, April 8th at 9:15 a.m. Funeral Mass in St. Charles Church, 280 Main Street, Woburn, at 10. Calling hours Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. Interment in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. Remembrances may be made in Mae’s memory to St. Charles Church, 280 Main Street, Woburn, MA 01801 or to the Sawtelle Family Hospice House, c/o Development Office, VNA of Middlesex-East & Visiting Nurse Hospice, 607 North Avenue, Suite 17, Wakefield, MA 01880.

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OBITUARY:

Mary M. “Mae” (Cantillon) Holbrook, a lifelong Woburn resident, passed away peacefully Thursday morning, April 4th, at the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, following an illness of several months. The beloved wife of the late Joseph C. Holbrook, who died in 1984, she was ninety-two years of age.

Born and raised in Woburn’s South End, she was one of six children of the late Edward J. and Elizabeth A. (McDermott) Cantillon, Sr. She was a 1937 graduate of St. Charles High School. In 1940 she went to work for the telephone company as an operator, and retired forty years later as a supervisor in the human resources department. She held membership in the Telephone Pioneers of America.

Mae and her sister Helen, who died last year, lived their entire life in the family homestead. Mae lived an independent, active life, enjoying Hampton Beach every summer, weekly luncheons and shopping trips with friends, and Saturday night dinners with family. She delighted in entertaining her many nieces and nephews and their families for the annual Halloween Parade and other happy occasions. Mae married her lifelong friend, Joe Holbrook, in 1974, and they enjoyed ten wonderful years together before his unexpected passing.

Along with her parents and her beloved husband Joe, she was preceded in death by her brothers and sisters, Elizabeth “Betty” Maher, Edward J. “Ned” Cantillon, Jr., Richard M. “Dick” Cantillon, William F.X. “Gus” Cantillon, and Helen T. Cantillon, her brother-in-law, Francis Maher, and sister-in-law, Kathryn “Kay” Cantillon.

Surviving are her dear sisters-in-law, Mildred Cantillon of Winchester and Geraldine Cantillon of Woburn, and many loving nieces and nephews, grandnieces and nephews, and great-grandnieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held from the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Monday, April 8th at 9:15 a.m., followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Charles Church, 280 Main Street, Woburn, at 10. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn.

Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m.

Remembrances may be made in Mae’s memory to St. Charles Church, 280 Main Street, Woburn, MA 01801 or to the Sawtelle Family Hospice House, c/o Development Office, VNA of Middlesex-East & Visiting Nurse Hospice, 607 North Avenue, Suite 17, Wakefield, MA 01880.