Eileen Boland

Eileen Boland (nee Neary), 89, of Stamford passed away peacefully at home on Friday December 14, 2012. She was born one of twelve children in Cloonagun, Breaffy, Ballina, Co. Mayo , Ireland on February 9, 1923 to the late Patrick Neary and Winifred Naughton.

She emigrated to England in 1943 where she worked in a munitions factory and later served as a nurse’s assistant during World War II. Her adventurous spirit led her to sail on the USS Neptunia from Southampton, England to Halifax Nova Scotia where she worked in the Royal Air Force station before moving onto Montreal and eventually to New York in 1954. She married the late James P. Boland of New York City in 1961 and had four children Sharon, Maureen, Eileen and James Jr. She faced the biggest challenge of her life when her husband passed away when her children were very young. She was a kind and gentle wife, mother and grandmother. Her greatest joy was spending time with her family, cooking Sunday and holiday dinners. She enjoyed traveling and being on the move getting her driver’s license when she was 69 years old when the family moved from Manhattan to Garden City, NY.

She is survived by her four children, daughter-in-law Lisa Boland and grandchildren Jimmy, Caitlin, Ryan and Claire. She is also survived by her brother Gerard and sister–in-law Kathleen of Whitestone, NY, and sister Mary Pascoe of London, sister–in-law Theresa Neary of Ballina, Co. Mayo Ireland along with many cousins, nieces and nephews from the Boland, Neary, Suckley, Garrett, Mears, Carr, Radomski, Pascoe and Curtin families in Ireland, England and the US.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 11:00AM at St. Mary's RC Church, 178 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich. Interment will follow at Long Island National Cemetery, Pinelawn, NY. Family and friends may call at Leo P. Gallagher Funeral Home, 31 Arch Street, Greenwich, CT 06830 on Monday, December 17, 2012 from 3:00-5:00 PM and 7:00-9:00 PM.