Mary Elizabeth Chartier

She was a graduate of the HS class of 1939 in Beverly, Massachusetts and graduated from Burdette College in Boston with a business degree. She was ahead of her time. The eldest of 12, she set the bar very high for a large family filled with love, laughter and mutual respect. She worked at United Shoe Machinery Corporation in Beverly, until she met Emile (Jack) Chartier, Jr, who had just returned from the war. They were married in 1949 and lived in Massachusetts. They had three children, Cynthia, Robert and Nancy, and she was a stay-at-home mom.

A job transfer for Jack sent them to Florida in 1971. The recession came, and Elizabeth went to work. She was the personal secretary of Toney Penna at his Golf Company and later, secretary of the Town of Jupiter Island, Florida, until Jack’s illness forced her to retire at the age of 75. Elizabeth took care of Jack while he had debilitating dementia for 16 years, though he never forgot who she was. She had an unshakable faith in God and was an active member of St. Jude’s CCW as their secretary.

Elizabeth was an avid athlete and enjoyed golf, tennis, skiing, swimming, bowling, and badminton. She was a big fan of the Red Socks and the Patriots, and would enjoy watching the games and rooting for her team. She was a very elegant, quiet, gracious and kind woman, with a wicked sense of humor, and an abundance of generosity and love. Her life was a shining example of humility and family values. She was, however, a fierce competitor in her favorite game, Rummikub, and would embrace a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. She played her last game three days before she passed and she won (which she relished!)

She put the needs of others first. Her motto growing up was ‘play the game fair,’ and the golden rule ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’

In her 80’s and 90’s, she was a volunteer at Jupiter Medical Center and helped patients navigate the paperwork on the computer. She lived alone in her house, and drove ‘til she was 94 years old, when a short-term illness forced her to move to Texas to live with Nancy and Greg in 2015. She recovered, and then some!

Elizabeth was a good listener, and gave careful, thought provoking advice only when asked. She never wanted to be a burden or intrude, and was fiercely independent and self-reliant. She recovered from two broken backs, one at 100, and the second at 101, and took only a small dose of blood pressure medicine up until her last day. She lived with her children ‘til the end, and would always say, “I am so lucky’, and was truly grateful for anything anyone did for her.

Elizabeth cherished her friends and family and built unshakeable relationships that have lasted decades. Whatever her age; everyone was always shocked by how old she actually was. Her voice, smile, and spirit always belied the ‘rings in her trunk’ so to speak.

When she turned 100, everyone wanted to know her ‘secret’. She would always say, “you are what you eat!”

She is survived by her children, Cynthia, Robert and Nancy and her son-in-law, Greg Mansur. She leaves her siblings, William Gillis, Elaine Hiltunen and Anne Laferriere.

She is preceded in death by her siblings Margaret Wildes, Helen Egan, Virginia Leary, Donald, James, John, Thomas, and Robert Gillis.

Friday July 8th, there will be a viewing at Aycock Funeral home 8:30-9:30 am., followed by Mass at St. Jude Catholic Church at 10:30, and internment at Riverside Memorial at noon.