Lucille Mary (Kuklinski) O’Connell, 82, of Brewster Massachusetts passed away on August 29, 2021 with her loving children by her side. She was born on July 5, 1939 in Worcester, MA. Lucille was the devoted daughter of Stanley and Frances (Zukowski) Kuklinski and loving wife of Dr. Francis O’Connell. She was also the beloved sister to Paul Kuklinski (wife Judy).
Lucille was born in Worcester, MA and nearly died at birth. She was so ill, she needed blood transfusions to completely replace all her blood with that of her father’s. Thankfully, after that, she was rarely if ever sick! Her young life was spent in Worcester on City View Street in a house her grandfather built. She attended St. Mary’s Polish School and was a proud “Worcester Girl.”
She then continued on to Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA. There she met lifelong friends referred to as the “Big Eight.” In between classes, the girls loved to play bridge and socialize. After college, it was onto Boston and a job at the telephone company. When the phone company started to computerize operations, they announced a test to determine who had programming aptitude. Lucille took the test, scored well, and was selected to become a programmer. She was a pioneer in the field. Summers were spent on Cape Cod walking to the beach and town since no one had a car.
In Boston, Lucille met the love of her life Frank. They were married on January 14, 1967 at Our Lady of Czestochowa church in Worcester, MA. After a short stay in Wellesley, they settled in Holden, MA which was a perfect fit for them. In Holden they raised their four children and had amazing friends and neighbors. Lucille was a loving, patient, non-judgmental force that others were drawn to. She was a rock for her children. Her annual Christmas Eve party was an event the neighborhood always looked forward to. She created a home that neighborhood kids gravitated towards. After their children were grown, Lucille and Frank loved traveling together and were truly best friends. Their marriage got stronger each year of the 45 they were together.
Lucille also enjoyed reading, crosswords puzzles with a cup of coffee, watching Jeopardy!, board puzzles, refinishing furniture, knitting, her church St. George’s where she was a lector, and golf (preferably 9 holes) at Tatnuck Country Club. She loved musicals and dreamed of being a singer/tap dancer on Broadway.
She is survived by her children, sons Dan O’Connell (wife Page) of Summit NJ, Andrew O’Connell (wife Julie) of Needham MA, daughters Amy Christopher (husband Bruce) of Brewster MA, and Rosemary O’Kieffe (husband Jay) of Arlington VA. Lucille is the cherished “Babci” to Max, Scotty, Sophie, Danny, Amelia, Maggie, Susannah, Will, and Bryce. She is also survived by brother-in-law Thomas O’Connell (wife Lynne) of Greensboro, NC and sister-in-law Mary O’Connell of Uxbridge, MA.
Lucille spent the last few years of her life in the memory care unit of Maplewood in Brewster, MA. A special thanks to the many caring staff members at Maplewood that made her battle with Alzheimer’s more personalized and humane.
Lucille’s boundless happiness and unflappable nature was cherished by those that knew her and will be greatly missed. She is now in heaven having an Old Fashioned with her husband “Brick”, singing show tunes with Frank Chapman and playing “just one more” game of spite and malice with her lifelong friend Ann Chapman. The long goodbye is over. We love you more Mom.
A private burial will be held at St. Mary’s Church in Uxbridge MA on Saturday Sept 4th. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be donated in Lucille’s name to the Alzheimer's Family Support Center in Brewster at https://www.alzfamilysupport.org
For online condolences, please visit www.doanebealamesdennis.com
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