Gertrude V. (Cleary) Hand

She was the wife of the late James P. Hand Sr. and the daughter of the late Edward Cleary and Virginia (McNulty) Cleary of Boston. She graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, where she was raised and lived until moving to Norwood in 1967.

Known as Snookie to long-time friends and her husband, she was the oldest sister to the late Edward Cleary, Thomas Cleary, Barbara (Cleary) O'Brien, and Mildred (Cleary) Beckstrom.

Her pride was her children: Virginia (Hand) Pittsley and her husband the late William Pittsley of Portsmouth, RI, Patricia (Hand) Adelmann and husband Jack Adelmann of Plymouth, Donna (Hand) Celuzza and husband David Celuzza of Lunenburg, James Hand Jr. and his wife the late Kimberley (Abbott) Hand of Attleboro, Eleanor (Hand) Reilly and husband Robert Reilly of Cape Cod, Edward Hand and his wife Beth (Kowalczyk) Hand of Williamsville, NY, Susan Hand of Norwood, Thomas Hand and partner Cara Meringolo of South Boston, Kathryn (Hand) Savage and husband Mark Savage of Norwood and Kelley Hand of Boston and partner Serge Gottschalk of Somerville.

As a young woman, Gertrude worked at the Rexall Drug Company and Domino Sugar Company in Boston and later in life became a clerk at the public library in Norwood. She enjoyed reunions with St. Thomas Aquinas graduates, reading and doing crossword puzzles. The highlight of her social life was the Tuesday knitting group at Norwood Senior Center. However, her favorite pastime was bragging about her children, grandchildren and great children.

Friends and strangers alike were treated to her stories exalting the latest exploits of her family in the classroom and on the athletic fields. The nurses attending her at Beth Israel Hospital were given a complete accounting of the accomplishments of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren before she passed.

Gertrude was a regular at Sunday Mass at St. Catherine's in Norwood. When people were engaged in social distancing during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, she would hear an outdoor Mass in Marshfield.

Visiting hours will be Thursday, November 11, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Gillooly Funeral Home, 126 Walpole Street (Route 1A), Norwood. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11AM on Friday, November 12, at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 547 Washington Street, Norwood.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Make A Wish Foundation, 133 Federal Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02110, or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105.