Always up for an adventure

Published June 4, 2020

NORTH READING — Estelle D. (Plante) Unni, 87, formerly of North Reading and Kennebunk, Maine, died peacefully surrounded by her three sons on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020.

She was the beloved wife of the late Frank J. Unni and the loving mother of Rev. John J. Unni of St. Cecilia Parish, Boston, Joseph and his wife Cindy of Wilmington, and Paul and his wife Diane of Ellwood City, Penn. She was the loving “Grammy” of Paige, Hannah and Isabella Unni and is also survived by her sister, Lorraine McDonough of South Portland, Maine, and her brother, Ronald Plante of Avon Park, Fla., and her much loved nieces and nephews. She is also survived by Natalie Todaro-Blake of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Estelle was born June 14, 1932, in Kennebunk, Maine, to Joseph and Isabelle Plante. She met Frank, the love of her life, at Wilfred Academy School of Hair Design in Boston after he served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Mom always said “as soon as we met, I knew he was the one; I knew I was going to marry him.” And so they did, the barber and the hairdresser, on November 11, 1953.

Frank and Estelle had a beautiful life together. They opened Frank’s Hair Styling in Walpole and Reading and owned and operated a number of other shops and businesses over the years. After nine years of trying to have children, Frank and Estelle adopted their first son John. Like the “Baptist,” he must have “prepared the way” for them to conceive because his two brothers, Joe and Paul, were born three and seven years later. Together, they had a wonderful family life. In May of 1978, Frank died unexpectedly. Estelle took the reins and raised her family with love, hard work and her deep and abiding faith in God.

Mom was always present and up for an adventure – she took the three boys and their friends to Cub Scouts, hockey, Little League baseball, soccer and band practices and would never miss an opportunity to sew for the drama club or chaperone school trips and band competitions. She would make Halloween costumes and would even sew some of her own clothes.

Mom and the boys would head to Maine to visit the relatives where the nine cousins would make memories while having great fun or getting into some sort of harmless “trouble.” Estelle’s house was full of her handmade braided rugs. The winter months always brought us new hand-knitted sweaters, mittens and hats. She would join the boys in the driveway to play basketball and would take every opportunity to teach something new. She absolutely loved to cook and have people over to the house. There was always food on her table and everyone was welcome; it’s how our mom showed love to others. She made the house a place where everybody felt at home.

Later, Estelle became very involved with Camp Fatima in N.H. – specifically, Exceptional Citizens (EC) Week which is devoted to campers with special needs. She had a generous heart and always enjoyed caring for others. She was always “put together” and she made the day by making all the little details count especially for the least.

Estelle also loved her granddaughters beyond measure. As Grammy, she doted on them and was so generous in making their handmade Christmas gifts and goodies while enjoying her time with them. Visits and phone calls from Paige, Hannah and Isabella made her light up with joy.

Mom had a deep and abiding faith in God and a great devotion to the Rosary and the Virgin Mary. It brought her peace. It is that faith that sustained her throughout life and which now sustains all of us at this time. We would especially like to thank all of mom’s care-givers at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Somerville. To the Little Sisters, nurses, aides and everyone involved in Mom’s care on every level, for the generous love and friendship of Lisa and Susan, and to all who have been great companions and friends of Estelle, we are eternally grateful. Thank you for the outpouring of love, prayers, cards, emails, texts and generous donations in our Mom’s memory at this time. We cannot adequately express our gratitude.

Estelle will be interred with her late husband Frank at a private Committal Service at Riverside Cemetery in North Reading. As we make our way through these unprecedented times, a Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Cecilia Church in Boston when the time is right to do so.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Estelle’s memory may be made to “St. Cecilia Parish – The Estelle Fund” at www.stceciliaboston.org or to The Little Sisters of the Poor, 186 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA 02143. For guestbook, please visit www.jmurphyfh.com. Arrangements by the Murphy Funeral Home, Dorchester.