Active at Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Published in the February 10, 2016 edition
LYNNFIELD — Hazel E. (Tice) Gilligan of Lynnfield, formerly of Briarcliff Manor and Yonkers, N.Y., passed away on Jan. 22, surrounded by loving family and caring aides. She was 95 years old.
Mrs. Gilligan was born in Yonkers, N.Y. on Dec.r 10, 1920, and was the daughter of the late Mary H. (Connor) and Everett W. Tice. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 42 years, James F. Gilligan, in 1994. She was the older sister of the late Wilbur A. Tice, whom she adored.
A graduate of Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, Mrs. Gilligan attended the Washington School for Secretaries and was employed for a number of years by the New York State Bankers Association. Later, after raising her family, she returned to work in a variety of administrative positions at Lester Associates, an engineering firm located in Pleasantville and Nyack, N.Y. retiring in 1995 after serving for a number of years as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. In New York, Mrs. Gilligan was an active member of the Pleasantville Music Theatre and All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Briarcliff Manor, where she served on the Altar Guild, sang in the Choir and was a member of the Vestry. In Massachusetts, Mrs. Gilligan was a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Wakefield and volunteered assisting with outreach and fund-raising projects at Greater Lynn Senior Services, Lynn. In addition, she was a talented seamstress, artist, musician and gardener.
Mrs. Gilligan is survived by a son, James C. Gilligan of Freeport, Maine (formerly of Mahopac, N.Y.) and his wife Eileen (D’Uva). She is also survived by her daughters, Elaine F. C. Gilligan and her husband John Sanderson of Melrose; and Margaret H. Gilligan and her husband Andrew D. Wallace of Lynnfield, with whom she lived for the past 16 years.
Fiercely independent, Mrs. Gilligan worked well into her 70s before finally retiring and instilled that same ethic into those around her. She dearly loved and was a great influence on her grandchildren: Maureen Zemrak and husband Wes of Falmouth, Maine; Jacquelyn Gilligan of Topsham, Maine; James T. Gilligan of Mount Kisco, N.Y.; Gillian Wallace and her husband Andrew Leader of New York, N.Y.; Leeanne and Ian Wallace of Lynnfield and Grace Sanderson of Melrose. She had three great-grandchildren, Alina, Grady, and Mara Zemrak, all of Falmouth, Maine. In the last years of her life, she was attended at home by several devoted aides, who became a part of her family, especially Kortoe, Lorraine and Christine. The family wishes to thank Greater Lynn Senior Services, Freedom Home Care and Care Dimensions for their compassionate attention to Mrs. Gilligan’s needs.
A funeral service will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 5 Bryant St., Wakefield on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, at 11 a.m. Arrangements in the care of McDonald Funeral Home, Wakefield.
Donations in Mrs. Gilligan’s memory can be made to the Lique Living Legacy Fund— responding to the emergency needs of low-income older adults―at Greater Lynn Senior Services, 8 Silsbee St., Lynn MA 01901.
