Mary Louisa (O'Hearn) Armitage's Obituary
NORTH ANDOVER - Mary Louisa (O'Hearn) Armitage, 89 Mary Louisa (O'Hearn) Armitage, born in Lawrence on March 31, 1922, died at home surrounded by her children on November 3, 2011. She was the daughter of the late John A. O'Hearn and Louisa Breen O'Hearn, sister of Margaret (Mrs. Thomas Nurre) and the late John A. O'Hearn, Jr., and the widow of Dr. Henry G. Armitage, Jr., who died in 1995. She was a graduate of Lawrence High School, class of 1939. She is survived by her twelve children, whom she dearly loved: Anne, Henry G. Armitage III, John, Jude, Christopher, Mary McAvoy, Francis, David, Joseph, Patrick, Timothy, and Anthony. She loved her in-law children as her own. Mrs. Armitage was the grandmother of Emily, Elizabeth, Martha, Blythe, Olivia, Julia, Hannah, and Mary; also of Nathan, Louis, Henry, John (O'Hearn), John (Francis), Miles, Cole, Brooks, and Christopher; and the great grandmother of Evelyn and Lilah. Mrs. Armitage served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. An excerpt from her personal World War II memoir was published in Tom Brokaw's tribute book, ?An Album of Memories - Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation.? She was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis and The Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality of St. Michael's Church in North Andover, the Betsy Ross/Samuel Adams Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, The Friends of St. Mary's, and The Hay Scales Exchange. She held a novice Ham Radio License. Mrs. Armitage was an accomplished painter and a member The Andover Artist's Guild. Mrs. Armitage worked to protect wetlands in North Andover, where she lived for 54 years. She believed in democracy and the impact of the voice of the individual; she was a frequent contributor to the Letters to the Editor at the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. She was the great-granddaughter of Lawrence's Mayor John Breen, and had a life-long love of the history of her native city. She was a staff member at The Immigrant City Archives, Lawrence. Following her saving the life of a child in a near-drowning, Mrs. Armitage received a medal for ?bravery in saving a life? from The Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a citation from The American Red Cross, and a certificate of heroism from the Town of North Andover. She was a tireless defender of the right to life of the unborn. A wake will be held at The John Breen Memorial Funeral Home, 122 Amesbury St., Lawrence, MA from 5-8pm, Monday, November 7; and a Funeral Mass at St. Mary's Church, Lawrence at 10:00am Tuesday. Persons attending the Funeral Mass are requested to meet directly at St. Mary's Church Hampshire Street entrance. Burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of one's choice.
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