Martha A. (Walsh) Varrell

Martha A. (Walsh) Varrell, 77, wife of the late William M. Varrell, Jr. of Edge Street, Ipswich, died Tuesday, May 3, 2016 in the Riverbend Nursing Center, South Natick following her long illness.

Born in Boston July 19, 1938, the daughter of the late Francis and Bernice C. (Davis) Walsh, she was raised in Jamaica Plain and was a 1956 graduate of Girl’s Latin High School. She went on earn her BA in English at Tufts University, Class of 1960, her MA in Education and Northeastern University and for the next two years  taught high school in Boston Public School system. Married in 1966 the Varrells made their home briefly in Boston  moving to her  Ipswich home in 1968 where she raised her family. For several years she worked as a substitute teacher in the Ipswich School System. 

Mrs. Varrell was a communicant of both St. Joseph and  Our Lady of Hope Parishes where she had served on the church’s finance committee and  for many years she coordinated the church’s community garden. She is known to many as an active member in the Ipswich Historical Society where she volunteered at the Whipple House and Paine House. She also served as a docent for the Trustees of the Reservation at the Crane Castle and the Greenwood Farm. At home Martha was an avid gardener and collector of Ipswich memorabilia.

She is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Bonner and her husband Frederick of Falls Church, VA; two sons, Jonathan E. Varrell and his wife Patricia of Holliston and William M. Varrell III and his wife Tracy of Brookline; nine grandchildren, Cecilia, Clare and Pauline Bonner, Tyler, Timothy, Sean, Katherine, Max and Ava Varrell; a brother, Joseph F. Walsh of Cohasset; a sister, Judith Flanagan of Needham and many nephews and nieces. She was the sister of the late Clare Black formerly of Marshfield.

Her funeral will be held  9 am Tuesday, May 10  from the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home, 6 High Street, Ipswich, with the  celebration of a Funeral Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am in Our Lady of Hope Church, Linebrook Road, Ipswich followed by interment in the Southside Cemetery.  Family and friends are respectfully welcomed. Visiting hours will be Monday 4 to 8 pm. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in her name may be made to the Ipswich Historical Society, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA 01938.