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.