Published May 31, 2019
MELROSE — Phyllis A. Newman, 94, died peacefully at her home in the Harvest Hill retirement community in Lebanon, New Hampshire on May 6, 2019 after a long illness.
Phyllis was born Phyllis Lacasse in Lowell, Mass. and spent her early years in Wakefield, until her family moved to Melrose, where she lived for more than 70 years. She was the oldest of four girls and a mainstay of her family. Her first job after graduating high school was at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston, where she remained until her retirement.
She was a longtime parishioner at Saint Mary’s in Melrose and a member of the Lady’s Sodality there and volunteered faithfully at the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital for many years. She married her husband Robert (Bob) Newman in 1983, and enjoyed a happy marriage with him until his death in 2006. She moved north to an assisted living facility in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire in 2013 in order to be looked after by relatives living in the area. There she made many new friends who cherished her for her spirit, warmth, and humor.
Phyllis is survived by Walter Newman and his husband Anthony Luckino of Thetford Center, Vermont and her sister Audrey Messina of Quincy. Her sisters Loretta Barbour and Barbara Mcaveeney predeceased her. She is also survived by nieces and nephews Patricia Paulk and Nancy Enright of California, Liz Lawrence of Montana, Scott Freeman of Texas, Earl Freeman of New Hampshire, and Keith Freeman of Medford.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated for her at St. Mary of the Annunciation Church, 9 Herbert Street, Melrose on Saturday, June 8 at 10:30 a.m., followed by interment at the Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose.
