Avid card player who loved animals
Published February 12, 2020
READING — Irene (Atwood) Carchia, 96, of Reading, formerly of Wakefield, died Monday, February 10, 2020 at her residence.
Irene was born on December 26, 1923, in Carver. She grew up in East Wareham and was a graduate of Wareham High School, Class of 1941. In 1943 she traveled to Washington, D.C. and worked at the Pentagon for the remainder of the war. She met the love of her life, Mike Carchia, who was in the Army and they married on October 28, 1945. Irene had two boys, David and Michael, and in 1954 the family moved from Arlington to Wakefield. She had worked at Transitron from 1954 to 1964, then went to work at Standard Duplicators for four years, after which she worked at the IRS in Andover until she retired in 1980.
Irene surrounded herself with the love of her family and friends. She hosted many Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve gatherings. She greatly enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Irene was an avid card player. She spent evenings after dinner playing progressive rummy with her husband. Irene loved animals, particularly her beloved cat, Johnny White Boots, who became her true companion after her husband passed. Irene will be greatly missed by all those who knew and loved her.
Mrs. Carchia was the wife of the late Michael A. Carchia. She was the mother of Michael A. Carchia, Jr. and wife Karen, of Windham, N.H. and the late David A. Carchia. She is also survived by four grandchildren; Michael F. Carchia and his wife Mary Beth of Fairfax, Va., Jeffrey T. Carchia of Hudson, N.H., Sally A. Mastalerz and her husband Richard of Litchfield, N.H. and Kristina Michaud and her husband Daniel of Windham, N.H. She was the grandmother to nine great-grandchildren: Zachary and Olivia Mastalerz, Emily, Michael, and Kevin Carchia, Aiden, Logan, and Collin Michaud and the late Emma Carchia. Mrs. Carchia was predeceased by her brother Ellsworth C. Atwood.
Visitation for relatives and friends will be held in the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield on Friday from 4-7 p.m. with a service at 7 p.m. Burial to take place at Forest Glade Cemetery, Lowell St., Wakefield on Saturday at 11 a.m.
