Worcester/ Charlton- Eileen Rita (Gould) Clifford, 84, passed away peacefully at the Overlook Lifecare Community on February 4, 2016 after a long illness. She was born in Worcester, MA the daughter of Adolph J. and Mary Catherine (Downey) Gould. Her husband of 48 years, Richard L. Clifford, died in 2003. She leaves three daughters, Colleen R. Turgeon and her husband Daniel of Burke, VA, Maureen L. Clifford of Southbridge, MA and Kathleen J. Dow and her husband Scott of Rutland, MA. and three grandchildren - Elizabeth Turgeon, William Dow and Mary Catherine Turgeon. She also leaves her brother-in-law Edward Clifford and his wife Susan of Worcester, MA as well as other family members and close friends. Eileen was a lifelong resident of Worcester, MA until moving to the Overlook Lifecare Community of Charlton, MA in 2006. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Worcester State College in 1954 and later received her M.ED (1979) and her CAGS (1981) in Reading/Language Arts from Worcester State College. She worked in the Worcester Public Schools from 1954-1994 in a variety of positions including Elementary classroom teacher, Reading Resource Teacher, Reading Teacher (Gates Lane School), and Elementary Reading Consultant until finally retiring as a first grade teacher at Flagg St. School. In her retirement she then went on to work at Assumption College from 1994-2006 in the Education Department as supervisor to student teachers and pre-practicum students (elementary) and as the Coordinator of the Education Resource Room. She was a member of the National Education Association- Retired, Massachusetts Teachers Association-Retired, Retired Educators and Administrators of Massachusetts (REAM), the International Reading Association (IRA), Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) and the Central Massachusetts Reading Council (CMRC)-Past President. She received the MRA/CMRC Celebrate Literacy Award in 2006. She was also a member of the Worcester State College (University) Alumni Association Class of 1954. She was an adult leader with the Camp Fire Girls in the Columbus Park area. She was also an active member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish teaching CCD for many years. Eileen’s most enjoyment came from her life with her family. She spent many summer vacations traveling with her daughters and husband. She had wonderful memories about childhood and more recent events in her life and enjoyed sharing these both through scrapbooking and journaling. She also enjoyed writing her own poetry. She took particular pleasure in volunteer reading for children at various daycare/preschool programs including the WCAC Head Start. In the more recent years that she has lived at the Overlook (of which she was a founding member) she participated on the library committee, the knitting group (that donates blankets for new babies at a local hospital), scrapbooking, the journaling group, and reading poetry at presentations. For a long period of time she read weekly to the children at the Guild of St. Agnes Daycare located on the grounds of the Overlook. Her funeral will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2016 from the Robert J. Miller-Charlton Funeral Home, 175 Old Worcester Rd., Charlton, MA with a Mass at 10:00 at St. Joseph’s Church, 10 H. Putnam Ext., Charlton followed by burial at Worcester County Memorial Park in Paxton. Calling hours in the Funeral Home will be held on Friday, February 12, 2016 from 5:00-8:00pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Joseph’s Building Fund, 10 H. Putnam Ext., P.O.Box 338, Charlton City, MA 01508 or the Guild of St. Agnes- Charlton, c/o Ann Flynn, Director of Development, Guild of St. Agnes, 405 Grove St., Worcester, MA 01605.
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