…of Tewksbury; 74
TEWKSBURY - Deborah Kay (Gillis) Ward, age 74, the beloved mother of four and grandmother of seven, died unexpectedly on Saturday, July 7, at Lowell General Hospital, after brief illness.
She was born in Winchester in October 1943, one of eleven children of the late James and Anna (Phelan) Gillis, and raised in Medford. She had lived in Tewksbury since 1968, where she raised her family. In addition to her duty as Mom, she worked as a nursing assistant for several area mental health companies.
Deborah loved to cook, host her family, and was truly devoted to the care of her children and grandchildren, and her dog Rosie.
She leaves her children, Kelly Oleson and her husband Frederick of Nashua, NH, George “Buddy” Ward III, Kevin Ward and his wife Heather (Campbell), and Jill Ward all of Tewksbury; her beloved grandchildren, Cordae, Maggie, Annabel, Olivia, Sarah, Lindsey, and Madeline; her siblings, David Gillis of Falmouth and Jeri Tait of Saugus; numerous nieces and nephews; and was predeceased by her former husband George S. Ward Jr.; and siblings, Trudy Smith, Rita Snydman, Jimmy Gillis, Lillian Bate, Carol Nigro, Camilla Spinney, Jon Gillis, and Nancy Rohleder.
At her request funeral services were private. Memorials to the charity of donors choice are encouraged. Arrangements were through the Tewksbury Funeral Home, visit: tewksburyfuneralhome.com