Ruth “Penny” Tranquillo, 82, of Salem, NH, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Parkland Medical Center in Derry, NH. Penny was born on September 17, 1942, in Medford, MA, the daughter of the late Fred and Ruth (Hughes) Bemis.
For the past 35 years, Penny has lived in Salem, NH. Prior to this she lived in Woburn, MA where she raised her 5 sons: Paul, Stephen, Christopher, David, and Nicholas. Anybody that knew Penny knew how she loved “her boys”. They were her pride and joy, and nothing made her happier than when they visited on a holiday, for dinner and a movie, or for a poker night with other friends and family. She would always text later in the night about what a great day it was whenever she got to spend it with her boys. She was so happy to spend Mother’s Day with her 5 sons just two weeks ago.
Penny also had an incredible passion to help protect and save the animals of the world. Her sons would joke about how she spends more money on food feeding the many animals that visited her yard every day than when they were growing up. Her foremost love in recent years was her beloved Yorkshire Terrier Caesar. She tirelessly cared for him in his last years and was heartbroken when he passed last year.
Penny also loved working in her yard, which is lined with plants given to her from her children over the years. She loved sitting around a campfire in her backyard with her boys whenever possible. She enjoyed going to the casino and there was always a puzzle on her dining room table you could work on. She loved taking rides to the beach or heading north to the Lincoln, NH area to see the Bear Show at Clark’s Trading Post and riding the gondola to the top of Cannon Mountain. Penny also loved going to Boston to see operas and live musicals – her favorites being LA Boheme, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
Penny was loved by her family, friends and so many of her sons’ friends. I think one friend of the family summed it well when he posted “She was like a Mom to everyone and will be greatly missed.”
Penny is predeceased by the love of her life, Paul “Big Paul” Tranquillo; her sister Dottie Burlamachi and her husband Tommy of Billerica, MA; her nieces Ellen and Dottie Burlamachi, Cheryl Bemis, and Kim Bemis.
She is survived by her five sons, Paul George and his wife Jean of Derry, NH; Stephen George and his wife Julie of Derry, NH; Christopher George and his wife Patti of Salem, NH; David George and his wife Krissy of Belmont, NH; and Nicholas Tranquillo and his husband Michael of Chester, NH. Penny is also survived by her 13 grandchildren Paul, Andrew, Kayla, Christopher, Stephen, David Jr., JoAnna, Kevin, Melanie, Ricky, Michelle, Marisa, and Lauryn, as well as 2 Great-Grandchildren, Grace and Cristian. She is also survived by her brothers Fred Bemis of Haverhill, MA and Edward Bemis and his wife Nancy of Myrtle Beach, SC; her sister Carol Dobson of Wells, ME and many loving nephews and nieces.
There will be a funeral Mass for Penny at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 26 Crystal Avenue, Derry, NH 03038.