Violet V. (Lawson) McLeman, age 89, of Winchester, passed away on February 14th, 2017, surrounded by her family. She was the beloved wife of the late Charles M. McLeman, Jr.
Born in Winchester, she was the daughter of the late Erland and Olga Lawson, originally from Sweden. Violet and Charlie married in 1950. Together, they built their house in Winchester, their summer home in Weare, N.H., and ran Charlie’s trucking and excavating business.
Violet (known to everyone as “Vi”) loved being outdoors, especially to tend to her flower gardens and watch the birds, both of which she was extremely knowledgeable about. She loved gardening and continued to dig, weed, rake and plant up through this past summer. One of her favorite places was the family summer home in New Hampshire, surrounded by the beauty of nature. Vi was also very proud of her Swedish/Scandinavian heritage and enjoyed many aspects of the culture including Swedish foods, Danish decorator plates, and Scandinavian teak furniture. But family was most important to Vi. Time spent with Charlie, her siblings and their spouses, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews were treasured. Gathering on Sundays at her childhood home, “The Lane” with smorgasbord, coffee and the family held special memories. Vi’s intelligence, strength and love will be missed by all.
Violet was a devoted wife to her husband, the late Charles M. McLeman, Jr., and a loving mother to her children: Nancy Heffron and her husband David of Woburn, Charles M., III and his wife Susan of Winchester, Heather Fata and her husband Steven of Wakefield, and the late Barbara McLeman. She was the dear grandmother of Sarah and husband Dave, Rebecca and husband Sean, Charlie IV and wife Bethany, Lauren, Alex and Zachary, and great-grandsons Jacob and Carter. She was the devoted sister of Mildred Clare of Winchester, Ruth Heptig of Canton, Roy Lawson and his wife Sandra of Arlington, and the late Edith Oleson, Doris Wade and Robert Lawson. Violet is further survived by her sister-in-law Sonja Lawson of Winchester and many nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held in the Costello Funeral Home on Sunday, February 19 from 2-6PM. A Funeral Service will be held in the Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington St., Winchester, on Monday, February 20 @ 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Interment will follow in Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Winchester Hospital Foundation (in memo: Center For Cancer Care), 41 Highland Ave., Winchester, MA 01890.