Grace “Ginny” (Conway) Sennott, a lifelong resident of Winthrop, passed away on February 2, 2024, after a long battle with cancer. Ginny was the very proud mom of Jack (Donna) of Simsbury, CT, Kevin (Colleen) of Warwick, RI, and Heather and Kelly, both of Winthrop, MA. Her greatest joys were her eight amazing grandchildren: Alanna (Antonio Hernandez), Kevin, Jr. (Anna Doten), Sammi (Anthony Legere), Katherine, Rachel, Brian, Anna and Lizzie, and her beautiful great-granddaughters, Sadie Grace, and Natalie Jane Legere. Ginny also leaves her three brothers, Jack (Joanne), Paul (Kelly), and Kevin (Nancy) Conway, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. She was predeceased by her brother Jim Conway and was the former wife of the late John Sennott. She counts his partner, Chris O’Brien as one of her dear friends.
Known for her love of holidays, and their social calendar evolved around massive Christmas Eve and July 4th celebrations, with epic squirt gun battles, Horrible Parade costume planning starting in May, fireworks, and first edition Christmas plays.
When her kids were young, Ginny stayed home to raise them, but also volunteered for many years with Winarc, serving as President for a time. She also served on various citizen boards, one of which helped create an early group home for the disabled in Winthrop. When the kids got older, she worked for many years as the family liaison for new patients at the Franciscan Hospital for Children. There she made some wonderful friendships that supported her through her fight with cancer right up to the end. She was also very proud that several of the families she worked with have stayed in touch over the years. Ginny and three of her “Fran” friends formed the self-described Fab Four and prided themselves on being her actress granddaughter Rachel’s oldest fan club, proudly skewing the age demographic of her fan base by about fifty years!
For almost twenty years Ginny volunteered at Camp Fatima’s Exceptional Citizens’ Week and found her “Fatima Family.” She, Heather, and Kelly lived for this August week and started counting down to the first day as soon as summer hit.
Once she retired, she devoted her energy to hiking (until a wrong turn led to an unfortunate night sleeping between boulders in the Whites put a stop to that!) and her garden. These passions were passed down to the next generations, except for her granddaughter Sammi, who, after one lightning-filled hike, swore she would “never go hiking with Nana again,” a promise she has stuck to! She did, however, get the gardening bug!
The family would like to thank her wonderful medical team at Tufts Medical Center for their compassionate and skilled care as well as the truly special caregivers at the Kaplan Family Hospice Center in Danvers, MA.
Grace’s funeral will be from the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home 210 Winthrop St. Winthrop on Tuesday, February 13, at 9AM, followed by a funeral Mass in Saint Michael the Archangel Parish (St. John the Evangelist Church) 320 Winthrop St. Winthrop at 10AM. Relatives and friends are invited. Interment will be in Winthrop Cemetery (Belle Isle Section).Visiting hours will be held in the funeral home on Monday, February 12, from 4-8PM.
Ginny loved the color blue and flowers so she would love it if guests dressed accordingly, and who are we to argue with our mom?
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Winarc, PO Box 520240, Winthrop, MA 02152, or Friends of Fatima, 32 Fatima Road, Gilmanton Iron Works, NH 03837.