Christine J. (O’Handley) Bachant, 80, of Leominster and formerly of Clinton, passed away peacefully with family by her side on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
Born in Stoneham, Massachusetts on July 12, 1944, she was the youngest of three daughters born to Lillian S. (Wilson) and John A. O’Handley.
She was raised in Sutton, Massachusetts and attended Wachusett Regional High School and South Lancaster Academy. At SLA, she and her roommate, Mary Lee, shared a sisterly bond. After graduating in 1962, Christine moved to San Francisco to live with the Lee family, whom she adored as her second family. Her love of San Francisco lasted a lifetime.
She married Mark R. Olson in 1966, with whom she had three children: daughter, Kerry Sulski, of New York City with husband John and their son Kaz; daughter, Julie-Ann Olson and husband Craig Himmelberger, of Watertown; and son, Alexander S. Olson, of Leominster.
Christine is survived by her beloved husband of 45 years, William J. Bachant. With their union, she became a loving stepmother to Robin Bachant of Lunenburg.
She was a homemaker for many years, raising her three children with love, tenderness and devotion. She later returned to work as an administrative assistant at Worcester State Hospital, where her mother Lillian had been a nurse, and where Christine had been a volunteer candy-striper as a girl.
Christine loved to travel and experience new things. She lived in San Francisco, Jamaica Plain, Holden, Monson, New Braintree, South Lancaster, Clinton and finally Leominster. She loved to collect anything that reminded her of her Swedish and Finnish grandparents, who helped raise her. She loved to laugh, she was always there to talk with her friends or listen when anyone needed a supportive ear, and to hug her grandson Kazmer, who was perfect in her eyes. She loved family gatherings and delighted in her kids. In later years as her health declined, her son Alex was a faithful companion and daily help to her. Her Seventh-Day Adventist faith gave her great comfort and hope for a future in heaven with God and her loved ones.
In addition to her husband and children, Christine is survived by her sister Barbara J. O’Handley of West Boylston, many cousins, her grandsons, Eric Sheehan and Kazmer J. Sulski; nieces Karen Peckham of Gilbertville and Katherine Klipstein of West Boylston, nephew Peter T. Klipstein of Ayer, grandnieces Sarah Roseen and Lillian (Lilly) Peckham, and her honorary daughter, Jennifer Falcon, of Grapevine, Texas.
Christine touched many lives, and is survived by many friends who will miss her counsel and her laughter.
Christine was predeceased by her parents, John and Lillian, her sister Lois Peckham, her nephew James Peckham, and by her dear friend, Mary (Lee) Hirzel.
Calling hours will be held at the Nordgren Memorial Chapel, 300 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA on Friday, May 9 from 4:30 - 7 p.m. A memorial will be held at a later date. Interment will be in All Faith’s New Swedish Cemetery in Worcester.
Those wishing may make a donation in Christine’s honor to World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/).