...USMC Veteran; retired from Zayre/TJX Compaines; 87
TEWKSBURY - Katherine A. (Waldsmith) (Egnitz) Shea, age 87, a former employee of Zayer department store headquarters, died Thursday, May 26, at Wingate at Belvedere, in Lowell. She was the wife of the late Cornelius Shea, and previously, the late Paul Egnitz.
She was born in Boston, August 8, 1923, one of four children of the late Edward and Esther (Muller) Waldsmith, and was raised in Jamaica Plain.
During WWII, she served in the U.S.M.C., and traveled with the U.S.O. She had the distinction of having performed with the Tommy Dorsey Band.
Upon honorable discharge, she married and moved her family to Natick. While living in Natick she worked as an administrative assistant at the corporate headquarters of the Zayre department store chain, which would eventually become the TJX Companies.
She retired to West Yarmouth, where she worked as a dispatcher for the Yarmouth Police. She relocated to Leominster, and since the Fall of 2004, lived in Tewksbury.
She leaves five children; Paul G. Egnitz of Wayland and Betty Egnitz of Holliston, Peter G. and his wife Kelly (Johnson) Egnitz of Ashland; Penny and her husband Joseph Estee of Tewksbury, Andrea and her husband Michael Corbett of Marlboro, and John Egnitz of Southboro; was the grandmother of eight; Joseph P. Estee and wife Jaime of Stoughton, Heather (Estee) Carpenter and husband Mark of Tewksbury, Sean Egnitz and wife Janna of Natick, Brian Egnitz and wife Lisa of Natick, Derick Fleming and wife Kim of Framingham, Toni Marie Egnitz of Whitinsville, Zack and DeAnna Egnitz of Ashland . She was also a great grandmother to Paige Carpenter and Joseph Connor Estee and aunt to many.
She was also sister of the late William and Edward Waldsmith and Grace Pugsely.
Visting hours were Tuesday, May 31. A Prayer Service followed on Tuesday evening in the funeral home. Following cremation, interment will be held at the National Cemetery at Cape Cod in Bourne, MA, on June 6. Kindly omit flowers. Memorials to the Children's Hospital in Boston, P.O. Box 414421, Boston, MA 02241-4421 will be appreciated.