Marie Caro
Retired Saleslady, Beloved Admirals Hill Personality
Marie M. Caro, a retired saleslady and Chelsea resident, died suddenly April 7 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston following a sudden unexpected illness. She was 88 years old.
Born in Rincon Puerto Rico, she was the daughter of the late Juan and Marceliana (Ruiz) Figueroa. She received her early education in Rincon. When she was 13 her family settled in Brooklyn NY. She married Primitivo Caro and together they raised their son and daughter in Brooklyn.
Mrs. Caro worked outside of her home as a saleslady for Lord & Taylor in Manhattan on 5th Avenue for many years. She was predeceased by her husband in1974 and remained in New York for several years thereafter.
In addition to her husband she was predeceased by her daughter, Norma Caro. Later in 1990, she relocated to Chelsea to be close to her son and his young family. For the past 22 years she resided on Admirals Hill in Chelsea were she befriended many residents in her apartment building and in the entire Admirals Hill Neighborhood. She was well known and loved by many meeting her on her daily walks around hill and was the adoptive grandmother to many local children. Neighbors could always depend on Marie for a kind word or helping hand. She is survived by her beloved son, Robert Caro and his wife, Linda Munitz; her cherished grandsons Ryan Caro and Nathan Caro and his fiancée, Ellen Shulock, all of Chelsea and her dear sister, Esther Lonergan of Iowa.
Funeral Services are private. Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to the Massachusetts General Hospital Development Office, Breast Cancer Research, 165 Cambridge Street, Suite 600 Boston, MA 02114
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Karl Sullivan
Radio Shack Sales Associate
Karl M. Sullivan, a sales associate at Radio Shack, died on April 7 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston following a life long battle with illness. He was only 26 years old.
Born in Waltham, he was raised in Malden and attended Malden public schools. He has been residing in Medford for the past five years and worked as a sales associate and manager at different Radio Shack locations in the area.
He was devoted to his fiancée Crystal and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He also enjoyed baseball and spent time promoting the record label “Strange Music”.
He was the beloved fiancée of Crystal Smith of Medford; loving son of Kim (Sullivan) Arevalo of Malden; dear brother of Jordan, Latoya and Chris; devoted nephew of Dawn and Santos Platero of Chelsea and Tracy and Joe Cochran of New Hampshire; cherished grandson of Francine Sullivan and is also survived by two nephews, many cousins and friends.
His funeral will begin from the Frank A. Welsh & Sons Funeral Home, 718 Broadway, Chelsea on Friday, April 13 at 8 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Rose Church, 600 Broadway, Chelsea at 9 a.m. Services will conclude with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. Relatives and friends are most kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held at the Welsh Funeral Home today, Thursday, from 4 to 8 p.m. Should friends desire, contributions in his memory may be made to American Heart Association 20 Speen St., Framingham 01701 or by visiting www.AmericanHeart.org. For directions or to send expressions of sympathy, please visit www.WelshFuneralHome.com.
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Edward Harper
30-Year Prudential Employee
Edward Harper of Wakefield finished 87 fun filled years on this planet on April 6.
He was a US Navy veteran of World War II and attended Rutgers University where he was a recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa Key in his Junior Year and graduated “Magna Cum Laude.” He enjoyed a very successful 30 year career with Prudential Insurance Co. His zest for life was infectious and you always felt better being around him. He is survived by his longtime loving and devoted companion of 39 years, Theadora “Teddy” (Fernandes) Justice and his cherished children Susan Wolston, Robert and Patricia Harper and Teddy’s children, James Justice and the late Robin Justice. He was the dear brother of Beverly Berry, Donald Harper and the late John and Tom Harper; cherished grandfather of seven grandchildren and is also survived by Teddy’s sisters, Maria and Carolyn Fernandes and a life time of great memories and very special friends.
Funeral arrangements were by Vazza’s “Beechwood” Funeral Home, Revere. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett. For guest book: www.vazzafunerals.com.
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Barbara Pedi
Retired Shurtleff School Lunch Mother
Barbara A. (Templehof) Pedi, a longtime Chelsea resident, died on April 5 at the Eastpointe Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a brief illness. She was 81 years old.
Born and raised in Malden, she was the daughter of the late Leo and Abbie (Dean) Templehof. She attended Malden schools and was a graduate of Malden High School. As a young adult, she worked at Ellie’s Bakery and as a hat check girl at Frank Pedi’s Celebrity Showroom on Revere Beach. She married Edward Pedi and the couple settled in Chelsea and raised their family. She remained a longtime Chelsea resident. A devoted mother and homemaker, she also worked outside the home as a lunch mother at the Shurtleff School for some time. She cherished her grandchildren and also enjoyed roller skating, cooking, baking, and frequent visits to Foxwoods.
She was the beloved wife of the late Edward P. Pedi, Sr. who died in 2009 after sharing 60 years together, the devoted mother of Nettie Pedi-Gauvain of Chelsea and her late husband, Bruce, Lou Anne Higgins and her husband, Donald of Chelsea, Mary Casey and her husband, Joseph of Hingham, Robert Pedi and his wife, Dorothy of Hudson, NH, Edward Pedi, Jr. and his wife, Jeannie of Braintree; dear sister of Louise Reed of Pennsylvania, Doris Huber of Derry, NH and the late Albert and Henry Templehof; cherished grandmother of Laurie Willis, Christina, Donald, Terence and Olivia Casey, Owen and Cameron Pedi and adored great grandmother of Alec Willis.
Burial was at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett with arrangements entrusted to the care and direction of the Frank A. Welsh and Sons Funeral Home. Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenal St. Watertown, MA 02472. To send expressions of sympathy, please visit www.WelshFuneralHome.com.
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(Torf says this Ginsberg obit is a newsworthy item)
Abraham Saul Ginsberg
World War II POW and Founder of IGS Store Fixtures
Abraham Saul Ginsberg, a long time resident of Winthrop and later of Coconut Creek, Florida, died on April 3. He was 94 years old.
Born in Chelsea, Mr. Ginsberg graduated from Everett High School and later attended Northeastern University, leaving after two years to help support the family during the Great Depression. In 1942, he left to serve his country during World War II and rose to the rank of staff sergeant of the 421st Squadron of the 504 Bomb Group stationed in Tinian. He was the left blister gunner on a B29 bomber named “Sitting Pretty” and flew 16 missions before being shot down by anti-aircraft fire over the target on his 17th mission – a low altitude daylight incendiary bombing mission against Yokohama.
Many of Abe’s missions included long grueling raids on the Japanese mainland lasting 13 hours or more and included incendiary raids on Japanese cities, including Tokyo, as part of General Curtis LeMay’s strategic bombing strategy in 1945 to bring Japan to its’ knees and avoid a U.S. invasion. The Yokohama raid was a complete success, destroying 8.9 square miles of the city and the 504th earned one of two Presidential Citations for heroism and extraordinary devotion to duty demonstrated during this difficult mission. Abe and the entire crew were able to bail out of the B29 and all survived the war. This was very unusual for a B29 crew as many were killed upon capture or during POW captivity.
He was interned at a secret interrogation facility called Ofuna where the prisoners were not considered POW’s but rather “unarmed combatants” and not given the rights and protections normally afforded prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. The incredible cruelty and inhumanity of Ofuna’s guards and internment at Ofuna is outlined in the current New York Times Bestseller “Unbroken.” His life and those of other POW’s interned in Japan were saved by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the B29 Enola Gay, flying out of Tinian, as it is widely believed that the order had been given to kill all POW’s in the event of an Allied invasion.
Abe was liberated, along with 134 other prisoners ( primarily U.S and British airmen) from Ofuna after the war ended and he returned to Winthrop and his family extremely thin and a shadow of his former self. He was honorably discharged and awarded the Purple Heart.
In 1950, Abe began a company with his two younger brothers, William “Billy” Ginsberg and Benjamin “Benny” Ginsberg. The company, I. Ginsberg & Sons (“IGS”) was a store fixture manufacturing and supply company and exists today under different ownership and the name of IGS Store Fixtures. The company was the principal store fixture supplier to Marshall’s during its very early years and grew as Marshalls expanded throughout the country — other clients included Bed, Bath and Beyond, Staples and T.J.Max.
Abraham married the late Doris Gertrude (Stone) Ginsberg in 1950 and the couple was married for 59 years before her death in July of 2009. He was the devoted father of Boston Red Sox Vice Chairman, David Ginsberg of Boston and Joy Rothberger and her husband, Richard of San Diego, CA. He was the loving son of the late Isadore Ginsberg and Edna (Copans) Ginsberg; dear brother of Selma Chankin of Westwood California, the late Irene Brother, Gertrude Eisenberg, William “Billy” Ginsberg, and Benjamin “Benny” Ginsberg and loving grandfather of Eric and Brett Rothberger.
Funeral services were held at the Torf Funeral Chapel, Chelsea. Burial was in Liberty Progressive
Cemetery, Everett. In lieu of flowers, memorial remembrances may be made to the “Home Base Program” to help veterans with deployment related post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury; visit e or send directly to Mass General Hospital/Home Base program 165 Cambridge Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114. For on-line guest book, please visit www.torffuneral service.com