Grace Josephine Welch (Bovitz)

OBITUARY: Grace Welch Bovitz, 94, of Wilmington, died Sunday, June 10, at the Elizabeth Seton Residence in Wellesley where she stayed briefly after nearly four years of care at Youville Place in Lexington. She is pre-deceased by her husband, William V. Bovitz, with whom she enjoyed more than 60 years of married life, traveling the world and caring for their family and friends.

Born and raised in Somerville, she was an amazing wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. As a young woman, she worked as a bank clerk in Boston. Later, at age 65, she got her second job - in a card shop.

She stocked a drawer at home with blank cards and generously wrote letters and cards and postcards to let friends and family know they were loved. In turn, she kept notes and mail and photographs from decades ago, cherishing her relationships no matter how great the distance. In one shoebox, she kept all the letters her husband sent while courting her.

She raised four children. Her daily chores were expressions of love and curiosity. She tended to flowers and pruning in her yard, and drying laundry in the backyard sun. She kept her bird feeders stocked and suet cage full, finding joy in caring for everything with which she shared the world—the hummingbird and his nectar, squirrels and their peanut butter, the roses climbing her lattice. She was an attentive and sharp observer of the life outside her window and held onto simple moments like coins. She was quick to laugh with the company she kept. She enjoyed classic movies and music and square dancing in colorful costumes with her husband. She was thoughtful and reflective, reading daily affirmations to make her piece of the world a better place. Her gift was the ability to bring family and friends together and she will be missed.

Grace is survived by her four children and their spouses, John and Donna Bovitz of Columbus, Ohio, Joan and Dan Murphy of Wilmington, Anne Gustus of San Diego, and Paul and Laura Bovitz of Hillsborough, N.J. She had nine grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and an extended family about which she cared deeply. She was also sister to the late William and Frank Welch, Mary Bussell, and daughter of the late William J. Welch and Mary Bryan Welch.

Visiting hours Thursday 4-7 p.m. at the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128/95 Woburn side) and at 8:45am on Friday, June 15. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Thomas of Villanova Church at 10 a.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Grace’s name may be made to St. Thomas of Villanova Church, 126 Middlesex Ave., Wilmington, MA 01887 For directions to the church, see www.parishofthetransfiguration.org.