Elizabeth Reggio

Elizabeth D. "Liz" Reggio, 89, of Ayer and formerly of Groton and Harvard, died peacefully with her family members by her side Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at the Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.

Liz was born in Norwood, Sept. 28, 1923, the daughter of the late Granton H. and Juliet (Huntress) Dowse. She grew up in Weston and graduated from the Rogers Hall School for Girls in Lowell and Garland Junior College in Boston. In 1947, Liz married André C. Reggio and moved to Harvard. Within the next nine years they had six children under the age of seven—one set of twins. They moved to Groton in 1958 and had their seventh child in 1962. Over her 50 years in Groton, besides raising a large family, Liz volunteered at Nashoba Hospital for more than 30 years and was a member of the Groton Garden and Reading clubs. She was an avid knitter and seamstress, loved to play cards and Scrabble, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Liz loved to swim and loved the ocean. For the past 10 years, she and her four daughters spent a week in Wells, Maine, for "girl time." All she wanted to do this year was make it to Maine. And she did.

Liz was predeceased by her husband, André, in 2002, and daughter-in-law Sarah Reggio, in 2012. She is survived by her seven children: Michael and his wife, Anne, of Ashby; Elizabeth "Betsy" and her husband, Ken Diskin, of Ayer; Claire and her husband, Mark Lovett, of Sewanee, Tenn.; Mary and her husband, Barry Driscoll, of Jericho, Vt.; André "Duke" and his wife, Kathy, of Yarmouthport; Charles, Sarah's husband, of Ashby; and Annie and her husband, Hugh Hard, of Groton; 14 grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews who knew her as "Auntie E". She was also the sister of the late Granton H. Dowse, Jr., Charles F. Dowse, and Leonard H. Dowse.

A funeral mass took place Monday at Our Lady of Grace Parish, worshipping at St. James Church in West Groton. Funeral arrangements were by Badger Funeral Home in Groton.

Source: http://www.harvardpress.com/News/Obituaries/Elizabeth-Dowse-Reggio.asp