Diane Therese Connell, age 59, of Boxborough, MA, passed away peacefully, with family at her side, at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, on Monday afternoon, February 13, 2023, following a brief illness resulting from a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer.
Born in Lowell on October 30, 1963 and raised in Westford, Diane was the beloved fourth daughter and seventh child of ten children born to Rita G. (Vigneault) Connell and the late William D. Connell. She graduated from Franco American School in 1977, Academy of Notre Dame in 1981 and Merrimack College in 1986, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics.
Diane was industrious and self-reliant from an early age. During her school years, aged ten to fifteen, she worked alongside her siblings both at their father’s service station and her parents’ farm. From the age of sixteen to twenty-two, while continuing to work at the farm when needed, she also worked as many hours as she could get alongside three of her siblings at DeMoulas Supermarkets in Nashua, NH.
After college, Diane found her calling in health care services whereby she touched many people’s lives. She always worked two jobs, one primarily with developmentally delayed adults and another with elderly adults with age-related difficulties. The common thread in her almost four decades of service to people with disabilities and the elderly in need, was that she cared deeply about her clients, gave them excellent care, treated them with dignity and respect, and was committed to providing services that benefitted her clients, eased concerns of her client’s family, and added value to her employer’s business. Diane’s compassion, good nature and dedication to others, particularly to her late, disabled twin sister to whom she was assiduously devoted, brought much happiness and fulfillment to her life.
Diane loved musical theater, was well informed of national, world and alternative news, and freely shared her knowledge and interest in homeopathy and natural remedies for everyday illnesses with family and friends. She was intelligent with an impressive vocabulary, owing, no doubt, to the fact that, as a child, she frequently read the dictionary. Diane had a quick wit, a great sense of humor and was generous to a fault, typically putting the needs of others before those of her own.
Diane was a spiritually aware person and a source of love and light to her family and friends. She was loved by many people; and to say that she will be missed is truly an understatement.
Besides her father, Diane was predeceased by her paternal grandparents, John L. and Catherine A. (Gower) Connell, her maternal grandparents, Alfred J. and Blanche Y. (Bergeron) Vigneault and her beloved twin sister, Denise J. Connell.
In addition to her mother, Diane is survived by eight of her siblings: William D. “Angel” Connell, Jr. and his wife, Maryanne, of Providence, RI; Camille B. Connell-Magaw of Westford; Francis X. Connell and his wife, Molle, of Anniston, AL; Attorney Lise R. Connell Blake and her husband, James, of Westford; Dr. Richard D. Connell and his wife, Nancy, of Boston; Christine A. Keefe and her husband, James, of Westford; Paul R. Connell and his wife, Linda, of Westford; and James M. Connell and his wife, Dorin, of Stonington, Connecticut; 19 nieces and nephews; 9 grandnieces and grandnephews and many cousins.
Relatives and friends will be received at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, 107 North Main Street, Westford, on Thursday, February 23, from 4 to 8 PM. Her Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church on Friday, February 24 at 10 AM. Kindly meet at the Church. Interment in St. Catherine Cemetery, Westford. Arrangements in the care of the MORSE-BAYLISS FUNERAL HOME, 122 Princeton Boulevard, Lowell, MA. 978-458-6841. Please visit Diane’s life tribute page at www.morsebaylissfuneralhome.com
