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- Obituary published in the Boston Globe, 8 October 1996, page B-6, and in the Woburn Times Chronicle, 8 October 1996, page A10.
From the Woburn Times:
MARY ROWENA GONSALVES, 60, WAS WOBURN NATIVE, BONE RESEARCH SPECIALIST
SAN FRANCISCO - Mary Rowena GONSALVES of San Francisco died Thursday, Oct.3, at age 60 after a brief bout with breast cancer.
Born and raised in the High Street section of Woburn, she was the daughter of the late John H. and Rowena (NOLAN) GONSALVES of Woburn. Ms. GONSALVES attended St. Charles Grammar School and High Schools and received a bachelor's degree in biology from Merrimack College in North Andover. After graduation, she worked at Massachusetts General Hospital and a medical centers in Toronto, La Jolla, and San Francisco.
Her specialty was bone research and the degenerative processes associated with weightlessness, a topic she researched for NASA. Her most recent research was developing new methods for bone regeneration at Orquest, in California.
Bone research was of special interest to Ms. GONSALVES because of a childhood injury to her lower spine which left her with partial paralysis in her legs. Able to get about only with the help of crutches and, more recently, in a wheelchair, her disability never dampened her spirit, ambition, or accomplishments. Her undaunted courage, sunny disposition, and positive outlook more than overcame the handicap.
Sophisticated and much-traveled, Ms. GONSALVES was an enthusiastic correspondent with her many friends and with her 23 nieces and nephews, to whom she was their beloved "Aunty Ro."
She gave these children an appreciation of life and of the arts, was their confidante, and took them to plays, concerts, and museums. She made a point of taking them to the Christmas performance of The Nutcracker Suite at Symphony Hall in Boston.
Ms. GONSALVES was involved with many charitable organizations in Boston and San Francisco. In particular, she taught English to Spanish, Mexican, and Portuguese children and was on the Board of Directors for Centro Social Msgr. Julio A. Martins, a children and community service center in Ligares, Portugal.
For the past 17 years she lived in the Twin Peaks area of San Francisco, where she was a much-admired person in the neighborhood. At a memorial in San Francisco, neighbors said she was an inspiration to them and to their children. In a city where parking is precious, the neighbors would give up their parking space so that she could be near her apartment - the ultimate San Francisco tribute and a small exchange, they said, for the love she spread throughout the neighborhood.
Ms GONSALVES was the sister of Margaret HAYES of Woburn, the late Helen TAYLOR of Pacifica CA, John of El Cajon, CA, Paul of Shelbourne VT, Robert of Woburn, and David of Denver CO. She is also survived by 23 nieces and nephews and 16 great nieces and nephews. She also leaves her special friend Dr. Charles "Chuck" Owen of San Francisco.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at Sr. Charles Church, 280 Main St., Woburn on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 10 AM, immediately followed by a memorial reception at Crestview Plaza, 36 Montvale Ave., Woburn, from 11 AM to 1 PM.
In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to make donations to the Education Fund of St. Charles School, 280 Main St., Woburn, Middlesex, MA 01801. A private burial service was held earlier at Calvary Cemetery, Woburn.
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