Obituary

West Boylston—Evelyn A. (Pierce) Leard, 95, died Wednesday, September 29, 2004, in the Oakdale Nursing Home. Her husband, Chester V. Leard, died in 1991. She leaves a son, Charles G. Brown of Repton, AL; 2 daughters, Helen E. Rankin of Hiram, ME, and Rita M. Lonnroth of West Boylston; a stepson, Chester V. Leard, Jr., of Portsmouth, NH; 22 grandchildren; and 33 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a daughter, Charlotte Lonnroth, and a son, Lloyd Brown.

Evelyn was born in Everett, daughter of Frederick N. & Mildred (Whitten) Pierce. She graduated from David Fanning High School. During WWII, Evelyn worked in the South Portland, ME, shipyards on the Liberty Ships that sailed to Normandy. She helped build one of the last Liberty Ships, the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, and at the age of 90 she was honored at a reunion while it was docked in Portland. She retired from INA Insurance, Springfield in 1968 and lived in Zepher Hills, FL for 26 years before returning to West Boylston in 1995.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., October 2, in the Greendale People's Community Church. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations may be made to the Greendale People's Church, Memorial Fund, 25 Francis St., Worcester, MA 01606.