Rosemary (O'Connell) Doyle

Rosemary (O’Connell) Doyle (91), of Holyoke passed away peacefully on January 22, 2023.

Born on July 23, 1931 in New York City and raised in NYC’s upper east side, she is the daughter of John and Mary (O’Callaghan) O’Connell of Counties Cavan and Galway, Ireland. Rosemary attended high school in NYC, and went on to receive a B.A. from the College of New Rochelle, and a M.A. from Catholic University. She was a life-long learner, avid reader, teacher, and mentor. She was a high school teacher for many years in Westchester County, NY, where she met her husband Bob (of Chicopee), in 1972. They married in Lakewood, NJ in 1974 and moved to Northampton Street, Holyoke in 1978. In Holyoke, Rosemary taught English Composition at William R. Peck Jr. High. She began a second career working for Appleton Corporation of Holyoke in the 1980s until her retirement in 1996. Her family and dear friends were most important to Rosemary, she cherished her time with many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and close friends. She was always very thoughtful and cared deeply to often write wonderful cards, notes and letters on special days and occasions. Rosemary loved a good laugh and shared many with her close friends. She was active in volunteer teaching wellness classes to RA patients at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Rosemary was the beloved wife of Robert (Bob) Doyle (deceased) with whom she shared 20 years of loving marriage. She was the sister-in-law of Mimi and Jack (deceased) Doyle of Holyoke and devoted Aunt to Annemarie Rooney and her husband James of Harvard, MA, John Doyle and his wife Elizabeth of Wilton, CT, Ted Doyle and his wife Amy of South Hadley, MA, Marybeth Scott and her husband David of Scituate, MA and James Doyle and his wife Sheila of Pawtucket, RI. She was the loving grand Aunt of Margaret, Elizabeth, Jaclyn, Teddy, Abigail, Emily, Sam, James, and Mary Kate.

Relatives and friends are respectively invited to greet the family for visitation and memorial service at the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton St., Holyoke, on Sunday, February 5^th at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Rosemary may be made to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1942.

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