Catherine F. Phillips Crowley

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Bernard’s Parish at St. Camillus de Lellis Church, 333 Mechanic Street, Fitchburg on February 4, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations may be made to The Mayhew Program, Newfound Lake, P.O. Box 120, 293 West Shore Road, Bristol, NH 03222 or online at www.mayhew.org.



Catherine F. (Crowley) Phillips (of Billerica, MA and Fort Lauderdale, FL) died January 24, 2017 at the Caldwell Home in Fitchburg. Born in Lowell, June 23, 1927, she was the daughter of the late Daniel J. and Ellen V. (Kelly) Crowley. She received her early education at Saint Michael’s School in Lowell and graduated from Keith Hall. She furthered her education at Fitchburg State University, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Vocational Education and later earned a Master’s Degree in Education (Moderate Special Needs) summa cum laude from Suffolk University. Catherine taught in area schools, retiring from Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical High School in 1993. She was an instructor at Fitchburg State University in the Vocational Competency Testing Program and related courses. During her teaching career, Catherine was involved in many professional organizations including the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Massachusetts Vocational Association (MVA), the National Vocational Education Professional Development Association (NVEPDA) and the Massachusetts Vocational Education Professional Development Association (MVEPDA) where she served as its treasurer. She was on the Advisory Board for Shawsheen Valley Technical High School and the Volunteer Lawyers Project for the Boston School System on Chapter 766, the Law of Special Education. She was Department Chair of the Home Management Department at Greater Lawrence for 10 years, and from time to time served as a peer review committee member for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Following her marriage to Alan D. Phillips in 1950, Catherine raised her family in Billerica, served on the building committee for Saint Theresa’s Church, and participated in the Ladies Sodality and other church activities. She spent her vacations at Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. Following her retirement, she and her husband moved to Fort Lauderdale but continued to summer at the lake, her favorite place. She is survived by her daughter, C. Deborah Phillips, Esq. and her husband David M. Nickless, Esq. of Fitchburg, her granddaughter Margaret N. Desilets and her husband Eric, her great granddaughter Brianna A. Desilets, of Fitchburg, her granddaughter Danielle J. Stauffer of Jacksonville, Florida, her sisters Margaret M. Crowley of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lillian Thuline and her husband James, of South Pasadena, Florida as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Alan D. Phillips, and her daughter Joann P. Stauffer. She was the sister of the late Rev. Daniel B. Crowley, O.P., John Crowley and his wife Betty, James Crowley, Paul Crowley, and Brendan Crowley and his wife Eleanor.