Calling hours will be held in Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Rd., Fitchburg on Sunday, July 12, from 2-5pm. The funeral Mass will be held on Monday, July 13, in Saint Bernards Parish at Saint Camillus Church, 333 Mechanic St., Fitchburg at 10:00am. Burial will follow in Saint Bernard’s Cemetery.
Fitchburg – Helen T. (Garvey) Mahan, died peacefully on July 2, 2020, at the Holden Rehab Center in Holden, MA, at the age of 85.
She was one of eight children, born on March 6, 1935 to her parents Harriet (Kaiser) and John Garvey. She was a life long resident of Fitchburg and lived in the Garvey family home. Helen worked at Simonds Saw and Steel as a young adult. She went on to work for Parke Snow’s department store and then became a secretary in Fort Devens. She moved on to work for Verizon Phone Company before retiring after 28 years.
Anyone who had the fortune of knowing and meeting her found an instant friend in Helen. This was evident in her close-knit friendships with her many friends reaching all the way back to grammar school; they continued to get together for lunches and dinners for many years. She certainly had the Garvey gift of gab. She was devoted to her family and cared for her mother at the family home all of her life.
Helen loved the beach, whether it was spending time at the Cape with her sisters or on the traditional yearly vacation in Ocean Park, Maine with her daughters, her grandchildren, and the many friends she met there. For anyone who knew her well knows how much she loved to listen to the police scanner to keep up on all the things going on in Fitchburg.
She leaves many family members and was known as Grammy Helen for a special few. She was the best puppy nanny and loved helping her daughter out with her Bernese Mountain Dog litters. Perhaps the greatest joy she had by far were her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She will be sorely missed by all who know her.
Helen is survived by her husband Everett “Buzzy” Mahan of Fitchburg; her two daughters, Kathryn Caouette of Gardner and Attorney Susan Mahan of Ashby; one sister, Margaret DeBonville and her husband Arthur of Mashpee, MA; her two grandchildren, Alexander Dymek and his partner Isaac of Brooklyn, NY, and Katelyn Landry and her husband Kurt of Fitchburg, and her great-grandson Cole Landry, her step-grandson Timothy Caouette and his wife Jessica of Westminster, and her step-great grandchildren Caia and Ronan Caouette; her brother in law, Norman Melanson of Leominster, and sister in law Barbara Garvey of Lunenburg; her neighbor and best friend Denise Snow for over 40 years of Fitchburg and many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and numerous friends.
She was predeceased by her two brothers, Dr. John Garvey and Richard Garvey and four sisters; Marie Roy, Roberta Brown, Brenda Magane, and Catherine Melanson; two sons in law, James Malone and Gary Caouette.