BCAT News

A beloved family woman and mother of numerous diligent public servants passed away recently and her memory was honored at Monday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting.

Margaret “Peg” Browne has passed away, her obituary from Sullivan Funeral Home says.  She was born in 1936 and grew up in East Boston with her parents and four siblings. She and her husband, Jim, moved to Burlington in 1966 where they would raise their seven children, many of whom went on to careers in policing and firefighting and other forms of public service.

That much of the family lived to serve was recognized at this week’s Board of Selectmen meeting.

“The Browne family is very big in Burlington and they are all committed to public service – in the Fire Department, the Police Department as well as other communities,” Board Chair Jim Tigges said. “I just wanted to say my condolences to the Browne family for their loss. She was a great woman and they are a great family.”

“We all know the Browne family and parents have done a wonderful job raising their children,” Selectman Joe Morandi said. “My condolences go out to the family. It’s been my pleasure to have promoted a lot of them within the Police and Fire Departments.”

“I had the great pleasure of working with three of the brothers and know the rest of the family quite well,” said Selectman Mike Runyan, a retired firefighter. “The grandchildren are all doing quite well in school and athletics. They all came from good stock.”

According to her obituary, Peg received a nursing degree from Chelsea Memorial Hospital Nursing School and the career fit her personality.

“With her caring and nurturing manner being a nurse was the perfect career for Peg,” it reads.

She was also dedicated to her family.

“Peg could do it all,” her obituary reads. “She never missed any of her children’s or grandchildren’s sporting events, dance recitals or any momentous occasion in their lives. She made sure there was always a home cooked meal on the table each evening for Jim and her children. Family vacations were always a special event for the Browne family often sharing their vacations with Peg’s sisters and their children.”

“Peg’s love for her family has always been an enduring force,” her obituary continues. “She had a wonderful 60 year marriage to Jim. They weren’t just husband and wife, they were the best of friends. In the eyes of her children and grandchildren there was no better mother or grandmother than Peg. She was the matriarch of her family and extended family. When you looked into Peg’s eyes you knew that her love was the purest love you could find. Peg could divide her love among all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and make each of them feel like they were the most special to her.”

Peg was the beloved wife of the late James F. Browne, Jr. She was the loving mother of Kathy Frazier & her husband Mark of Tewksbury, Kevin Browne & his wife Mary Lou of Wilmington, Susan Murphy & her husband John of Burlington, Tim Browne & his wife Anne Marie of Tewksbury, Jim & his wife Meg, Tom & his wife Michelle, and Kerri Ducharme. Proud grandmother of Michelle Mulvanity, Michael, Tim, & Allie Frazier, Kyle, Casey, Scott, Paul, Erin, Kelly, Colin, Katelyn, Megan, & Jillian Browne, Courtney Ricci, Kristen Fay, Ryan, Danny, & Billy Murphy, and DJ & Michael Ducharme. She was the great grandmother of Liam, Addison, & Kiera Mulvanity, Alana Frazier, Bella, Sienna, Scarlett, & Georgia Browne, Layla Fay, and James Ricci. She was the sister of Patricia O’Shea of Arlington, Loretta Arrigo of Burlington, and the late Irene McDonald & Richard Lane, and a close family friend of Coleen Bellavance of Burlington. Peg is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.