Feb. 16, 1921 – Jan. 20, 2024
Hudson – Marjorie Ann Vallier, 102, of Hudson, died peacefully at Christopher Heights assisted living community in Marlborough on January 20, 2024.
She leaves her cousins Patricia M. McEachern and her husband Philip, Maureen F. Curley and her husband, Kenneth Stone, and Gerald F. Curley Jr. and his wife, Meredith, as well as their families. Marjorie also leaves her dear friends Romie Walker, Catherine and Robert Sanford, Cornelia Murphy, Patricia and Arthur Bergeron and Julie Murphy and their families. She was predeceased by her cousin Gerald F. Curley, Sr., and dear friends Marie Coyne, Stephen Walker, Mary R. (“Mae”) Murphy, Dennis F. Murphy, Jr., Robert F., and Mary (Murphy) O’Malley, and Ellen Jane (Murphy) Van Buskirk.
Emilian and Anna (Regan) Vallier welcomed Marjorie, their only child, on Wednesday, February 16, 1921. A snowstorm had blanketed Hudson that day, closing the roads to traffic, forcing Mr. Vallier to hitch a ride home from the hospital on a “punt,” a shallow flat sled pulled by a horse.
Although Marjorie had no memories of her first winter, she recalled many others. She remembered watching men cut thick blocks of ice from Tripps Pond for use in household ice boxes. She enjoyed many skating and birthday parties. Come summer, she swam at a private beach at Lake Boone, 10 cents for a one-day pass. During the holidays she enjoyed family dinners at her grandmother’s home on Maple St., now Manning St.
Marjorie was an eyewitness to so much of Hudson history that she could have written a book. But she didn’t need to; she kept it all in her head. She possessed a prodigious long-term memory, even in her later years, recalling names, dates, and numbers with precision. She could name the owner and location of every shop doing business on Main St. during her childhood and adolescence. She could also tell you the names of every shop owner’s spouse and children, the churches they attended, and the names of their in-laws.
Marjorie graduated from Hudson High in June 1939. Hitler invaded Poland that September, inciting World War II. Many of Marjorie’s classmates fought in the war. Marjorie attended the Clinical School of Technology in Boston, graduating in phlebotomy and hematology. She worked for two years at Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, and then for the Veteran’s Administration in Boston, commuting home to Hudson on the train. She worked at the VA for 33 years, retiring as Chief Technologist of the VA’s Boston Outpatient Lab.
Marjorie Ann Vallier was an independent woman when that was rare. She worked for a living, managed her own money prudently, and traveled widely, often in the company of her friends the Walkers and the Murphy, Sanford, and O’Malley families. A lover of the North Shore, Marjorie spent many summer days and weekends in Essex. Closer to home, she shared lunches and laughs with her cousin Gerry and his daughter Maureen and son-in-law Ken.
Marjorie was a devoted family member and friend, always ready to help whoever needed it. We are grateful for the gift of her life.
Calling hours for Marjorie will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2024, from 8:30am-9:30am at Tighe Hamilton Regional Funeral Home, 50 Central Street, Hudson, MA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at 10am, at Saint Michael Parish, 21 Manning Street, Hudson, MA; followed by a procession to Saint Michael Cemetery, 278 Cox Street, Hudson, MA.
Donations in Marjorie’s name may be made to St. Vincent de Paul at St. Michael Parish, 20 High St., Hudson, Ma. 01749.
