Janice Lillian (Passehl) Reidy

Janice Lillian (Passehl) Reidy died 3 April 2018 after a short illness, she was 107 years old. Born in Philadelphia to Carl Robert and Lily (Keiser) Passehl, she attended Philadelphia public schools before entering the Philadelphia College of Art. Subsequently, she worked at Provident Trust before joining the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps at the outbreak of WWII.
She worked as an aircraft plotting officer at Fort Brady, Sault Ste Marie, MI, where she met her future husband, Philip Reidy, a native of Worcester.

On arriving in Worcester, Janice immediately became involved in Worcester's voluntary organizations, often servicing as an officer. Among the organizations she supported were the Girl Scouts, the Worcester Natural History Museum (now the Ecotarium), the Music Guild, the Society for the Blind (now the Memorial Foundation for the Blind), and the First Presbyterian Church. Her faith was a major part of her life, and in the early 1960s, she was one of the first tranche of female deacons in the Presbyterian Church in America.

For 50 years, she has been a member of the local chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, the worldwide philanthropic organization supporting the education of women. She was a member of the Timothy Bigelow Chapter of the D.A.R.
The family would like to thank Notre Dame Long Term Care Center where Janice happily spent her final years and was looked after with great care.

She leaves a son, Michael Reidy, and two grandsons, Freddie and Harry, all of whom live in England.

A service of Witness for the Resurrection will take place on 14 April at 11.00, at the First Presbyterian Church, 125 Holden Street in Worcester. Interment in St. John's Cemetery will be private. Donations to the church are requested in lieu of flowers.