Mary Frances (Roche) Annas

Mary Frances Annas (Roche) was born in Boston on January 21, 1946.  She lived in Roxbury, Massachusetts with her parents David and Mary, and sister Patricia (Winnie).  Mary attended St. Joseph’s School and Academy. She met her husband of 55 years George Annas in 1968 and they were married in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1969.  They had two children, Katie in 1970 and David in 1974.  The family settled in Newton between their births.

Mary received her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University and practiced in healthcare, mostly as a Respiratory Therapist.  She later received her Master’s degree in English at Boston University and became a teacher, starting at Mission Hill High School in Roxbury.  Mary went on to teach English and writing at Northeastern University, and received her PhD there. Her dissertation was on “continuity, incongruity and class in contemporary Canadian literature.”  Mary was also an established poet and contributed to Art Days at Boston University School of Medicine for more than 10 years.

After Mary retired from teaching at Northeastern University, she became actively involved with the BMC’s Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights. She was a volunteer instructor of English and Civics to refugees who had escaped war and conflict.  She loved her students and the lives they were establishing in our country. Mary was honored by the Center for her “caring and compassion,” and for her “commitment and impact helping refugees and torture survivors to learn English, adapt to the US and improve their lives.”  Mary became an expert in the area of the Native American genocide in the United States and Canada and gave a guest lecture for the past five years in a graduate Boston University course on Health and Human Rights on that subject.  

In addition to her own work, Mary was a fierce editor to George on his books and articles on health and human rights, including an article on “The Health of Presidents and Presidential Candidates” published the week before she died. 

David and his partner Corina Freitas are both physicians and Katie and her husband Matt Selig are both attorneys. Mary was very proud of how they all use their work to positively affect the lives of patients, whether through direct care or by helping to improve our health care “system.”

Mary had an enduring love of animals and had many colorful cats over her lifetime.  Another passion of hers was traveling with George. They took many trips over the years, including to Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef a few years after they were married, and an epic trip to Italy that David and Corina took them on a few summers back.  In the winter of 2020, Mary and George led a class of Boston University graduate students to the US/Mexico border to, among other things, work with migrants being served by the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas. It was the last pre-COVID trip sanctioned by Boston University and one of the most meaningful trips of Mary’s life.

Mary’s ancestors were from Nova Scotia and she often visited there with George, Winnie and her cousins.  She had great affection for her time on the Cape and having family gather there with her and George for holidays and summer trips.  After she retired from full time teaching, Mary spent much of her time with her wonderful granddaughter, Katie and Matt’s daughter Anna. Two of her favorite things to do with Anna were their meetings to read a book chapter by chapter together and watching Anna’s dance performances, which she looked forward to with great anticipation.

Mary is survived by George, Patricia (Winnie), David, Corina, Katie, Matthew and Anna, sisters-in-law Susan Eddy and Ann Blattner, brother-in-law Ken Blattner, her cousins and their spouses, nieces and nephews and their spouses, grandnieces and nephews, all of her friends and her ever present cat Bella.

A wake will be held on Friday, November 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Eaton & Mackay Funeral Home in Newton Corner. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, November 9 at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Newton Centre, followed by a burial at Newton Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, St. Francis House in Boston, or the Poor Clare’s Monastery in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.