Patricia A. (Meade) Heavey

Patricia A. (Meade) Heavey of Walpole, formerly of Needham passed away on December 12, 2024. Pat had lived with cancer for the past several years.

Pat was the beloved wife of the late Tom Heavey and the mother of four daughters, Ellen Volpe and her husband, Bob, of Needham, Clare Mathews, and her husband, Bo, of West Greenwich, RI, Laura Gavel and her husband, Ronnie, of Walpole, and Kathryn Heavey and Sean Koepenick of Walpole.  She was the sister of Marie Elliott and John Meade. Pat is also survived by eight grandchildren: Emily and Julia Pallis, Ryan and Jessica Gavel, Charlie and Audrey Volpe, and Max and Lila Koepenick. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews and a wide network of friends.

Patricia A. (Meade) Heavey was born on June 23, 1940.  Pat grew up in South Buffalo, NY with her parents, Patrick and Margaret (Roche), sister, Marie and brother, John. She attended Mount Mercy Academy and D’Youville University in Buffalo, earning a BS in Nursing.

Pat moved to Boston with her friends in 1963 where she worked as a Visiting Nurse for the City of Boston and then at Lahey Clinic.  Pat met her late husband of 53 years, Tom Heavey, at the Tam O’Shanter (a bar in Brookline) and they married in 1964.  They lived briefly in Brookline before moving to Needham.  In Needham Pat continued her nursing career for five years at the Glover Memorial Hospital and had four children, Ellen, Clare, Laura and Kathryn. 

In 1980 in addition to raising her four children Pat returned to school and earned a degree from Mass Bay Community College and earned a Medical Record Certification from Northeastern University.  Always determined to be an independent woman Pat launched a second career as a medical record coder and worked at Glover Hospital, Brookline Hospital, and on a government project at the Mass Medical Society.  She later became an independent consultant where she traveled nationwide. 

Pat was committed to volunteer work including Meals on Wheels and Girl Scouts.  Pat was devoted to supporting the homeless and spent 30 years serving Friday lunch at St. Francis House in Boston.

Pat and Tom moved to Walpole in 2001 where they continued to enjoy their family and welcomed eight grandchildren.  Pat enjoyed world-wide traveling, playing pinochle, reading, arts & crafts from macramé to quilting, playing the piano, candy crush, and word puzzles.

Pat stayed current with technology that allowed her to keep connected with her high school friends on a monthly zoom. Pat was a devout Catholic, a caregiver to Tom, a very good friend, a Buffalo Bills fan, a special aunt, a feminist, a recycler, and a role model for her daughters.

Visiting hours will be held at the Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Avenue, Needham on Tuesday, December 17th from 4-7 pm.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Joseph Church, 1362 Highland Avenue, Needham on Wednesday, December 18th at 10 am. The service will be livestreamed via  www.harborview.live.  Interment to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Needham. 

Expressions of sympathy may be made in Pat’s name to Boston Healthcare for the Homeless at https://www.bhchp.org/donate/.

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