Anna T. (Spears) Grady

Anna T. Grady, age 94, of Millis died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend, Anna was born in Boston in 1930 to Nora [O’Connor], originally from County Cork, Ireland, and Eric Spears, originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was the oldest of their five children. The family lived in many different neighborhoods in Boston while she was growing up, which led to her being able to give directions anywhere, even though she never learned to drive. She was “live” GPS before GPS was a thing.

Anna was predeceased by her husband of 26 years, Larry Grady of Waltham where she lived for 30 years. Together they had 5 children, 8 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and 13 nieces and 8 nephews. Anna was devoted to her family and her Catholic faith, with a special devotion to the Blessed Mother.

She leaves behind her children Kathleen A. Grady of Millis, who was her caretaker, confidante, and guardian angel on earth; Larry Grady of Framingham, Thomas Grady and wife Donna (Forgue) of Belchertown, and their 3 children, Hilary (Grady) Danek, Colleen and Sean, and 2 great-grandchildren MacKenzie and Riley Danek; Mary Lou (Grady) Joseph, her husband Arthur Joseph Jr., of Norwell, and their daughters Katie and Amy; Laura (Grady) McHugh, her husband Dennis McHugh of Mashpee, and their 3 daughters Bridget, Maggie, and Shannon.

She was predeceased by her sister Mary Lou Spears and more recently her brother Cornelius Spears of Weymouth. She is survived by her sisters Noreen [Spears] Dorsey and Sheila [Spears] Mancuso, to whom she was like a second mother, and Sheila’s husband Frank Mancuso of Middleboro, and her sister-in-law Alice Spears of Weymouth. She is also survived by her brother-in-law James Grady and wife Sheila Grady of Rochester.

Anna described herself as a simple woman who’s lived a simple live, but that life was very full. From her years of attending the Irish dances around Boston and renting beach cottages in the summer with the telephone company girls, the Blue Cross Blue Shield girls, and the dancing crowd, to raising 5 children and traveling the US and abroad, she managed to pack a lot of living into her 94 years.

Managing a household and five children is challenging, but it wasn’t enough for Anna. She was always busy helping others, from teaching CCD and running the Legion of Mary and the Ladies Guild at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted in Waltham, to hosting numerous nieces and nephews for sleepovers and mini-vacations, to working in the school system cafeterias (following her children’s progress through school so she could keep an eye on them), she kept very busy. And she gained great joy from attending the many games, performances, recitals, and milestone events in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

You can’t talk about Anna without mentioning Manhattan’s, a cup of tea, coffee cake, fried clams, rosy cheeks, the Red Sox, dancing (with Larry in the kitchen while he hummed, Let Me Call You Sweetheart), Boston, daily mass on CatholicTV, Castle Island, and the beach, which she loved.

Anna also loved to travel. She never wanted to miss a thing even if that meant she was exhausted! She was almost always one of the last to leave a party or to go to bed on a trip. She visited Disney, LA, Santa Barbara, San Dimas, Dallas, San Antonio, Baltimore, Williamsburg, Alaska, Yellowstone, Halifax. Internationally she visited Ireland several times, Tiawana, the Yucatan, London and Lourdes in France.

Anna lived a full life, with her faith and family at the center of it. She was a wonderful example of God’s selfless love, and she will be missed.

Family and friends will honor and remember Anna’s life by gathering for an Evening Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Friday, May 30th from 4 to 8 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning before leaving in procession to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, West Roxbury.

Memorial donations may be made to CatholicTV, P.O. Box 9196, 34 Chestnut Street, Watertown, MA 02471 or at www.catholictv.org.