Patricia Ann (Cammett) Garwich, 79, of Haverhill, wife of the late Walter F. Garwich passed away Monday, May 9, at Merrimack Valley Hospice House after a long battle with lung cancer.
Born in Amesbury, she was the daughter of the late Edward A. and Mary E. (Hogan) Cammett. Raised and educated in Amesbury, she graduated from Lowell State University with a teaching degree. She began teaching in the Haverhill School system in 1972 and after 25 years retired in 1997. She was a member of NEA, HEA and the Friends of the Haverhill Library. Garwich was passionate about the city she lived in, writing Haverhill Trivia book with the proceeds supporting the Haverhill Public Library. She was a passionate educator and her love of literature brought her to the Merrimac Library where she volunteered. She was strong in her faith as an active parishioner of the Holy Redeemer Parish in Merrimac. She passed on her love of nature and gardening to all she knew. When she was well enough she would walk through her gardens remembering friends who shared perennial flowers in her garden of life. She enjoyed the beach, playing cards with her friends and loved watching the birds from her kitchen window. An avid yard sale devotee, she was a collector of many things, always looking for that big find. After her retirement from teaching she traveled extensively for many years. She will be remembered for teaching line dancing, at many senior centers all over the North Shore making lots of friends, developing lasting friendships along the way. She will be missed by all who knew her.
Surviving her are her children, Frank Garwich and his wife Donna L. (McBride) of Haverhill; Carol A. Buzzell and her husband Michael J. of Haverhill; two sisters, Christine Fowler and her husband Charles of West Newbury and Catherine Riley and her husband Paul of Danville, N.H.; three grandchildren, Christopher Garwich and his wife Shannon of Epping, NH; Michael Buzzell and his wife Greta of Merrimac and Patrick Buzzell of Haverhill; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brothers Al, Edward and Charles Cammett; her sisters Edwina Grenier and Pauline Marciska and her grandson Shawn Garwich.
Funeral services will be private at her request. Arrangements are by the Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, 486 Main St., Haverhill. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in her memory to the Church of the Holy Redeemer, 4 Green Street, Merrimac, MA 01860 or the Merrimac Public Library, 86 West Main Street, Merrimac, MA 01860.