Kathleen E. (Regis) Wholley, 94, wife of the late John J. “Tiger” Wholley, passed away Jan. 30, at Wingate Healthcare in Haverhill with her family by her side.
Born in Haverhill, she was the daughter of the late Frederick J. and Kathleen (McManus) Regis. Raised and educated in Haverhill, she attended St. James School and St. James High School. After graduation, she worked for the United States Marine Corp in Washington, D.C., and then transferred to the Boston Navy Yard. Wholley worked at the former Western Electric and was employed as an administrator for the Haverhill Housing Authority for many years before her retirement. She loved to travel, California, Florida and the United States. She traveled every summer to Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard to see her cousin Norman with his sister Evelyn. She was a big New England Patriots fan, always checking for a television wherever she went to be sure not to miss a game. Wholley was an avid bowler and liked to walk. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America, Court St. James #436 and Sacred Hearts #864, and a member of the Haverhill City Club. Known for her great sense of humor and wit, she will also be remembered as a loving, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
Kathleen is survived by her children, Kevin J. Wholley and his wife Patricia (Dowd) of Methuen; Stephen M. Wholley and his wife Jean (Lavallee) of Haverhill; Kathleen A. Lavoie and her husband Michael of Haverhill and James F. Wholley and Regina Ragonese of Haverhill; eight grandchildren, Lauren Marquis and her husband Steve, Sean Wholley, Erin Wholley, Stephen Wholley and his wife Amy, Joseph Wholley, John Michael Wholley, Brendan Lavoie and Christopher Lavoie; three great grandchildren, Dylan, Chase and Isabelle; nieces Jean Waisenan-Sesti and Carol Niswander, Sister Edi Salter; longtime friend Gloria Rogers; cousins including the Salter family; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband she was predeceased by her siblings, Francis J. Regis, Fred Regis, Florence Zannini and Elsie Doyle Regis. The family extends its heartfelt thanks to the staff at Wingate Haverhill for their excellent care, kindness and compassion.
Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend calling hours Sunday, Feb. 4, from noon to 3 p.m., at Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, 486 Main St., Haverhill. Funeral services begin Monday at 9 a.m. from the funeral home with a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10 a.m., in All Saints Church, 120 Bellevue Ave., Haverhill. Burial will follow in St. James Cemetery, Primrose Street, Haverhill.