Ra Colarusso

My grandmother Irene Francis Haverty was born in Boston on July 31, 1916 to William F. Haverty and Katherine T. (Kearney) Haverty. Her mother was from Waterford and her father was from Galway. She had three sons and three daughters with Ralph Colarusso. She died on July 7, 2007, in Hanover, Massachusetts, at the age of 90. Her six children gave her 16 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and many great-great-grandchildren. To her grandchildren, she was known as "Ra Ra" or "Ra."

• 

  Irene Haverty, 1940's

• 

  Irene's parents at their home on Forbes Street in Jamaica Plain, MA

• 

  38 Newbern Street, Jamaica Plain, MA

• 

• 

  2 Cedar Avenue, Roxbury, MA

• 

In the 1970's my grandmother worked nights for Honeywell in Brighton, Ma. She soldered components for an army contract. She took two buses from Roslindale to get to work each night and then my grandfather would pick her up when her shift was over. She also worked at Armstrong Laboratories in West Roxbury. Later, when my grandparents moved to Tewksbury, she worked for the telephone company in Boston as receptionist, where she worked until she retired. She took the commuter rail in from Wilmington every day to go to work.

• 

  Papa and Ra

• 

  Ra, my mother, Mimi, and me

• 

  My mother and Ra

• 

  Back Row: Helen (Haverty) DiMarino, Mary (Haverty) Cozza, Bill Haverty, Ann (Haverty) O'Leary
  Front Row: Kitty (Haverty) Smith, Peg (Haverty) Madden, and Irene (Haverty) Colarusso

When I think of my grandmother, I think of her sitting listening to Red Sox games and drinking coffee. According to my mom, Ra loved clothes and her closets were filled with pantsuits. She loved to read and do crossword puzzles. My mom also loves to read and do crosswords—perhaps it runs in the family!

Here are some additional photos I came across after the initial post: