Newbury, Vt./Southborough – Joan Angela (Gennelly) Fredella, 77, of Newbury, Vt., and formerly a longtime resident of Sudbury, died peacefully Tuesday, June 12, 2012, after a brief illness, at her daughter Andrea's home in Southborough, surrounded by her family.
Joan was a loving and devoted mother of six children. She studied art at Northeastern University, and applied her teachings throughout her life. Whether she was decorating a room, designing a garden, making quilts, or any of the other artistic pursuits she engaged in over the years, Joan always employed a practiced eye and impeccable taste.
Joan held various jobs, including a long tenure as the Director of the Old Manse in Concord, where she transcribed a formerly unknown collection of letters and writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and literary giants the likes of Thoreau, Alcott, and Hawthorne.
She enjoyed family, reading, gardening, a passion for history and was an avid antique collector. Joan was a very talented creative artist, and could make anything from doll clothes to wedding dresses. Everything she touched became a masterpiece.
Joan long had an affinity for the peaceful tranquility of the Green Mountains of Vermont, and in 1988 she moved to Tunbridge, Vt. There, she renovated the first of two houses. After almost a decade, she decided to move to Newbury, Vt.? It was there that she enjoyed some of her happiest moments: renovating her house, tending her gardens, and watching her grandchilden grow up.
With the unending support, friendship, and love of her family, especially her daughter-in-law Ann, Joan was able to live and thrive in surroundings that suited her personality so well.
She is survived by her children, David L. Fredella and his wife, Sally, of Methuen; Paul A. Fredella and his wife, Ann, of Newbury, Vt.; Christopher L. Fredella and his wife, Martha, of Worcester; Jennifer Foster and her husband, Jack, of Pawtucket, RI; Andrea Bertonazzi and her husband, Brian, of Southborough; and Christine Harrington and her husband, Bob, of Haverhill, as well as her sister, Shirley Ann Tamulynas of Burlington; 16 beloved grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Joan was pre-deceased by her former husband and father of her children, Anthony M. Fredella.
Visiting hours will be held Friday, June 15, from 4 to 8 p.m., at Morris Funeral Home, 40 Main St. (Route 30), Southborough. A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, June 16, at 12 noon, at St. Anne Church, 20 Boston Rd., Southborough. Burial will follow in the Southborough Rural Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be sent in her memory to San Miguel School, 525 Branch Ave., Providence, RI, 02904 or MSPCA Angell Memorial, 350 S. Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130.
To send words of condolence to the family, visit www.morrisfuneralparlor.
