Paul M. Heffernan, 85, of Southborough, died on Monday, February 20, 2017, at his home, surrounded by family following a courageous battle with cancer.
He was the beloved husband of 60 years to the late Muriel Mary (Nevins) Heffernan who passed away in 2012..
Born in Brighton, he was the youngest son of Irish immigrants, his father, John J. Heffernan, was a Boston Police Patrolman and his Mother, Mary, ‘Mollie’ (Stanton) Heffernan, a former chambermaid in Brookline.
Paul was a former high school guidance counselor and teacher in the Wayland Public Schools for nearly 30 years. He would continue to receive letters of thanks from his students long after his retirement in 1988.
Paul was a football, hockey and track star at Brighton High, and placed third all city in the 40 yard dash in 1948. He held several jobs at Boston College, including supervising the filling of the reservoir that is now the BC practice fields, before meeting his wife Muriel “Dee” Nevins while attending night classes at Bentley. A whirlwind 6 month engagement followed. Shortly after their marriage in 1952, Paul enlisted in the military, where he rose rapidly through the ranks of the Army Security Agency while stationed in Germany. Foregoing Officer Candidate School and a possible appointment to West Point, Paul applied and was accepted to both Boston College and Northeastern. He selected Northeastern as it allowed him to return to the states earlier to rejoin his wife. He would also return to BC not as a student but as a night security guard. Heeding a call to teaching, he would eventually earn both an undergraduate and master’s degrees in education at NU.
While attending day classes at NU, working at nights BC, dad found time to befriend many of the Jesuits, even driving one Jesuit regularly to visit his ailing sister on the south shore between classes. Dad also joked that he never got in trouble the night he fell asleep at BC when football rival Holy Cross painted the BC eagle purple.
In 1959, Paul and Muriel settled in Southborough where they would raise their four children. Always involved in the community, Paul was an active member of St. Matthews Parish, coached town hockey & baseball, and was a summer counselor at the Fessenden School.
He was the devoted father of Lee P Heffernan and his wife Ruth, of Norcross, GA. Michael J Heffernan and his wife Peggy, of Wellesley, Paula Heffernan Paquette of Monroe, NJ. and Karen M Roy and her husband Michael of Grafton; loving grandfather of 10 grandchildren, Patrick and his wife Kerry, Casey, David Heffernan; Tyler and Bailey Paquette; Kendal, and Kyle Roy; Caroline, Elizabeth and Jack Heffernan; loving two great grandfather of Kellen and Maeve.
He was predeceased by his siblings Mary ‘May’ , John J. ‘Bud’ and David S Heffernan.
Visiting hours Saturday , February 25, from 9 to 11:30 AM, at Morris Funeral Home, 40 Main Street, followed by a noon, 12 PM funeral Mass at St. Matthew Church, 26 Highland Street, Southborough. Burial will be in the Southborough Rural Cemetery, . Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Memorial contributions may be made in Paul’s memory to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
To leave words of condolence to his family, please visit Morrisfuneralparlor.com
(Obituary and cropped photo via Morris Funeral Home)
