Sep 21, 1938 — Sep 25, 2026
Jean A. Gaffney, age 88, of Reading, passed away peacefully on Friday, September 25, at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington.
She was born in Somerville on September 21, 1938, and was the daughter of the late Francis and Alice (Curran) Esterbrook.
Jean was born during the Hurricane of 1938 in the Somerville Hospital by candlelight; it was a favorite story of hers. She grew up in Somerville and Charlestown with her parents and siblings, and later with her Aunt Rose Curran in Somerville. In her teenage years, she worked at Howard Johnson’s in Boston as a bookkeeper, then later at Transitron in Wakefield, where she worked with Cathy (Gaffney) LaFave, who introduced her to her brother, Charles, Jr., and the rest of the Gaffney family. Jean and Charlie were married on January, 10, 1965, at the beautiful St. Joseph Parish in Wakefield. For the next 40 years, they raised their family, lived in Wakefield, and made lifelong friends and neighbors. Jean went to school in the evenings at the Northeast Regional Metropolitan Vocational School and became an LPN and worked at Winchester Hospital, retiring after 19 years. She and Charlie spent a few years as snowbirds, living out the winter months in Pompano Beach, FL, and the rest of the year in their condo in Reading. Charlie passed away in 2022, and soon after, Jean moved to The Residence of Pearl Street in Reading for the remainder of her years.
Her passions were gardening and reading; she loved her pets; she enjoyed her trips to Florida; and she was always up for an adventure traveling north to the mountains or by the seaside. Most of all, she loved raising her children and spending time with her grandchildren. She was a caring and joyful soul to everyone that she met. Her wittiness and her strength will be remembered by all that knew her.
She was the beloved wife of the late Charles Gaffney, Jr. She was the loving mother of Sharon Gaffney of Reading, William “Bill” Gaffney of Lynnfield, Linda Gaffney of Reading, and the late Eileen Gaffney. She was the sister of the late William “Bill” Esterbrook and his wife Sandi of New Hampshire, sister Nancy Heselton and her husband Michel Vanags of California, and the late Robert Heselton and his wife Meg of Reading. She was the grandmother of Matthew, Austin, Sarah, and Kaitlyn. Jean is also survived by her nieces, Jill and Sarah Heselton, of Reading, and many aunts, uncles and cousins of Cambridge and Somerville.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s Parish, 173 Albion St., Wakefield on Thursday, October 1 at 11:00 a.m. A private family service will precede the funeral at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield. Interment, Lakeside Cemetery, Wakefield.
