Obituary of Marie (Splaine) Dullea

Marie E. (Splaine) Dullea, 77, a beloved and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully Tuesday at Salem Hospital. Marie was born to the late Jeremiah and Margaret Splaine on April 10, 1936, in Brooklyn, N.Y., before moving to Peabody as a child. A longtime Peabody resident, Marie graduated from St. John’s High School in Peabody before marrying her husband of 57 years, Edward J. Dullea, Jr. Marie’s kindness and selflessness touched many lives throughout the Peabody community and beyond through the course of her life, especially during her time working at Peabody City Hall and the Peabody Vocational High School. Marie was deeply religious and an active member of St. Thomas’s Parish in Peabody. She also enjoyed traveling with her husband and their friends, and was an avid Red Sox fan. Her most joy, however, came from the family she and her husband started together. At the time of her death, Marie’s immediate family had grown to 33 people, and she shaped the lives of every member of that family in a unique way. She never missed a holiday, a birthday, an anniversary or a sporting event, and that was the way she liked it. Marie would often tell her husband that, with a family as large as theirs, there was never a dull moment. While she may be gone, her legacy will shine on through the commotion she so loved. Marie was the sister of Patrick Splaine and his wife, Theresa, of Peabody, and the late Jeremiah Splaine and his wife, Valerie, of Houston. In addition to her husband, Marie is survived by seven children: Kathleen Walsh and her husband, Thomas, of Beverly; Edward J. Dullea III and his wife, Gayle, of Peabody; Eileen Annese and her husband, Carl Jr., of Peabody; Michael Dullea and his wife, Barbara, of Peabody; Anne Marie Burns and her husband, Scott, of Peabody; Maureen McCarthy and her husband, Stephen, of Beverly; and Suzanne Tibbetts and her husband, Jeffrey, of Danvers. Marie is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Edward J. Dullea IV, Matthew Burns, Thomas Burns, Carl Annese III and Cory Bush, of Peabody; Conor Walsh, Timothy McCarthy and Kylie McCarthy, of Beverly; Jeffrey, Adam, Jason, and Abigail Tibbetts, of Danvers; Christopher Dullea and his wife, Heather, of San Diego, Calif.; Amanda Rosenhauer and her husband, Jack, of Muskegon, Mich.; and one great-grandson, Kai Rosenhauer, of Muskegon, Mich. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to visiting hours on Friday, March 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, followed by a funeral Mass Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Church, 1 Margin Street, Peabody. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Marie’s memory to Spaulding North Shore Nurses Training Program, One Dove St., Salem, MA 01970.