Obituary of Patricia A. (Wilson) Duda

Patricia A. “Tricia” (Wilson) Duda, 71, of Essex passed from this earth Thursday, January 24th with her husband and daughter by her side following a brief illness. Born in Cambridge on June 28, 1947, she was the daughter of the late Louis C. and Agnes E. (Hess) Wilson. Her early years were spent in Somerville and then the family moved to Proctor Circle in Peabody where she was raised and attended school. She attended St. John’s in Peabody through the fifth grade then transferred to the Peabody Public Schools. Upon graduating Peabody High School in 1965, she attended and graduated from the Burdett Business School and subsequently worked at John Hancock in Boston. On January 22, 1972, she married the boy next door, James A. Duda. They shared 47 years of marriage. They first made their home in Danvers and then moved to Beverly in 1977. While in Beverly, her love of gardening blossomed beginning with a small rock wall garden in her backyard. That small garden of red and white impatiens led to beautiful flowers and shrubbery around the entire yard and her love of creating beauty lasted the rest of her life. While being a homemaker in Beverly, she also worked at several part-time jobs always working mother’s hours so she could be home for her daughter. She worked at Empire Clothing, Danversport Yacht Club, and Johnny Appleseed’s. Always a doting mother, she valued education and the family home was always full of books and magazines on an array of subjects. Her interests were wide and varied. It was not uncommon for Tricia to bring the family in to the Museum of Fine Arts to see an exhibit, to local area museums and historic homes, or to places of interest in New Hampshire and Maine. When the family moved to Essex in 1996, she worked tirelessly to make the new house a home both inside and outside. Her deck became a sanctuary of beautiful window boxes and has been attracting hummingbirds for over 20 years. She had a lifelong love of animals beginning with her childhood dog, Scuffy, then other pets throughout her life. She belonged to several animal welfare organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, PETA, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and the Humane Society of the United States. Besides her loving husband, she is survived by her devoted daughter Rebecca A. Duda of Essex, and by her two sisters, Cynthia Jackman and her husband Phillip “Kip” of Maine and Sharon Martin and her husband Robert of New Hampshire, as well as several nieces, nephews, and cousins. She will be deeply missed by all she touched. Her Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday at 10:00 AM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St, Peabody to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday from 4:00 Until 8:00 PM. Burial will be in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Louis C. Wilson Scholarship Fund, C/O Dracut Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 117, Dracut, MA 01826.