Obituary of Claire J Kane

Claire Julia (Dabrieo) Kane of Peabody passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her family on Monday, September 28, 2020 after a brief battle with cancer. Born in Peabody on November 9, 1930, she was the sixth of twelve children to Horace and Mary (Foley) Dabrieo. She was a devoted and loving wife of Robert D. Kane of Peabody with whom she recently celebrated 69 years of marriage. In her teens she worked at Curtis’s Drugstore in Peabody Square “making coffee milkshakes for the boys” coming home from the war. After graduation from St. John the Baptist High School in 1948 she began work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. While raising her family of five, she waitressed at Anthony’s of Lynn, the Allenhurst of Danvers and Jordan Marsh in Peabody. She worked as a clerk in Peabody City Hall and as the Payroll Officer at J.B. Thomas Hospital. She persisted into her 80s as a Sears Department store sales representative at the North Shore Mall until retirement. Claire continued to keep herself busy as a Eucharistic Minister at St John the Baptist Church in Peabody and enjoyed working the polls for Peabody elections. She met her husband Bob at a St Patrick’s Day dance at the Peabody Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) and married in 1951. Both remained active members of the Salem AOH and Claire held court as president of the Ladies Auxiliary of Salem, Essex County Chairwomen and won the Irish Woman of the year award for her tireless work. Claire’s expansive family and social network provided a lifetime of companionship, fun, parties, trips and events. Her twelve member “Couples Club” gathered monthly in their homes for over 50 years and traded baby showers, graduations, weddings and lots of laughs. Claire was the most caring and generous of hostesses in her warm, inviting, and seasonally decorated home, always insisting that you needed “something to eat or drink” and ready to entertain with cold drinks, cheese & crackers and funny conversation. As a loving mother, wife, sister and aunt she knitted sweaters, mittens and scarves, painted ceramics and made chocolate lollipops for major events. A world-class collector of sand dollars and avid Boston sports fan, she enjoyed traveling, camping, bingo at the K of C and trips to Foxwoods, but what she loved the most was visits with her children and grandchildren. She produced family reunions each summer in her beautiful backyard, enjoyed many 4th of July cookouts with the O’Grady family in Lynn, and treasured the 100-year old traditional Dabrieo Family Christmas Party – one that Santa never missed. More recently, Claire and Bob would make trips to the Salem Willows to watch the boats go by at Winter Island over a chop suey sandwich and lobster roll. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Horace Jr. (Bud) and wife Barbara of Peabody, her brother Edward (Ned) and wife Helen of Danvers, her brother Robert (Bob) of Urbandale, IA, her brother John Henry of Peabody, her sister Mary Lou and husband Mickey Armstrong of Peabody, her sister Virginia (Gina) and husband Charlie LaChapelle of Westerly, RI, her brother-in-law Richard (Dick) Ryan of Peabody, her brother-in-law Chickie Armstrong of Peabody, her sister-in-law Dorothy (Dotty) Dabrieo of Woburn, and her sister-in-law Louise (Bunnie) O’Grady and her husband James of Lynn. She is survived by her husband Bob - a retired Massachusetts State Trooper, MIT Police Officer and a Naval Reserve Veteran, her three sisters Kaye Ryan, Sr. Ellen Dabrieo SND and Betty Armstrong, all of Peabody, sister-in-law Cynthia Dabrieo of Urbandale, IA, brothers Ernest Dabrieo of Woburn and David Dabrieo of Venice, FL, children Susan Kane of Lady Lake, FL, Debra (Bob) Catlin of Redmond, WA, Robert (Bo) Kane of Guilford, CT, Julie (Kevin) Powers of Peabody, MA and Brian (Carol) Kane of Chicago, IL., 12 grandchildren Arthur (Carolyn) Catlin, Maggie (Shaun) Hollenbeck, Kate and Keegan Catlin, Rowan and Clare Kane, Brendan, Kelli, Erin & Tara Powers, and Ryan and Rachel Kane; and an amazing extended family of over 150 nieces and nephews. Her Funeral Service will be held on Friday at 10:30 AM at St. John’s Church, Church St., Peabody followed by her burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. All attendees are required to wear facial coverings and maintain social distancing as well. Expressions of sympathy can be made in her name to the Sisters of Notre Dame, 30 Jeffreys Neck Road, Ipswich, MA 01938.