Nicholas C. “Nick” Saxonis

Nicholas C. “Nick” Saxonis, 79, of Vero Beach, Florida, passed away peacefully on Thursday January 4, 2024, with his family by his side after a long and courageous battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Nick was the loving husband for 56 years of Carolyn (Mavrogianis) Saxonis, of Vero Beach, FL, who survives him. Their commitment served as a shining example of devotion and unconditional love.

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, January 22, 1944, he was the beloved son of the late Charles N. and the late Christine (Petropoulakos) Saxonis.

Prior to his retirement, Nick had a successful and well-respected, 35-year career at General Electric. Despite the challenges he faced with his illness, Nick always showed unwavering strength and determination in the face of adversity. His resilience and determination were inspirational to all who knew him, and he will be remembered for his courage, strength and caring demeanor.

Besides his devoted wife Carolyn, Nick is also survived by his loving children, Christine (Saxonis) Jones and her husband Richard of Alexandria VA; and James N. Saxonis and his wife Lisa (Pustorino) of Middleton, MA. He was a cherished grandfather to Kiley, Julia, and Olivia, who brought immense joy and happiness to his life. Nick was a loving brother to Peter (deceased), Paul, and Michael (deceased) and brother-in- law to Joan and George (deceased) Tsoukalas and Cynthia Purdis, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Friends may call on Thursday January 11, 2024, at the TRANSFIGURATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH in LOWELL, MA, from 9:45 to 10:45 A.M. followed by his Funeral Service at 11:00 A.M. Burial to follow at Westlawn Cemetery. E-condolences/directions are available at http://www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Nick’s memory to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 2525 S 25th St, Fort Pierce, FL  34981. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O’Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768.

Thomas Patrick Hogan, Sr.

Beloved father, uncle, cousin, and friend;

Thomas Patrick Hogan, Sr. of Lowell Mass, passed away peacefully in the comfort of his family on January 4, 2024. He was 99 years old and only 13 days away from his 100th birthday when he passed.

For 68 years he was the loving husband of Teresa K (Hayes) Hogan who passed away in 2019.

Thomas was born on January 17, 1924, the eldest son of Timothy and Katherine Hogan.  His parents were among the many that came to this country from Ireland in the early 1900s.  Thomas was a member of the Keith Academy class of 1940.

Thomas had a love of planes from a very early age – and when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he set his sights on joining the Army Air Corps.  He succeeded and was a tail gunner on a B-29, stationed in Guam as a Staff Sergeant. He was with his crew for 6 months, but over that time forged friendships that lasted a lifetime.

After the war, Thomas enrolled at the University of Iowa, where he graduated with a degree in Economics.  He then went on to study at Boston College where he received his Master’s Degree.  He was studying at Syracuse University when he became engaged to Teresa Hayes, of Lowell, MA. They were married in 1950 and spent the next couple of years in Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

In 1953 they returned to Massachusetts where he began his long career as a Professor of Economics and Dean of the Social Sciences at Merrimack College in North Andover. In addition to teaching and administration, Thomas was also very active in the governance of the college.  He drafted the college’s first Faculty Senate constitution, as well as the constitution for the local chapter of the AAUP, the American Association of University Professors. When he retired in 1988, the chapter established the Thomas P. Hogan Award for Excellence in Collegial Governance.  This award is bestowed to members of the Merrimack faculty who have demonstrated his same commitment to academic excellence.

Thomas had a zest for life and lived it to his fullest for 99 years.  He loved to travel; he and Teresa spent many happy days in their motor home, visiting countless national parks, colleges, sporting venues, libraries, museums, airfields, and the like.  In the 1970s he started hiking and it was the beginning of a passion that he enjoyed for decades.  It took a few years, but he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and was the second member of the Appalachian Mountain Club to hike the 100 highest peaks in New England, in both the regular season as well as the winter.  He was a true renaissance man, a forever learner, a voracious reader and spent hours studying and discussing far ranging topics, including history, politics, weather, sports and, most recently, Artificial Intelligence, as well any other subject that piqued his interest.

A lifelong fan of Notre Dame football, he not only knew the current roster, but could tell you years out who their top recruits were for the upcoming seasons.  He made many a trip to South Bend to see his beloved Fightin’ Irish play and could recall details of games as early back as the 1930s!

Thomas is survived by his daughter, Maureen Hogan and her husband, Andy Riebs, of York, Maine, his daughter Ann Hogan, of Lowell and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.

He was predeceased by, his sons, Thomas Patrick Hogan Jr and Joseph Edwin Hogan, his sisters, Sister Timothy Marie Hogan, SC and Katherine Edwards and his brothers Joseph Hogan and William Hogan.

Relatives and friends are invited to call at the O'DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in LOWELL, MA on Thursday, January 11, 2024, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. His Funeral Mass will follow on Friday, January 12, 2024, at the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH 144 EAST MERRIMACK ST in LOWELL, MA at 11:00 a.m. Burial to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery. E-condolences/directions at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com.  Contributions in his memory to the Appalachian Mountain Club, Attn: Worcester Chapter, The German Home, 374 Howard St, Lawrence, MA, 01841, or a charity of your choice would be gratefully appreciated. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O’Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768.

Jose Humberto Dos Santos
Beloved father, grandfather, and uncle;

Jose Humberto Dos Santos, 57, of Lowell, Massachusetts, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday December 31, 2023, at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA.

Born in Delmiro Gouveia, Brazil, July 15, 1966, the son of the late Waldomiro Araujo and the late Geuza (Queiroz) Dos Santos, he attended school while in Brazil.
Jose worked as a Janitor in Target.

Jose is survived by a daughter: Kelly K. Silva Dos Santos and her husband Danilo of Lowell, MA; a granddaughter Lavigne Silva Dos Santos of Lowell, MA; he is also survived by a niece and nephew Michelle Amaral of Lowell, MA, and Robson DeCosta of Lowell, MA.

Friends may call at Friday January 5, 2024, at the O’DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in LOWELL at 10:00 A.M. Committal Service to be held at 11:00 A.M. at Westlawn Cemetery in Lowell, MA. E-condolences/directions at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O’Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768

Frances Kijowski

Frances Kijowski left this life on December 21st 2023 in Massachusetts Lowell General Hospital where she was treated for heart conditions.  She was surrounded by her adoring family.
She was 96 years old and lived in East Quogue, Long Island where she was born, the only child, to Mike and Julia Stokojlo, immigrants from Ukraine in the 1920s.
Frances was an indomitable force of nature. She was totally devoted to her ‘girls’ –Julie, Katherine, Mary, and Frances. She always wanted the best for them and insisted, perhaps demanded, they stay close because, after all, for Frances, family is everything. Frances loved her granddaughter, Christina, Katherine’s daughter.  She was so proud to watch her grow up to become professionally a successful consultant with her own business and a source of great support to her mother and father.  Frances’ sons-in-law Fred Tirrell, Chris Kazanas, and Jim Finlay had tremendous respect for her and deeply appreciated her total devotion to them (and her cooking)!
Frances was married to her great love, Paul, for 64 years.  They worked side-by-side every day, many years operating the family farm on Lewis Road in East Quogue and then they had a successful decorating business that Frances started with a dear neighbor, Reata Steiger, and for many years worked with her best and talented friend, Mary Markowsky, from Speonk. Working with the incomparable interior decorator Marcia Fox-Martin, in Quogue, was a great joy for both Frances and Paul, who often puzzled and had fun tackling the most difficult and challenging jobs!
Frances loved to bake and cook which prompted her daughter Mary to write a cookbook in Frances’ honor entitled ‘Anybody Getting Hungry?’.  It was a huge success because it captured many traditional Ukrainian dishes and her favorite dishes with her special twists and ingredients.  No one made better perogies!  Try as she did to instruct her daughters in the fine art of making perogies, all agreed none came close to hers.
Frances loved her church, St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead, the church her mother and father helped to start in 1924.  She was very fond of its pastor, Fr. Bohdan Hedz, for his spiritual leadership, and a welcoming enthusiastic personality that has brought more and more parishioners to the Church. She especially enjoyed working the Church’s annual chicken barbecue where she was responsible for making gallons upon gallons of barbecue sauce for the chicken.  She reluctantly but with great pride turned over the ‘secret recipe’ to Fr. Bohdan just a few years ago!  Her daughters would not miss working the chicken barbecue in her honor.  She was looking forward to attending the Church’s 100th anniversary this coming year.
In the last years she could not live in her beloved home in East Quogue because of failing health. Yet, she loved living with her daughter, Frannie, who she called ‘her baby’ in Frannie’s townhouse in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts where she quickly settled in and made friends with her neighbors.  She especially loved Frannie’s best friend, Janice Costa, who she taught how to play pinochle.  They were always partners in the game, both sharing a deep competitive spirit! These pinochle games always reminded her of the many fun-filled times she and Paul had with their best friends John and Mary Markowsky and Bill and Jenny Fedun. They would take short trips to various places (Upstate New York, Washington D.C., Cooperstown) always toting the red Naugahyde draw string bags that Paul had made to hold their pennies for poker. These red bags are treasured today by their children.  They harken back to happier times!
Upon her visits home in East Quogue she was always eager to see ‘the boys’ often coming with gifts of gallons of maple syrup from New Hampshire.  They would each pop in to see Frances to keep her current on all that was happening while she was away. She looked forward to these visits because they shared a strong bond rooted in place and family.  Edmund Densieski was the ‘best farmer’ and she loved buying vegetables at his popular farm stand.  They would talk crops and markets bringing her back to her life with Paul and reliving their farming days.  Such Kuroski’s exuberant and loving nature brought laughter and stories that made her laugh. Such made sure her lawns and shrubs were tended to. She was deeply appreciative.  Randy Kracke brought back memories of her close friendship with the neighboring Kracke family and whose father passed away way too young and his uncle, John, who Frances was very close to since the time he was a tot.  And she enjoyed her many visits with Paul’s niece, Donna Kijowski, who having lost her parents at a very young age, looked to “Uncle Paul and Aunt Frances” for encouragement and wisdom.
Frances came to depend on Pete Lehman--her ‘boots on the ground’.  Many years ago, Pete was hired to do various home improvements.  It didn’t take long before Frances trusted him with many tasks and enjoyed his companionship and visits.  Pete never failed to call her nearly every day to check in on her and was there anything she needed that either he or his kind and generous wife, Linda, could do for her. 
Frances had a special place in her heart for Maggie and her daughter Nellie, her ‘adopted granddaughter’.  Nellie called Frances ‘Grandma Orange’ because when Nellie was a shy little girl she loved ‘hanging out’ with Paul and he would tease her about how she pronounced the word ‘orange’.  This became a common back and forth whenever they got together to the point, he became Grandpa Orange and Frances Grandma Orange.
In many ways, Frances had a hard life caring for ailing parents, raising four hooligans and making sure she could support them in pursing college educations, withstanding the many economic ups and downs in farming, losing her husband and many dear, dear friends.  Without question, it was a full and rich life that included travel and new adventures and most importantly the love she had for her family and the love she had in return from her devoted family.
Visitation will be at McLaughlin & Heppner Funeral Home, 336 Marcy Avenue, Riverhead, N.Y. 11901.  Visitation Hours on Tuesday, January 2nd 2024 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 3rd 2024 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 820 Pond View Road, Riverhead, N.Y. 11901.
Frances will be buried by Paul’s side in East Quogue’s Oakwood Cemetery within a short walking distance from the preserved Kijowski farm.  They will now rest, as they wished, with their many neighbors and friends who went before them.
In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful if donations could be made in Frances honor to the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 820 Pond View Road, Riverhead, N.Y. 11901. Massachusett's E-condolences at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Massachusett's Arrangements were entrusted to O'DONNELL FUNERAL HOME - Lowell - MA - (978) 458-8768.