Pauline J (Fitzgerald) Reynolds

Pauline Jane Fitzgerald Reynolds, aged 94, passed away on May 11, 2024, after several years of illness. Pauline, known to her family as Polly, was born on January 3, 1930, the oldest child of George J. and Anele P. (Dvareckas) Fitzgerald.  She spent most of her life in Belmont, a place that she loved dearly. Polly graduated from Mount Trinity Academy in 1947, where she was inspired by the dedication of the Dominican nuns who taught her.

After a semester at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut, Polly joined the Dominican Sisters in 1948, taking the name of Sister Angela Marie. During her novitiate, Pauline lived in Saint Catharine, Kentucky, and received her B.A. in English literature from Siena College.  In later postings, during the 1950’s, Polly taught at Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and in Cambridge. Pauline also took graduate-level courses in English at Boston College. In 1958, Polly left the convent. She returned to her parents’ home in Belmont and began working as a secretary in the MIT Economics Department.

Polly met her future husband, Bill Reynolds, at the Catholic Graduates’ Club of Greater Boston. While the club hosted many activities, it is appropriate that Bill and Polly met at a book group meeting. Their mutual intellectual curiosity connected them, and forty years later, once Bill had retired from teaching in the mathematics department at Tufts, they relished having the time to participate in several neighborhood book groups together.

After Pauline and Bill were married in 1962, Polly became a homemaker and they settled in Belmont. Polly continued to do volunteer work throughout the 1960’s. Polly and Bill became parents later in life, welcoming daughter Nancy in 1969 and Jane in 1975.  From then on, Polly was fully devoted to raising her family and to caring for many elderly relatives. In 1986, Polly returned to teaching, this time working with students with dyslexia. She studied at the Carroll School in Lincoln to become certified in the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching literacy.  She then worked as a reading tutor for several years at such varied schools as the Little Flower Catholic School in Somerville, the Agassiz School in Cambridge, and Watertown High School.

Pauline was committed to her family, her church community, and her neighborhood. In their retirement, Polly and Bill were active in the Friends of the Benton Library, an organization which worked to restore the Everett C. Benton Library after it had been temporarily closed. Polly was delighted to become a grandmother at age 77, and she doted on her two grandchildren.

Pauline is survived by her husband of 61 years, William F. Reynolds. She also leaves her daughter, Nancy (spouse, Susan Harris) of Chicago; her daughter, Jane (spouse, Bryan Ho) of Lexington; and her grandchildren, Jinx Harris and Catherine Ho.  Polly is also survived by many nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends. Pauline was predeceased by her parents, by her brothers, John F. Fitzgerald and George J. Fitzgerald, Jr., and by her sister, Louise Pacht. She was also predeceased by her lifelong friends, Barbara Dillon and Mary Hughes Dauenhauer.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the caretakers who helped us in Pauline’s final years: first, Donna Ings and the home health aides from Home Instead of Lexington, and then Lisa Sabatino and her team at Brightview Arlington, where Polly resided for the last fifteen months of her life.

Funeral from the Brown & Hickey Funeral Home 36 Trapelo Road Belmont on Wednesday May 22 at 9:00 AM. Followed by a funeral mass in St Peter Church 100 Concord Ave Cambridge at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends invited. Visiting hours Tuesday from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. Interment Highland Meadow Cemetery, Belmont.

Donations may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association 320 Nevada St #201, Newton, MA 02460 https://www.alz.org/manh or Catholic Charities of Boston 275 W Broadway, Boston, MA 02127 https://www.ccab.org/  

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