Marie I (Gearin) Duerden

Marie I. Duerden (Gearin) of Green Valley, AZ, formerly of Abington, Mass. In the early morning hours of June 24th, she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at her home. She and Bob, her loving husband of 44 years, had recently celebrated her 82nd birthday.

Daughter of Joseph and Irene (Maki) Gearin who predeceased her. Marie was born in Boston and at the age of one her parents moved to Abington where there was a sizeable Finnish community including Marie's Finnish grandmother. Marie's mother was a second generation Finn, she and and Marie were proud of their heritage and spoke fluent Finnish throughout their lives. In  addition to her husband Bob, she is survived by a brother, Neal Gearin, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, sister-in-law Nancy Gearin and nephews Ken, Joe and Dennis Gearin. Two Siamese cats, Tofu and Chyna Blu also miss her.

In 1953 she was in the first graduating class of Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Mass. At Bridgewater State College, she received a Bachelors degree. At Boston State College she received a Masters degree in education. Following those degrees, she received a Masters degree in English from Northeastern University. She  taught senior English at Abington High School for 36 years, a position she loved. She retired from there in 1996 as head of the English Department, K-12.

In 1998, Marie and Bob moved to Green Valley, Arizona  where they built their dream home. They then began world travels which took them to Thailand, Italy, Germany, China, Russia, Africa, many trips to Marie's relatives in Finland, a Rhine River cruise, an extended Paul Gauguin cruise to the Society Islands in the South Seas and a twenty seven day cruise, Cape Town to Fort Lauderdale. They added a Panama Canal cruise and their all time favorite trip, a month's long trip spent in Ireland which satisfied the Irish blood in each of them. In between world travel they took a railroad trip, west to east along the Rocky Mountains. They saw the Rose Parade twice and even took a white water rafting trip on the Colorado River . There were many other trips to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico. Marie belonged to the Green Valley Lapidary Club where she designed and made stylish jewelry. She was a long time member of the Green Valley Aquabelles, a lady's synchronized swimming team. Marie was also a past president of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Alpha Kappa Chapter.

Services are private. Arrangements made by Quealy and Son Funeral home,116 Adams St, Abington, MA 02351.  In Marie's memory, please send a donation to: The Animal League of Green Valley, 1600 W. Duval Mine Rd, Green Valley, AZ 85614-5025.

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