HAVERHILL - Mrs. Mary E. (Sullivan) Letourneau, a resident of Haverhill, and beloved wife of Richard E. Letourneau Sr., passed away at the Merrimack Valley Hospice House in Haverhill on Wednesday morning, July 22, 2015. She was 90 years old.

Mrs. Letourneau is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 67 years Richard Letourneau Sr., a son, Richard E. Letourneau Jr. and his wife Susan, and a daughter Elizabeth Letourneau. She was predeceased by her son Lawrence Letourneau in 1990. Mrs. Letourneau left a grand legacy including 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. "Gram" will be sorely missed by all of them.

Mrs. Letourneau was born in Haverhill, MA in 1925 to impoverished Irish immigrant parents. Through the force of her own abundant and determined will she fought her way out of poverty, culminating with graduating from Salem State College in 1947. She married her husband, Richard, in 1948. In 1950 she and Richard began their family.

Mrs. Letourneau had a lifelong passion for teaching. She taught school in Washington DC, Haverhill, Massachusetts, finally retiring in 1988 from the Groveland Massachusetts School System.

She and her husband pursued their retirement, for over 20 years, by travelling the country. Their travels took them to most states, and many casinos where she enjoyed the slot machines. She fulfilled one of her dreams in 1995 by travelling with her husband to her cherished Ireland.

She was a person who enjoyed reading, and staying current with the news. She was a person capable of deep thought, her husband saying that "She had a beautiful mind."

Throughout her long life her Irish heritage followed wherever she went. She regaled in anything Irish. Her family will remember her as a strong, loving woman who truly embodied the saying..."Is this a private fight, or can anyone get in?" All that needed saying was said. All that needed doing was done. Farewell.

Her funeral will be held Saturday morning, July 25, 2015, beginning in the Driscoll Funeral Home, 309 So. Main Street, (Rte. 125), Bradford at 9:00 AM. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. John the Baptist Church, Lincoln Avenue, Haverhill at 10:00 AM.

Interment will follow in Linwood Cemetery. Visiting hours will be Friday in the funeral home from 5:00 to 8:00 PM.

Courtesy local transportation will be provided on request to the visiting hours by calling Patrick Driscoll at (978) 374-0000.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Mary's memory to the Merrimack Valley Hospice House, 360 North Avenue, Haverhill, MA 01830.