By Maurice ‘Mossy’ Martin
Condolences to the Kern family, whose beautiful mother, Joanie Kern, passed away peacefully at her Roslindale home last month.
Joanie graduated from Mission High in 1959, and she eventually earned her master’s degree from Cambridge College. She worked for 30 years at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in the Care Coordination/Social Work Services Department. Joanie’s most prideful fulfillment was she and her late husband, Ed Kern, raising their four top-shelf boys.
Father Philip Dabney gave a spiritual eulogy of Joanie, and Stephen Kern spoke beautiful “words of remembrance” about his beloved mother.
Donations in Joanie’s memory may be made to Xaverian High School in Westwood, where three of her four boys (Ed, Stephen, and John) were great student-athletes. Mike Kern graduated from Boston Latin, and he is a Boston Police detective.
The Mission Hill Post 327 held a meeting last month at Venezia Restaurant in Dorchester.
We will have our Memorial Day observance at Brigham Circle May 25 (usually at 11 a.m.). Other topics discussed included a 250th birthday celebration of our great country.
Seth Daniel joined me at Mike’s Donuts last week for a coffee and donut. Seth wrote a superb column for this fine paper for 10 years, and he currently writes for the Dorchester Reporter.
Seth, a shortstop, was also my teammate for Mission Hill Liquors in the M.H. Softball League.
Condolences to the family of Kay (Antonuccio) O’Malley, a luminary Mission Hill mother who passed away peacefully March 29 at age 96.
Kay, who along with her husband, ‘Jobby,’ raised seven terrific children, graduated from Mission High in 1947. During her high school years, Kay participated in the famous ‘Pilate’s Daughter’ play at St. Alphonsus Hall. She was also a familiar face on Election Days volunteering at the Mission Hill polls. Kay enjoyed cooking and her specialty was her fine Italian dishes.
R.I.P., Kay.
‘One by land and two by Sea’: On Patriots Day at 9 a.m.. my companions and I cleared out of Mike’s Donuts to watch the reenactment of William Dawes’ ride through Roxbury, Brookline, and Cambridge on his way to Lexington in 1775.
Paul Revere took a different route through Medford and Arlington to Lexington to warn the citizens that the British were coming.
It’s nice to occasionally see the smiling Mission Hill faces at Encore Casino in Everett, where I often go.
Don’t make the mistake at the Blackjack table that I persistently observe: ‘staying’ on soft 18 (ace and a seven) against the dealer’s nine up-card.
Eighteen is a mediocre hand, particularly against the dealer’s high card. The correct play is to ‘hit’ soft 18, and you can’t ‘bust’ with the ace utilized as a one or 11. T
his gives you a 23 percent chance of improving your hand by catching an ace, deuce, or three.
Happy birthday (May 12) to Fred Cataldo.
He will be 90, but one would never surmise Fred has reached that milestone with his sprightliness and his convivial personality.
Fred grabs a coffee at Mike’s Donuts every Sunday prior to the 9 a.m. Mass, and we appreciate his presence.
Christine Healey celebrated her milestone birthday April 22.
Christine, a Mission High graduate, was chosen ‘Miss Mission’ at the school’s Valentine Day Dance in 1973, and she still retains her good looks.
Christine’s dad was the late Ed ‘Pops’ Healey, who lived on Sachem Street for years. Pops was a member of the Greatest Generation, who served in the Army-Airforce during World War II.
My friend, Paul Grant, told me the awesome news last month that his wife, Ophelia, gave birth to their beautiful daughter, Seva.
Chatting with me at Mike’s Donuts, Paul – a towering and former basketball great at Boston College and later in the pros – said: “The birth of Seva was the greatest day of our lives.”
I love the name ‘Seva,’ chosen by Ophelia as an interconnection to her heritage, since she was baptized next to Lake Sevan, the largest body of water in Armenia.
Remnants of a dirty, tattered American flag is suspended at the vacant house at 17 Iroquois St.
The beloved Sheehan family sold that house in 2021 and had proudly hung their flag in spotless condition. Several neighbors have commented on this matter, and hopefully the owner will remove the flag..
It was Play Ball time for the Mission Hill Little League kids as the season began last Saturday (April 25) at Killilea Playground.
There was a nice crowd on a cool day, who were entertained by a skillful Puerta Rican dance group, and before the first pitch, talented crooner Mitch Hilton superbly sang the National Anthem.
Thanks to the crew at the New England Baptist Hospital for sprucing up the field and cutting the grass.
President Dan Weldon informed me that Minor League rosters (ages 7 to 9) are full, but there are openings for the Majors (ages 10 to 12) and also for the little kids who play T ball.
As the glove said to the ball, catch you later.
Maurice can be reached at [email protected]