Obituary: Helen Weiser
/Helen Weiser, at 97
Helen (Musmeci) Weiser, 97, of Hull, died peacefully Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023 at Alliance Health at Marie Esther Nursing Home in Marlborough.
Mrs. Weiser was born to the late Charles and Nancy [Deletoso] Musmeci on June 16, 1926, in Dorchester. She graduated from Dorchester High for Girls in 1943 and went on to work for an insurance agency in Boston immediately after high school. She then worked for the FBI as a stenographer under J. Edgar Hoover.
When her six children were all in school, she returned to work as a sales support specialist at Westinghouse in Framingham, from where she later retired. Mrs. Weiser loved to serve her community, and started as early as advocating for the League of Women Voters while living in Framingham. She went on to serve as the president of the Simpson Park Garden Club in Framingham before permanently moving to Hull. There, she took on the role of president in the Hull Garden Club and held various positions within the club and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. She played a key role in establishing the Hull Vietnam War Memorial dedication and the Blue Star Memorial for veterans.
As the president of the Friends of the Hull Public Library, she was a driving force behind the promotion and enhancement of library programs, including Books in Bloom, the library lecture series and a scholarship that now bears her name. Her gardening column, “News Sprouts,” was featured in The Hull Times for many years. Her impact on the town of Hull is evident in the traffic islands she nurtured with plants, the dedicated room in her name at the library, the schoolchildren at Jacobs Elementary that she read to, and the individuals she assisted as a volunteer at Wellspring.
Mrs. Weiser was always visible in the community as a member of the Hull Historical Society, Hull Lifesaving Museum, the Red Hats, the Society of FBI Alumni Boston, and the Hull Village Association. Her faith was the cornerstone of her life and she could be found at St. Mary’s of the Assumption Parish every Sunday. In 2014, the town of Hull honored her as a Hull Hero in recognition of her years of dedicated community service.
She is survived by her daughters, Adrienne Garner [Wesley] of Goldsboro, N.C., and Gwenn O’Keefe [Michael] of Franklin; sons Eric Weiser of Hull, Matthew Weiser of Lebanon, Maine, and Kurt Weiser [Erica] of Waxhaw, N.C.; and daughter-in-law Peggy Weiser of Tewksbury. She is also survived by her 20 grandchildren: Leah Sisco [Glenn] of Whitman, Matthew Weiser [Katherine] of Puerto Rico, Anthony Garner [Kristen] of Goldsboro, N.C., Kurt and Kerry Garner of Greenville, N.C., Alexander Garner [Amanda] of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Patrick Weiser of Poughquag, N.Y., Laura Rowitsch [Zach] of Tewksbury, Olivia, Jake, Sam, Annabelle, Luke, Eleanor, and Ruth Weiser of Maine, Erika Weiser of Salem, Nicholas Santucci of Winter Park, Florida, Alexsis Weiser of Hull, and Jackson and Lola Weiser of Waxhaw, N.C.; and 11 great-grandchildren: Amari, A. J., and Mia Sisco of Whitman, Liam and Hadley Garner of Goldsboro, N.C., Charlotte, Nikolai, and Penelope Rowitsch of Tewksbury, Tenley and Michael Weiser of Puerto Rico, and Abel Weiser of New York. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Anne Musmeci of Hull, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years. William Weiser; son Thomas Weiser; brothers Richard Musmeci and Charles Musmeci Monte, and sisters Nancy Musmeci and Mary Kosak.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on August 25 at St. Mary’s of the Assumption Parish, in St. Ann’s Church, 208 Samoset Ave.
Burial will be in the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne on the same day at 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Friends of the Hull Public Library, P.O. Box 894, Hull, MA 02045 or The Hull Garden Club, P.O. Box 27, Hull MA 02045.
