Marlena J (Lanza) Flanagan

West Boylston - Marlena J. Flanagan, 83, of West Boylston, Massachusetts passed away, surrounded by family, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Marlena grew up in Leominster and graduated from Leominster High School in 1959. She met her future husband Paul when she was 16, and they married in October, 1961 and raised their family in Sterling. Family was always important to Marlena. She especially loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and her sister Joan – the ‘Louise’ to her ‘Thelma’! 

Marlena loved spending time at the family cottage on Cape Cod and on the Seanair at Kingman Marina. She had the gift of gab and could make friends anywhere! She would greet and chat with anyone walking down ramp 7, and loved the dock’s annual voyages to Nantucket. She could also be found talking to any stranger on any beach she ever went to during her stroll to find shells and sharks’ teeth. She loved living in New England -- trips to the beaches, lighthouses, hydrangeas and Nantucket were a few of her favorite things. 

Paul and Marlena moved to West Boylston in 1990. They had a great group of neighbors, and they all looked out for each other. Her family would like to extend a sincere thank you for all the love and care Marlena’s neighbors provided to her, especially Ruth and Laurie.

Marlena also enjoyed traveling. She and Paul motored their boat to Myrtle beach, traveled to Florida often, and ended up buying a place in Port St. Lucie. They also were fortunate to enjoy other travels, including trips to Majorca and Hawaii. Marlena and her siblings took the trip of a lifetime to Italy with their mother in 1995. Her grandchildren have fond memories of trips with their grandmother to Myrtle Beach and Vienna, Austria, weekend trips on the boat or to a beach, and time together playing games and watching movies. 

Marlena is remembered with love and will be greatly missed by her son John M. Flanagan and his wife Beth of Mashpee; daughter, Kelly M. Flanagan of Holden; grandchildren Kayla Flanagan of Vienna, Austria, Krista Flanagan of Peabody and Kiley Flanagan of Orlando, FL; sister Joan L. Lanza of Clinton; brother Francis J. Lanza and his wife Anita of Leominster; sister-in-law Catherine Lanza of Leominster; brother and sister-in-law Michael and Mary Flanagan of Sterling; sister-in-law Joyce Flanagan of Novato, CA; and many cousins, nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Paul J. Flanagan, her parents John and Nancy M. Lanza, and her brother Stephen M. Lanza.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours from 9-10:45 am on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Wright-Roy Funeral Home, 109 West St., Leominster. MA 01453. A Celebration of Marlena’s life will follow at 11 a.m..in the funeral home. Interment will be private in Hillside Cemetery, Sterling, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marlena’s honor to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, https://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/ or the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, https://www.fccns.org/.

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