Gloria A. O'Lari

Gloria Ann Noel O’Lari passed away peacefully on May 22,2019 in Greenfield, IN.  A loving, devoted and selfless Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother and Grandmother. An Athol, MA  native, she graduated from Athol High in 1948. She met the love of her life , Chuck, in 1953, soon after he was honorably discharged from the army, where he was awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service in the Korean War. They married in 1954 and started their family, which would be her life’s work. She was a tireless and talented homemaker, a great cook, an excellent seamstress and uncomplaining about the many moves they made as they provided for their children. Her Catholic faith sustained her throughout her life. In addition to  nurturing and encouraging her four children, she found time to garden, play tennis and was very active in the Girl Scouts . She was an avid reader , crossworder and scrabble player. She spent many happy hours knitting, she donated countless hats and afghans to cancer patients. She loved to travel.   She loved to play cards and dominoes and socialize with her many girlfriends! In her later years she was a happy Floridian. She embraced the community where they settled and was an enthusiastic , willing participant and volunteer in their busy clubhouse scene, rarely missing a function. She loved to dance. Known affectionately as Glo, Glo-Worm, Glo-Bug and Meme, she is survived by a brother, Romeo Noel of Michigan, two sisters, Lillian Bachelder of Athol ,MA and Sandra Knudtson of Vancouver, WA,  her two sons, Charles F. O’Lari III of Voluntown, CT and Joel D. O’Lari of Westerly, RI and a daughter, Sara O. Minnick of Shirley, IN, daughter-in-law Laura Moroso O’Lari, son-in-law George “Butch” Minnick, and her four grandchildren, Thea O’Lari, Meg O’Lari, Hope O’Lari and Caleb O’Lari. She is reunited in death with her parents, Robert and Albina Noel, her loving husband of 58 years and her beloved son Dean.

She will be laid to rest in the South Florida National Cemetery  on Monday, June 3, 2019 at 12:45 PM following a Mass of Christian burial at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, 2892 South Congress Avenue, Lake Worth, Florida at 11:00 AM. The family will receive friends on Monday morning from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM at Tillman Funeral Home & Crematory, 2170 South Military Trail, West Palm Beach, Florida. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to your local ALS Society , the American Cancer Society or your local Hospice Organization.