Ann (MacDonald) Silve

Ruthann (MacDonald) Silve of Plainville passed away on May 6 at the age of 84. Born in Boston to Grace (Sebastian) and Grant MacDonald, she was the oldest of 16 children. Known by most as Ann, she was always the supportive sister to her younger siblings, and eventually the doting mother to her three daughters, her eight grandchildren and her 12 great grandchildren with one more on the way. 

Ann was predeceased by her husband Paul Silve. She is survived by her three children: Susan Filbin of North Attleboro, Joan Lithway and husband Brian of North Attleboro, Paula McLaughlin and husband Paul McLaughlin of Westwood; by her grandchildren: Laurie Filbin, Lisa Carey and her husband, Mike, Matthew Keogh, and his wife Dee, Erica Shom and her husband Nick, Casey McLaughlin, Elle Keogh Taubenfeld and her husband Britton, Molly Von Stein and her husband Rob, and Steven Lithway; by her great-grandchildren Jacqueline, Tyler, Leah, Owen, Luke, Jillian, Shane, Leanna, Natalie, George, Fiona, and Annie. 

She was the loving sister of Corrinne Converse of Hyde Park, Susan Campbell and her husband Thomas of Dedham, Ellen Kotkowski and her husband Christopher of Dedham, Larry MacDonald of Weymouth, Brian MacDonald and his wife Geri of Attleboro, DeeDee Lenane and her husband Jay of Dedham, Jay MacDonald and his wife Michelle of Dorchester, David MacDonald of Brookline, and Paul MacDonald and his wife Kim of Dorchester. She was predeceased by sisters, Marianne MacDonald, Judith McQuade and Linda Spinale, and brothers, Robert, Richard, and Wayne MacDonald. 

Although small in stature, she had the heart of a lion and a very strong will. After losing her husband in a car accident just a week before the birth of their third child, Ann was determined to make the best life for her daughters. She worked many jobs to provide for her family and eventually ended up as a custodian at the Boston Police Department where she worked well into her 60's.

Ann was always surrounded by many friends but none better than Ellie Malone. The two met as children and were like sisters for nearly 80 years. They spent many holidays, vacations, and shopping trips together and started each day with a phone call just to check in.

While her education may not have come from a traditional classroom, she was incredibly smart. She loved to read and was a wiz at Scrabble. She had common sense and emotional intelligence and she doled out sage advice whether you wanted it or not. Long before the internet or social media, Ann would often say "Don't put anything in writing you wouldn't want the whole world to see." She had wisdom for the ages.

A nurturing caregiver to many, nothing compared to her love of spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Ann could often be seen cheering loudly in the stands of an athletic event or in the audience of a local theatrical production or dance recital. She was such a fixture in the lives of her grandchildren that their friends would also call her Nana. She fought a tough battle with pancreatic cancer but not even that could dim the glow she had whenever she saw any of those grandchildren.

She left this world with two simple words, God Bless.  

Visiting hours will be Thursday, May 9th from 3:00 to7:00 pm at The Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home, 1803 Centre St. West Roxbury. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. John Chrysostom Church, 4750 Washington St. West Roxbury on Friday May 10th at 10:00am. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery. Please join us for a celebration at Waterfords in Dedham at noon.