1919 – 2004

AUBURN – Mary Catherine Parakilas, 84, formerly of Enfield, Conn., died Jan. 21, at Clover Manor Nursing Home.

She was born in Lowell, Mass., on Nov. 3, 1919, the daughter of George K. and (Vasilike (Balafa) Tsongas. She was educated in Lowell public schools and graduated from the School of Home Economics at Simmons College in 1941.

She worked as a nutritionist with the Visiting Nurse Association in Boston and Hartford before marrying James C. Parakilas of Enfield, Conn., in Forth Smith, Ark. on June 24, 1944.

In the two decades after World War II she worked as a homemaker and mother, staying active in the visiting Nurse Association, as well as in the Parent-Teacher Association and the Women’s Club, all in Enfield. Later she managed her husband’s law office, specializing in tax preparation and probate work.

In 1995, after suffering cerebrovascular dementia, she moved to Auburn, where she resided first at Schooner Estates and later at Clover Manor Nursing Home.

She is survived by her daughter, Janice Parakilas and her husband Roy Baker of White Torn, Calif.; her son, James Parakilas and his wife Mary Hunter of Lewiston; two grandsons, Alexander Parakilas of Los Angeles, Calif. , and Jacob Parakilas of Lewiston.

She was predeceased by her husband on March 4, 1992. Funeral and burial will be in Enfield, Conn.