Funeral Details of Newton Residents Kenneth Blanchard, Bernice Antonellis, Romualdas Skvarcius

Newton Residents Kenneth Blanchard, Bernice Antonellis, Romualdas Skvarcius all passed away this week. This weekend

Dr. Kenneth Blanchard, of Newton, passed away April 15, 2017, according to his obituary.
Born in Perth Amboy New Jersey, he was the son of Fred and Edith Blanchard. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a PhD from Princeton University and after a brief teaching stint at Vassar College where he married his wife of over 50 years, Dr. Rita (Campbell)Blanchard, he then entered medical school. Both Rita and Ken graduated from Cornell Medical College with doctorates in medicine. Ken then interned at New York Hospital followed by a fellowship in endocrinology in Boston. After completing his Fellowship, he entered private practice in Newton Massachusetts. At the time of his death, he was still seeing patients and had earned a worldwide reputation for his success in treating those with thyroid disease and had authored two books on his methods of treatment.

A memorial service will be held in the Newton Cemetery Chapel, 791 Walnut St, Newton, on Saturday, April 22 at 2:30 p.m.

Bernice Beatrice (Piccirillo) Antonellis, 92 years of age, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2017.

Bernice was a lifelong resident of Newton, graduated Newton North High School in 1942, and was a member of the Class of 42 Reunion Committee, according to her obituary.

In 1946, she received a certificate of acknowledgement from the National American Red Cross for her volunteerism during WWII. December 28th, 1946 Bernice was married to Anthony J Antonellis, and was a mother and homemaker for their nine children. Bernice will be remembered for her love of family, pride of community, and deep commitment to the Catholic Church. She celebrated all the sacraments of her Catholic faith at Our Lady’s Help Christians Parish in Newton. She was a member of the Auburndale Women’s Club for many years, and served as President of the Auburndale Chapter for years 1989 through 1990. She volunteered for many years serving as “Lunch Mother” at Williams Elementary School in Auburndale and likewise for the Boy Scouts Troop 315 and Auburndale Cub Scouts.

Visiting hours in the Andrew J. Magni & Son Funeral Home, 365 Watertown St, Rt. 16, Newton, Sunday April 23 from 2-6 p.m. Funeral Mass Monday April 24 at 10:30am in Our Lady Help of Christians Church, 573 Washington St, Newton. Burial Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.

(Courtesy photo, Andrew J. Magni & Son Funeral Home)

Romualdas Skvarcius, PhD, "Rom", of Chestnut Hill, died peacefully after a brief but rapid decline in his health this week. He was an avid reader, enjoyed listening to classical music and loved to cook, according to his obituary. Skvarcius was not only a professor of Mathematics & Computer Science, but was also fortunate enough to travel the world during his time as Dean of Metropolitan College at Boston University, and was able to share those experiences with his family, which left memories to cherish for a lifetime.

A Memorial Gathering will be held in the Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Ave, Needham, on Monday, April 24 from 5-7 p.m.