July 16, 2013
Flagg, Carol
Carol Hansen Flagg passed away gently and peacefully on the morning of July 12th 2013. at the Deutsches Altenheim Nursing Center in West Roxbury MA. Born on April 1, 1915 in Auberndale, MA to Carolyn and Alfred Hansen, she was the younger sister of Barbara and Donald. She attended Newton High School, and graduated from Portia Law School at a time when few women pursued degrees. Carol was a long time resident of Acton MA, where she lived with her late husband Alden Clifton Flagg Jr. Carol is survived by her daughter Wendie (Flagg) Sakakeeny, and her husband Kaleel, of Roslindale, MA; and her son, Peter Hansen Flagg, and his partner Joyce Bowers, of Kingston, NH. She was a loving grandmother to Tanit and Kria Sakakeeny, Tamsen (Flagg) Alper, her husband Mike, Kirsten (Flagg) Paragona and her husband Lew, Brenden Alden Flagg, and Morgan (Flagg) Detwiler and her husband Aaron; and loving great grandmother of Benjamin, Isabella, Justin and Madeline. Carol had a great love of the sea, a piano played softly, and a deep appreciation of the small and beautiful things in nature. Her playful and generous spirit touched the lives of everyone around her. Even as her speaking skills diminished, she managed to communicate love to her family and devoted caretakers. In her last days she delighted in cups of Haagen Daas strawberry ice cream, visits from her beautiful canine friend Levi, and the hugs and kisses of those who loved her. A memorial celebration of Carol’s life will be held on Saturday August 3rd, at 10:30 AM, at the Stratford Street United Church, 77 Stratford Street in West Roxbury MA. We invite you to bring your good spirit, and leave your black clothes at home. Save room for strawberry shortcake. In lieu of flowers, please ‘commit random acts of kindness’ in Carol’s memory, donate to a charity of your choice, or to Seeds of Peace at www.seedsofpeace.org
Comments(7)
Thank you Folsom for your kind un-pressured guidance.. I would like to include this poem for my mom. W
Is it fair for me
to stand here by the sea,
a trove of time burnished stones ‘neath my feet,
to hear the waves,
the waves so certain of their rhythm, their melody, their lyric.?
Is it fair that I would trade them
for a mountain stream, spilling, falling, raging
through mossy canyons of green.?
While you,
You in matchless delight, would bend ancient knees,
To scoop and splash and taste your salt flavored fingers.
And you would sigh,
Long and deep with the peace, the wonder of it.
Do the pictures help?
Yes, the ones of the sea
lining the walls of your little locked-away room.
That’s you, you know, there by the glistening surf
Do they help?
No, how could they?
How could they catch the salt scented air,
The thrill of toes touching sand touching sea.?
The absolute ‘being’ of there.
Would it help to know that I do bring you with me,
That I carry you with me to the water’s edge,
That you are always with me when I meet the sea?
That you and your sandcastle childhood
will be with me,
as long as I remember to remember.
It may help, but no,
It isn’t fair,
For you,
or for me, to stand here without you,…by the sea.
What a wonderful gift it has been for me to be able to share this earth with your mom. Her loving spirit lives on in you, Peter and everyone that had the opportunity to experience her very special kind of love. Your poem is beautiful, I am sure she has it memorized by now, and I can hear her sweetly saying it aloud to all willing to listen. My heart, my sympathy, my love to you.
Ah, so many memories of life and times in Acton. A stalwart of the town. And the memorable trip to Portugal at age 81—more full of lfe than all the rest of us! Your memory will linger with us for many years. If Julie-Anne were around, she would share my sentiments. Bon voyage—–
Pat Cumings (once of Acton now of Bedford)
I will always remember Carol swimming in Jenny’s pond! My how time flies! To Wendy and all of the family, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Linda and Richard and family
So many wonderful childhood memories….This past weekend I made iced tea with limeade and planted a large container of snapdragons remembering things from my past with Ni. Saturday nights watching the Lawrence Welk show having baked beans and franks with brown bread…Popcorn always in wooden bowls on the coffee table…Hunting for polliwogs and large frogs under the float at Morris’ pond…the smell and taste of concord grapes on a warm summer day…Laughter in the kitchen on Thanksgiving when we forgot mashed potatoes and made baked potatoes instead…Dress up….riding the rolling cow up and down the hallways…stories and piano playing in the evening in the corner of the living room with Gramp and Ni when I was sleeping over…Too many to list but she was always willing to do whatever we wanted and was a wonderful listener. I am so glad that my children had a chance to enjoy some of these same things, it is so rare to actually know your Great Grandmother! My favorite picture of Justin and Ben were taken at Morris’ Pond catching polliwogs 🙂 Love you Ni, I know have a very special Angel watching over my family!
I am at a loss for what my favorite memory is, but here are a few…listening to the Peter Pan record in Ni and Gramp’s huge living room and pretending we were flying to never land…always ginger snaps in the cookie jar…Bermuda after college graduation…countless trips to the cape to vist Auntie Barb and Uncle Ted…Bella’s christening and Samantha’s First Communion….Many a visit to your condo sharing so so many stories and I cannot see a snap dragon without singing the snap dragon song.
And of course riding in your red vw bug singing…
Here we go loopty loo
Here we go loopty lie
Here we go loopty loo
All on a Saturday night!
May you be walking on a beautiful beach somewhere with Gramp. Love you – Keek
I remember Carol as an amazing Brownie/Girl Scout troop leader. A gracious host who always gave us a ride, shared her home, and had thousands of fun things for us to do. What an great role model for me during my growing up years in Acton. Thank you Mrs. Flagg.