1939 - 2026
"Born on February 28th, 1939, in Newport, New Hampshire, she was the daughter of Russell Ward Osgood and Irene (Laro) Osgood. She attended her beloved Grantham Village School as a child and graduated from Towle High School in Newport in 1957.
Mom treasured her teenage years in the 1950s—frequenting the local penny candy shop, dancing to Elvis records with her friends, attending sock hops and participating in several school clubs. A gifted athlete, she was the catcher on her school’s softball team and played guard for the basketball team, an impressive feat since she stood barely five foot three.
During high school she met her future husband, Lawrence Hayward from Claremont, New Hampshire. They married in 1959 and welcomed five children together. In the early 1960s, the couple owned a small restaurant in New London, New Hampshire, where Mom became known for her spectacular desserts, namely her chocolate eclairs, which often sold out before noon.
The family later settled in Grantham, where Mom devoted herself to home and family—sewing beautiful clothes for her kids, maintaining a large garden, hauling water from a nearby spring when the pipes froze (she made us kids help), and cooking gourmet meals for her family with homemade desserts every night. Her legendary lemon meringue pie rose nearly four inches high.
Mom instilled in her children a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility. She managed our days by keeping a chore chart and lists (she was the Queen of Lists) and resolved sibling disputes with straws from a broom, ensuring peace through fairness.
She made sure her children were rich in imagination and creativity—books, crafts, crayons, Play-Doh, drawing paper, marbles, jacks and matchbox cars filled their days. She taught the value of earning and saving money, nursed sick children with Vicks and hot water bottles, and sang countless lullabies. Being stay-at-home mom was the role she treasured the most.
In 1971, the family moved to Whitinsville, Massachusetts, where life took an unexpected turn and Mom found herself raising us kids alone. With determination, she reorganized the household, assigned responsibilities, and took a job as a breakfast waitress at the Sheraton Hotel in Worcester. Within a year she advanced to hostess in the hotel’s fine dining room, wearing beautiful gowns she borrowed or made. Seeking more balance, she later worked at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton.
In the late 1970s, Mom re-discovered the faith in God she had as a child and became deeply involved in Bible studies—eventually leading them herself. Her faith shaped her life and relationships, as she formed deep and lasting friendships and devoted herself to loving and serving others.
Determined to advance professionally, Mom returned to school and was hired as an executive secretary at Whitin Machine Works, later becoming an administrative assistant for Wiersma Insurance.
In her early 50s, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by earning a degree in Education from Gordon College, becoming a fourth-grade teacher at MetroWest Christian Academy in Ashland. Later, she served as a librarian at Our Lady of the Valley School in Uxbridge, and finally concluded her career at age 77 as assistant to the headmaster at Holy Name High School in Worcester.
Beyond work, Mom lived boldly and creatively. She took belly dancing lessons, started a Color Me Beautiful business to minister to incarcerated women, traveled to Russia to serve in an orphanage, studied calligraphy, and sold her work at local craft fairs. By century’s end, she proudly embraced her role as grandmother to nine grandsons and nine granddaughters, investing time in each one personally.
Mom faced profound challenges with courage. She survived breast cancer as a young woman, later enduring rheumatoid arthritis, which brought years of suffering. She found comfort in swimming at the Whitin Gym, loved walking, and could often be found strolling the grounds of her final home on Chestnut Street in Whitinsville.
After retiring in 2016, Mom devoted herself to reading, friendships, Bible studies, writing devotionals, cooking for others, and encouraging her growing family. That same year, she traveled to Scotland, fulfilling another dream. At age 80, she completed her memoir, “Between the Lines,” one of her proudest achievements.
Mom leaves behind her five children,
Mitsie McKellick (Tim) of Maine, Shelley Hayward (Jack Farrell) of Ashland, MA, Lorelei Hayward of Clinton, MA, Jeff Hayward (Melissa) of New Richmond, Ohio, and Ruth Anderson (Steve) of Grafton, MA.
Known lovingly as Gram, she leaves eighteen grandchildren—Lydia, Danny, Ryan, Luke, Meghan, Samantha, Abby, Joel, Thomas, Maggie, Ben, Kate, Will, Mary, Caleb, Dylan, Ellie, and Corrie—**along with 28 great-grandchildren, two yet to be born, and one great-great grandson.
She is also survived by her sister Louise Carey of New London, New Hampshire, and her brother Paul Osgood (Kathi) of Grantham, New Hampshire. She was pre-deceased by her parents and her brothers Robert and Armand Osgood.
Mom had a million friends. Okay, maybe not a million, but too many to count, all of whom stand as living proof of her impact and faithfulness.
Our mom was a beautiful woman inside and out who underestimated her influence, yet like the tiniest pebble dropped into a lake, her life will send ripples into eternity.
Mom, you were our North Star and our hero, and we will forever be grateful for your life.
Calling hours for Pauline will take place on Saturday, February 14th from 12-2pm at Buma Funeral Home, 101 N. Main Street, Uxbridge, MA.
A Celebration of Life will be held on April 18th at 10:30 a.m. at Valley Chapel on Hunter Rd in Uxbridge, MA.
Donations in Pauline’s memory may be made to Valley Chapel in Uxbridge, MA".
