Beatrice Lombardi Coyne
Longtime West End resident
Longtime West End resident Beatrice Lombardi Coyne died in Brighton on March 11. She was 89.
Born on Nov. 4, 1921, Mrs. Coyne was raised in the Orient Heights section of East Boston. She married the late James F. Coyne in 1950. Four years later, the couple moved from Brookline to Hingham.
In the early ‘70s, Mrs. Coyne and Werner Lechner opened Lechner’s Restaurant on Broad Street. After the restaurant closed circa 1978, Mrs. Coyne relocated from Hingham to the West End.
Mrs. Coyne found employment at The Charles Restaurant and then Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill, where she worked for three generations of owners from the mid ‘80s until her retirement in 2008.
“Bea was a beautiful, graceful woman who was beloved by generations of Bostonians,” Blackstone’s co-owner Mark Duffield said. “She is remembered fondly by her many friends and admirers on Charles Street. All of us consider ourselves fortunate to have her in our lives, and we will always be better people because of her. We will miss her dearly.”
Mrs. Coyne’s niece, Lynette Lombard, said, “She was a warm, kind generous lady who loved her family, but she also liked being a working woman. She was a modern feminist in a way.”
Geri Grey, a longtime Beacon Hill resident and friend of Mrs. Coyne, remembers here as classy and proper.
“She was a wonderful lady who never faulted,” Grey said. “It’s almost like she never left home without her white gloves.”
Mrs. Coyne’s daughter, Cathy Parker, described her mother as lively, social and “always a lady.”
“I wish I could have half her energy,” Parker said. “She was really positive all the time.”
Mrs. Coyne is survived by her son James A. Coyne and grandson Ian Coyne of Cave Creek, Ariz., daughter Catherine Parker of Boston, sister Eleanor Blaker of Manhattan, Kansas, brother Richard Lombardi of York, Maine and brother Peter Lombard of Boston.
Mrs. Coyne was interred in Hingham.
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Dr. Ronald X. Conway
Retired Boston Police Area A-1 Captain
Dr. Ronald X. Conway of Quincy, formerly of Dorchester, died March 18.
Dr. Conway was the retired captain of the Boston Police Department and Area A-1 commander. As the police’s former deputy superintendent, he spearheaded community-policing efforts. Dr. Conway was also a Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran.
Dr. Conway was a former professor at Boston University, Curry College and Quincy College. He was a graduate of Don Bosco High School, Suffolk University, Curry College and Boston State College. Dr. Conway also received his doctoral degree in education from Boston University.
The son of the late George L. and Loretta E. (Byrnes) Conway, Dr. Conway is survived by his wife Patricia A. (Sullivan); his children Ronald X. Jr., Christopher J. and his wife, Susan, all of Quincy, Kara B. Norton and her husband, Ronald, of Cohasset and Gregory B. and his wife, Mary Ryan, of South Boston; his grandchildren Maeve and Aine Norton; and his siblings Paul Conway of Florida, Carol Muszynaski of New York, Donna Gallagher of Milton and the late Lorraine Dean, Claire Fisher, George Jr. and Robert Conway. He is also survived by his loving extended family.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to McCourt Foundation for MS research, 300 Congress St., Suite 302, Quincy, MA 02169.