Marie E. (Chahwan) Ackourey, 86, a longtime resident of the Hungry Hill section of Springfield, was Called Safely Home on Thursday, May 19, 2016. She passed into Eternal Life at Wingate at West Springfield surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family. She was born on March 3, 1930 in Karak Noah, Zahle, Lebanon, a beloved daughter of the late Elias Chahwan and Nazha Tannoury. She was raised and schooled in Lebanon and came to Springfield around 1968. She was a communicant of Saint Anthony Maronite Catholic Church in Springfield where she was a member of the Saint Anthony Women’s Guild. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, John P. Ackourey who was Called Home on February 23, 2010. They were married on January 4, 1969 at Saint Rose of Lima Church in Freehold, NJ and were blessed with over 41 years of happiness together. She leaves her two loving children, Christine M. A. Connors and her husband, Christopher, of Westfield and John G. Ackourey and his wife, Heather, of Springfield; her two cherished grandchildren, John E. P. Ackourey of Springfield and Victoria Makkiya of West Springfield; her two dear brothers, John Chahwan and his wife, Georgette, and George Chahwan and his wife, Adonis, all of Lebanon; her dear brother-in-law, Peter P. Ackourey of Gardenia, CA; her dear sister-in-law, Mary A. Ackourey of Arlington, VA ; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, friends and extended members of the Ackourey and Chahwan families in the United States and Lebanon. Besides her parents and husband, she was also predeceased by her dear sister, Matil Shehab and her husband, L’Emir Fouad Shehab; and her dear sister-in-law, Anna Ackourey. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2016 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Springfield Chapels, (413-737-1177), 7 Chapin Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107, (funeral home will open at 9 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in Saint Anthony Maronite Catholic Church, 375 Island Pond Road, Springfield, MA 01118. Her Committal Service will follow the Mass at 1 p.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. before the Mass. Her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Springfield Rescue Mission, PO Box 9045, Springfield, MA 01102-9045 or Saint Anthony Maronite Catholic Church, 375 Island Pond Road, Springfield, MA 01118 or Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38101-9908. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com

[Published in The Springfield Republican, Springfield, MA on May 23, 2016]