Margaret F. (Ahern) Siegfried of Newton died Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. Her brother Jack F. Ahern is a resident of Needham.

Mary A. (Dodge) Sears of Needham died Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, at Wingate of Needham.
Mrs. Sears had been a Needham resident for more than 55 years.

Helen J. “JoAnne” (Hughes) Fraini of Needham and Falmouth died Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at the Stanley Tippett Home in Needham. She was 75. Mrs. Fraini had been a 45-year resident of Needham.

Margaret Therese (Sweeney) Buckley of Needham died Wednesday, July 30, 2008, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham. She was 83. Mrs. Buckley had been a resident of Needham for 56 years.

John Henry Rooney of Largo, Fla., died Saturday, July 26, 2008. He was 83. His granddaughter Bridget Bradley is a resident of Needham.

Harley R. Mutzfeld of Needham died Tuesday July 29, 2008, at MetroWest Medical Center in Natick. He was 87.

Betty L. Hayes of Stoneham, formerly of Needham, died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. She was 74. Miss Hayes had been a longtime Needham resident.

Eileen Gottsman of Georgetown, Texas, formerly of Needham, died Monday, July 21, 2008. She was 84. Mrs. Gottsman met her husband when he was a staff sergeant from Boston stationed at the San Antonio Cadet Center. They lived most of their married life in Needham, where they raised their children.

Mary Jane “Mimi” (Nicholson) Jones of Needham died Sunday, July 20, 2008, at her home. She was 61. She had been a Needham resident for 32 years.

Melvin H. Wolf of Brookline died Wednesday July 9, 2008. His son David Wolf  and daughter-in-law Debbi are residents of Needham.

George S. Flanagan of Stoneham died Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading. He was 90. His son Peter A. Flanagan and daughter-in-law Vesna Flanagan are residents of Needham.

Debra J. Wilson of Franklin died Saturday, July 12, 2008. She was 55.  Ms. Wilson was a former resident of Needham.

Orville John “Jack “ Anderson of Needham died Tuesday, July 15, 2008, at Youville Hospital in Cambridge. He was 79. Mr. Anderson and his family moved to Needham in 1970. His long career in public service reflected his lifelong commitment to social justice.

Murielle (Katz) Gerard died Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. She was 84. Mrs. Gerard had been a longtime Needham resident and was active at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham.

James Samuel Cook of Brewster died Tuesday, July 1, 2008. Mr. Cook was formerly from Needham.

Louis Nigro of Needham died Saturday, July 12, 2008, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham. He was 94. Born in Italy, Mr. Nigro had been a Needham resident for 78 years.

Peter Bucuvalas of Needham, formerly of Newton, died Friday, June 27, 2008, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. He was 95. His daughter Virginia Coury is a resident of Needham.

Elizabeth Anne (Sample) Nowell of Needham died Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Hospice of Woodside, St. Petersburg, Fla. She was 82.. She was a Needham resident for 43 years and was an active member of the Needham Presbyterian Church where she was a deacon and a member of Church Women’s United Group.

John Dennis Sheehan III of Dedham died Sunday, June 29, 2008, in Maine. He was 45. His nephew James Boothby is a resident of Needham.

Jean M. (DiGregorio) Mercadante of Needham died Friday, July 11, 2008, at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale. She was 72.