Constance Anne Callahan, née Dumais, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, passed away at home on September 15, 2026 after a 23-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
The daughter of Valmore and Dorothy (Peach) Dumais, Connie was born on October 17, 1947 at the Mary A. Alley Hospital in Marblehead (the mark, she said, of “a true ‘Header”). After spending her early years in Catholic school, Connie graduated from Marblehead High School in 1965, a year ahead of her high-school sweetheart and future husband, Kevin Reed Callahan, whom she married in April 1968. Their first son, Shawn, was born in 1969 on a military base in New Jersey where Kevin was stationed. By the time Brendan, their second son, arrived in 1974, Connie and Kevin had settled in their forever home in Swampscott. In 1977, Connie gave birth to their third son, Kyle, and deciding she couldn’t improve on him, called the family complete.
Connie began her career as a secretary, working on the military base where Kevin was stationed, then at the National Grand Bank in Marblehead. In the mid-1980s, she moved into office management at Pickering Wharf in Salem. A few years later, she became the office manager at Cassidy Insurance in Swampscott, where she worked until Parkinson’s forced her into retirement. She loved working for the Cassidy family, and her family thanks the Cassidys for all the love and support they showed Connie during the decades of her service.
Connie’s favorite thing in the world was to get on the floor and play with her five grandkids: Shannon, Finn, Avery, Onòra, and Quentin. Few made her smile like her grandchildren could, and even as she lay in hospice, their faces at the end of her bed brought an unmistakable light to her eyes.
But Connie was not just a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and office manager. She was a voracious reader who skied the slopes of New England and traveled the world with her husband. She was a Master Teacher for Catholic CCD and perenial chaperone for North Shore Youth Tours and the Catholic Youth Organization. A devoted Boston sports fan, she cheered on the Sox, Celtics, and Bruins, and probably would have abandoned her entire family for a week with Tom Brady. Despite being hard of hearing, she danced through every era of her life: to The Beatles as a young girl, to Motown and Tina Turner as a young mother, to the carefree songs of Jimmy Buffett in her middle age. Even near the end, when she was wheelchair-bound, she didn’t let the contraption stop her from closing her eyes and grooving her head to the music of her favorite, the Boss, Bruce Springsteen.
Connie is survived by her husband, Kevin; her sons, Shawn (Grace), Brendan (Stephanie), and Kyle (Dawn); her five grandchildren; her brothers, Val Dumais (Susan) and Mark Dumais (Lisa); eight nephews and a niece; and nine grandnieces. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, William “Dewey” Dumais.
A funeral service for Connie will be on Monday, September 21st at 10:30 AM at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Marblehead. She was very clear in her wishes that no one should wear black and hoped everyone would look “colorful and nice.” Also she asked for “a little party afterwards.” Details will be provided at the funeral.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. They would also like to thank the people of Care Dimensions for making her last days at home as comfortable and as peaceful as possible.