Her life was one of service, service to God and service to people

Laura Theresa (Henderson) Coviello was born in East Boston on November 16, 1937 to James and Laura (Rothwell) Henderson. She died peacefully on October 20, 2026 in the same way that she lived the vast majority of her life and that was surrounded by her family.

Laura loved her family more than anything, but she also just loved people. She was the kindest person in any group and was a deep empath; she felt the weight of other people’s misfortunes and sorrows. That would be the hallmark of her life, she cared and cared and cared some more.

In 1959, she married Nicholas Coviello, the man that would be her rock, partner and the love of her entire life for the next almost 66 years of marriage. Their union was a special one. She was the most caring and loving person you could meet and he was the most reliable, trustworthy and unflappable. Their marriage, in public and in private, was a union of love and joy. Though there were hardships and hurdles to overcome, those hurdles never came from one another. They were steadfast and true and a team, always.

Laura was the devoted mother of Deborah Barker, Sandra Colantonio and her husband, Mark, all of East Boston. She was predeceased by her only son, Nicholas, whom she loved fiercely and missed terribly for the last decade of her life. She was predeceased by her special niece, Theresa whom she loved like another child. She was the beloved sister of James, Dorothy, George, William, Ruth, Alice, Robert, Paul and Diane, all of whom predeceased her. She was the adored grandmother of Amanda Barker-Santiago and her husband, Joseph of Peabody, Alicha DiTomaso

of North Reading, Laura Pari of Everett, Jaclyn Pari of Waltham and Christopher Colantonio of East Boston. She was the cherished great-grandmother of Alexandria, Jacob, Drayven, Kayson, Scarlett, Nicole, Grace, Nicholas and Jackson. She was the best friend of eighty-four years to Carol Buchanan of Medford. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Laura’s life was one of service, service to God and service to people. She was a caretaker, first at home to her children and later through her professional work. She worked for years at the Marco Polo Rest Home caretaking their residents. Later, she worked as a home health aid to elderly and infirm people. Many of her clients became true friends. She spent the last decades of her working life at the East Boston Health Center first with the elderly to help them stay engaged

and enjoying life and later with Alzheimer’s patients. She loved her patients. She never shied from the most challenging ones and believed that they all deserved dignity and care until the very end and she was the one to provide it. She also loved God deeply. Whether she was praying to, or even for the Pope, watching her beloved Mother Angelica on television or singing in the church choir, God was at the center of her life. She was an active member of the Grace Church in East Boston for many years.

Nana Laura deeply loved her family. Babies were her specialty. She was the most expert baby whisperer. Beginning with her own children, she would lovingly hold a baby, swaddle it tightly and then sing it to slumber. Too-Ra Loo-Ra Loo-Ral (An Irish Lullaby) was her favorite song to sing while rocking the baby she loved. After her own children, she would rock each of her grandchildren and later her great-grandchildren to sleep in the same way. There are so many vivid and fond memories of Nana Laura singing the Irish Lullaby in her lovely, sweet voice.

While babies were her special job, Nana wanted all of her family members around all of the time. She always wanted to know what was going on at their jobs, with their friends and in their love lives. She refused to be left out of any storytelling. When she started losing her hearing, she would pull the closest of us over to ask “What are they talking about? Don’t leave me out, I want to know.” We all lovingly obliged. She loved tea, both the hot kind in the cup and the kind spoken during family Sundays.

Eventually, Nana’s love and care for people would be the very thing that wounded her the most. She always took on the sorrows of other people. She would pray for and cry for those that she loved, as well as those she only knew in passing. When someone had a tragedy, it became her tragedy and weighed heavily on her heart. For many years, she would take the emotional hit of a tragedy, worry about it, mourn it and then recover. In the later years of her life, the recovery part was slow to come. The Sandy Hook Massacre of beautiful, innocent children so nearby shook

her to her core. She lost a bit of herself after that tragedy. The Boston Marathon Bombing and the death of her only son were tragedies that her mind did not seem able to bear. She slowly slid away from the world that became too heavy and the family that she loved so dearly.

Now though, Nana gets to rest. She gets to bask in the love of her God. She is reunited with her husband and son and family. She can sing to and rock and comfort the babies taken from this earth too soon. There is no better person for the job.

Nana Laura, we hope that as you walk into your eternity in heaven: May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Funeral Services were held privately.

To send online condolences, please visit www.vertucciosmithvazza.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the care and direction of the Vertuccio Smith & Vazza, Beechwood Home for Funerals, Revere.