Ollie Mae Flannery

Ollie Mae (Martin) Flannery, 93, of Hopkinton passed peacefully on July 29, 2026. Ollie Mae was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the daughter of Silas and Ollie Mae (Fanning) Martin. Yes, she was an Okie from Muskogee. Ollie was proud of her Oklahoma roots, and though she lived most of her life in Massachusetts, I believe her heart never really left Oklahoma. She greatly missed being around her Oklahoman family.

Her name was Ollie Mae, but everyone called her Billie. Now, in case you’re wondering how you get to Billie from Ollie Mae, much like I was, the story goes like this: Her mother wanted to name her Billie Joe, but she was overruled by her father, who wanted to name their daughter after his wife. So, officially, she was named Ollie Mae, but somehow she became known to everyone as Billie.

After Billie graduated from high school, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Department of the Navy. While in DC, she met a young Marine who had just returned from the Korean War. She initially rebuffed his advances but later decided that he may be worthy of her time. That young Marine was Eugene Flannery, from Hopkinton, with whom she would fall in love, marry and spend the next 64 years before his passing in 2017.

Upon marriage, the newlyweds moved to Hopkinton. Now, Eugene was one of the older siblings from a very large family, 17 children in all. And as the story goes, the couple was met at the bus station by his mother, with all of the younger siblings in tow. Now, I can only imagine what she thought when she stepped off the bus, but I’m sure she might have been wondering what exactly she had gotten herself into. But, regardless of what she may have wondered, together, she and Eugene built a life, a family and a home.

Initially, they had two sons: Eugene Edward Jr. in February 1953, and William Martin in January 1955. And for the next several years they thought it might just be the two, but just as they thought they were in the clear, bam, Irish triplets! Three babies in two years! Jane Ellen in March 1964, Amy Kathleen in February 1965 and Sean Patrick in March 1966. Whew! That’s a lot! And being the good Irish Catholics they were, they added one more for good measure, Shane Thomas in October 1968.

The Catholic faith was important to Billie. She attended Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hopkinton. She also spent many years working in the church rectory and volunteering to both teach CCD classes and serve as a Eucharistic minister.

Most important to her, though, was family. There was always room in the house for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her house always seemed to be filled with the noise, laughter and energy of kids. And she wouldn’t have had it any other way! She loved having them run about the house.

The constant visits by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren are what brought her the most happiness in life and, honestly, I believe, is what sustained her after the passing of her husband. Billie was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Flannery, her parents and her three brothers, Hobert Martin, Everet Martin and Gerald Martin. She is survived by all of her children and her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Friday, Aug. 7, from 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton. A funeral service will follow at the funeral home at 1 p.m. A private family burial will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Hopkinton immediately following the funeral service. We also will gather immediately after the funeral service from 2-5 p.m. at the Woodville Rod & Gun Club, located at 252 Wood Street in Woodville to celebrate the life of Billie Flannery.

Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.