Marie-Christiane Nahas

Marie-Christiane Nahas, beloved mother, wife, sister, aunt, and mother-in-law, passed away quietly and peacefully in her home surrounded by family, friends, loved ones and her dedicated caregivers on March 26th, 2015 in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She was a resident of Stoneham for over 25 years.

Marie-Christiane Colman was born on August 14, 1930, in St. Gervais-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps. She was the eldest of 3 children. Her family owned and managed hotels in the French Alps and the southern coast of France. At 18, she married Jacques Nahas, who later launched a career as a steamship executive. They moved in 1954 to Chicago, and later lived in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. After divorcing Jacques, she resided in Louisville, Kentucky, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, eventually settling down in Stoneham.

Marie loved art museums, classical music and Gregorian chant. She was a life-long, self-taught, passionate reader of literature, psychology, philosophy, and studies of religion. Her favorite authors were Proust, Balzac, Dostoievski, Julien Green, D.H. Lawrence, C.G. Jung, Thomas Merton, and Teilhard de Chardin.

Marie was also a talented painter, the creator of many works reflecting her deep understanding of modern art and her ceaseless striving to express the mysteries, turmoil and beauty of life. Her artwork in gouache, ink, and charcoal was also inspired by religious and Christian subjects. She studied at the Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, and was a member of the Greenwich Art Barn and later at the Cambridge Art Association. She graduated from the Rittners School of Floral Design in Boston in 1988 and worked several years as a floral designer.

Marie was pre-deceased by her infant daughter, Muriel, in 1955, and by Jacques, in 2010. She leaves behind her only surviving daughter, Cheryl, of Stoneham, her two sons, Dominique and his partner Margaret of New York City, and Richard and his wife, Jeanne, of New York City and Paris, her two younger brothers, Guy and Pierre in France, and many nieces and nephews overseas. She sadly also leaves behind her beloved white cat "Princess" who was always by her side, and her two finches.

Marie was an elegant, warm, and gentle woman who never lost her eloquent French accent. She had a humble, stoic, yet quietly reserved independence. She showed great courage, faith, and gratitude and she never complained, especially towards the end of her life. She will be sorely missed by so many whose lives she deeply touched. We will always remember her kindness, her love and the great generosity she showed everyone she met.

Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances with the family on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 from 4-8pm in the funeral home. Parking attendants and handicapped elevator available. A Funeral Mass Celebrating Marie-Christiane's Eternal Life in St. Patrick's Church 71 Central St. Stoneham at 10:00am on Monday, April 6, 2015.

Please honor Marie-Christiane by making a donation in her name to the hospice organization Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923 or to Alzheimer's Association, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472