Pauline T. Thorndike

“Just remember in the Winter, far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.”
- Bette Midler, “The Rose”
Pauline “Polly” Louise (Turner) Thorndike of Holden, aged 77, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 18, 2020 at the Christopher House in Worcester, MA after contracting COVID-19. She was a loving wife, a proud, doting mother and grandmother, a charitable neighbor, a trusted friend, and a devout Christian. She was a music aficionado and it filled her home from the stereo in the living room, from the piano she learned to play as a child, and from the guitar she taught herself to play. And she loved to sing. She enjoyed quilting, knitting, and sewing. She prayed. She liked hearing your stories and embellishing her own. She was a Celtics fan. She was a movie buff, particularly of musicals, particularly of ones featuring Julie Andrews. She made the best apple pies. She laughed at her children even when she knew she shouldn’t be encouraging them. She wore turtlenecks. She was a staunch defender of her ideals. She touched people as a part of the music ministry at St. Bridget’s Parish in Abington, and as a very active member, with her husband Chris, of the St. Vincent DePaul Society of Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich. She was loved. She will be missed.
Polly was born on November 4, 1942 at Brockton Hospital to Richard and Mabel (Pion) Turner of Brockton. Her sister Christine died at birth in 1940 and on Polly’s second birthday, her father was killed in France during WWII. Her family was small, but close. She spent summers at her Aunt Pauline and Uncle Joseph King’s farm where she rode horses, helped with chores, and played with her cousins Jay, John, and Ritchie. Polly and her mother moved to East Bridgewater when she was 15 where she attended high school. Alphabetically, she sat directly behind Christopher Thorndike. Innocent classroom teasing would lead to love and ultimately a 53-year marriage producing three children and six grandchildren. She graduated from EBHS in 1960 and Emmanuel College in 1965. In 1966, she married Chris, the love of her life. Early on she worked as a social worker in Massachusetts and New York, while later in life she worked as a loan administrator for Abington Savings Bank and then a medical transcriptionist for Dartmouth Hitchcock in New Hampshire. Between careers, she spent twenty years as a stay-at-home mom. Polly and Chris raised their children in Abington, MA and New London, NH before moving to Mashpee, MA and finally Holden, MA.
Polly is survived by her husband Christopher J. Thorndike, Sr.; two sons, Christopher “John” Thorndike, Jr. and his wife Colleen of Newbury Park, CA and Richard L. Thorndike and his wife Maria Theresa of Dania Beach, FL; her daughter, Sarah Cronin and her husband Steven of Shrewsbury, MA; six grandchildren, Abigail and Ryan Thorndike of Newbury Park, CA, Ricardo and Maite Thorndike of Dania Beach, FL, and Erin and Sean Cronin of Shrewsbury, MA; four sisters-in-law, Diane Kaneb and her husband Albert of Weston, MA, Joan Mavor of Bridgewater, MA, Susan Thorndike of New Canaan, CT, and Elizabeth Berry and her husband Frank of North Carolina; and nine nieces and nephews.
Due to the current restrictions on public gatherings, services for Polly will be privately held in the MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation St., Worcester. Burial will be held at a later date in New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name can be made to: Jewish healthcare Hospice, 646 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609 or jhccenter.org. To share your thoughts and memories of Polly with her family, please visit her personal guestbook at www.mercadantefuneral.com