Community mourns tragic deaths of 2 beloved women

Ciara Sullivan (left) and Della Larsen (right) were both daughters of Irish immigrants.

Residents of Canton are grief stricken and utterly heartsick over the tragic deaths of two local women, Ciara (Lambkin) Sullivan and Della (Mannion) Larsen, who passed away recently within days of each other due to medical complications.

Sullivan, a 2012 CHS graduate, died just two days after Christmas alongside her newborn twins, who had been on life support since their birth on December 16.

Five days later, Larsen, a longtime Canton resident, mother of three and veteran schoolteacher, lost her heroic, 20-month battle with ALS at age 59.

Both women were daughters of Irish immigrants — Larsen was a baby when her family relocated to the U.S. from Galway — and both dedicated their lives to helping and serving others.

For Larsen, that spirit of service was most apparent in her role as an educator, including an initial stint as a special education teacher followed by a lengthy career as a kindergarten teacher in the Boston Public Schools. And it continued well into her retirement, as she founded and grew an educational resources company before shifting her focus to ALS awareness and research, documenting her own personal journey for the world to see while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in search of a cure.

As she noted in a September 2024 interview with the Citizen, there is still no cure for ALS — a fatal neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the legendary Yankees slugger — and the exact cause of the disease is still largely unknown. “There’s not enough funding for ALS,” Larsen said. “When you think about it, what [other] disease hasn’t improved in 80 years?”

Despite facing a devastating prognosis and a host of worsening symptoms primarily affecting her motor functions, Larsen became a champion for ALS causes while touching the lives of countless people through her heartfelt video updates.

In a recent Facebook post, the online women’s empowerment and leadership channel SHECAN celebrated Larsen as a “true warrior who fought bravely and courageously until the very end.”

“Her perspective on finding joy amidst adversity is uplifting and encourages us to always seek positivity,” noted SHECAN. “Her legacy will live on. Della changed the narrative on living with ALS. We are so grateful for the opportunity to have told her story.”

Last summer, Larsen undertook a personal project to record herself reading dozens of children’s books as a lasting gift for her future grandchildren. She also utilized a “voice banking” program offered through Children’s Hospital to record messages for her husband, Ronald, and three adult children, Michael, Matthew and Katherine, before the disease took away her ability to speak.

Kristin Mirliani, a friend of Larsen’s and former chair of the Canton School Committee, described Larsen in a Facebook post as the bravest person she’s ever had the privilege of knowing. “I will treasure my memories of time spent laughing with her,” Mirliani said. “She will be missed deeply by so many of us who loved her. Please do as she requested and ‘call an old friend and make a memory’ in her honor.”

Another friend, Kevin Martin, described Larsen as his “hero” and also one of the ALS community’s biggest advocates. “Thank you for your impact, your friendship, your bravery, your smile … and, mostly, how you embodied joy in your life and in the lives of so many,” Martin wrote.

Those who knew Ciara Sullivan remembered the 30-year-old new mom in similarly glowing terms, highlighting her “boundless generosity, warmhearted nature, and unwavering love for her family.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree in organizational communication at Assumption College and later her master’s in homeland security at Northeastern, Sullivan went to work as a 911 dispatcher for the Shrewsbury Police Department before moving on to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she had worked for the past four years as an emergency management specialist.

She also devoted her time as a volunteer for the American Red Cross, and together with her husband, Patrick, a Rutland firefighter, she built a home and a life in central Massachusetts, just outside of Worcester.

At a recent vigil held on the Rutland town common, one Rutland dispatcher, according to the Boston Globe, described Sullivan as “one of the kindest, most generous, and loving people you’ll ever meet.”

She and Patrick had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their firstborn son and daughter when she suffered an unexpected medical emergency at home. Sullivan was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center and underwent an emergency c-section, but doctors could not sustain life for either the mother or her children without mechanical assistance.

On the evening of December 27, Rutland emergency officials announced that Ciara and her two infant children, James Michael and Elizabeth Joanne, had been taken off life support and passed away “quietly and peacefully” at the hospital alongside one another. “Words cannot express the total devastation and unimaginable loss this tragedy has brought,” officials said.

In a post on her online tribute wall at Miles Funeral Home, a friend of Sullivan’s said she “left this world making the ultimate sacrifice that any woman could make.”

“You brought so much joy to Pat, your parents, in-laws and friends the day James and Elizabeth were brought into this world,” the woman noted. “I know you are lovingly wrapping your arms around those babies and watching over from above. No words can express the magnitude of this loss, but please know that we will all never forget you, James or Elizabeth. We will ensure your legacy will continue on through our acts of service. I will always think of you when I see a beautiful blue hydrangea, or an ocean wave rolling gently upon the shore.”

In addition to her husband, Sullivan is survived by her mother, Patricia (Ward) Lambkin, her father, Stephen Lambkin, and a brother, Alan Lambkin, along with several in-laws, extended relatives and friends. She was remembered at a service held this past Saturday in Holden.

Three days after Sullivan’s funeral service, friends and loved ones of the Larsen family gathered to remember Della at the Dockray and Thomas Funeral Home in Canton. She is survived by her husband and three children, as well as two brothers, their spouses, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

In her obituary, Larsen’s family expressed their gratitude for the time they got to spend with “such an extraordinary soul.”

“Her memory will continue to guide and comfort us,” they said, “as her spirit lives on in the many lives she has shaped. Though her physical presence is no longer with us, the essence of who she was — a loving wife, a nurturing mother, a caring sister, and a true friend — will forever be etched in the history of family and friends.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 10 2025. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.