Irene M. Woods

Worcester - Irene Mary (Danielson) Woods, 90, of West Boylston, died peacefully with her family by her side on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.

Irene’s arrival in the world was memorable. She was born during a snowstorm on Dec. 19, 1935, in Baldwinville, a village in Templeton, MA. She came into the world at her family’s home, attended by a doctor who traveled nearly two miles on snowshoes to reach her. She grew up in Baldwinville and often summed up her happy childhood with a simple observation: “We were poor, but we never knew it.”

A graduate of Templeton High School, Irene became the first person in her family to attend college, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. Her calling began years earlier, when her fourth-grade teacher, Miss Ahearn, asked her to read a book to a first-grade class. Irene never forgot that moment: It was then that she knew she wanted to become a teacher.

That decision became her life’s work. Irene began teaching elementary school in New London, CT, then in Amherst and Framingham, before taking time away to raise her children. She returned to the classroom in West Boylston, where she and her family had made their home, and spent the next 24 years at Major Edwards Elementary School before retiring in 1998. To many of the children she taught, she remained their “favorite teacher.” Irene took deep pride in her profession and held a lasting affection for the children and families who were part of her teaching career.

Her commitment to her community extended well beyond the classroom. A parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church for nearly 60 years, Irene taught religious education and was a member and past president of their Women’s Club. She also belonged to the Beaman Oak Garden Club of West Boylston and the Worcester County Retired Teachers Association. In retirement, she served two terms as an elected member of the Beaman Memorial Public Library’s Board of Trustees. She was also a founding member of the Hillside Village Women’s Group in West Boylston, where she lived for 25 years.

For Irene, gathering people together was one of life’s great pleasures. Like her parents before her, she loved entertaining and delighted in the preparations that made an occasion special. The Woods home was often filled with family and friends, with Irene a gracious hostess at the heart of it all. Her devotion to the people she loved found expression in those gatherings and in the care she took to make everyone feel welcome.

At the center of Irene’s life was her devoted marriage to Paul. At the time of her passing, they had been married for 65 years and together for 66, sharing a life filled with family, friendship, travel and the everyday joys of belonging to one another.

Retirement brought years of travel with Paul. They spent winters in Florida and explored the world together on dozens of trips, visiting Canada, the British and Irish Isles, France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Russia and beyond.

Irene’s love lives on in her husband, Paul Woods of West Boylston; her daughter Maureen Cura and her husband, Michael Cura, of Ashburn, VA; her son, Steven Woods, and his fiancée, Beth Stewart, of Holden; her daughter Linda Curtin and her husband, Christopher Curtin, of Medford; her granddaughter Catherine Cura Helmus and her husband, Matt Helmus, of Richmond, VA; and her grandson, Conor Cura, of Ashburn, VA. She also leaves her brother, Chester Danielson, and his wife, Cecile, of Gardner, several nieces and nephews whom she held close to her heart; and many dear friends.

The Woods family extends its heartfelt thanks to the dedicated staff at The Oasis in Worcester for the exceptional care they gave Irene during the last few months of her life.

Family and friends are invited to honor and remember Irene at calling hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St, Holden. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 111 Worcester Street in West Boylston. Burial will follow at Mount Vernon Cemetery, adjacent to the church.

Donations in Irene’s memory may be made to Friends of the Beaman Endowment at the Beaman Memorial Public Library, 8 Newton St., West Boylston, MA 01583, or online at beamanlibrary.org/endowment.