Nancy E. Avila

AUBURN – Nancy E. (Kujala) Avila, 87, passed away on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, following a short illness. Born in 1939 in Gardner, Massachusetts — a city long home to a vibrant Finnish immigrant community — and raised in Hubbardston, she was the daughter of the late Onni and Helmi (Tyrvanen) Kujala.

She was a graduate of Gardner High School and the Chandler School for Women in Boston. Nancy began playing the organ at a young age, and it became a lifelong passion, one that would go on to define many of her closest friendships within her church communities. She became an accomplished organist, providing her services for forty-five years to several central Massachusetts churches.

After graduating from Chandler, she met her first husband, Clifford B. Chouinard, and together they welcomed three children: Glen Chouinard, now of Barre; Christine Tebo, now of York, ME; and Pauline Goulart, now of North Attleborough. Nancy chose to stay home while her children were young, later rejoining the workforce for a long and fulfilling secretarial career with Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple from 1979 to 2001.

She was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough and gave many years to volunteering, including with the American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter, and the Worcester Women's History Project.

Nancy enjoyed playing Scrabble and Rummy, classical music, history, and strawberry ice cream. She was proud of her Finnish roots, tracing back to Gardner's early Finnish settlers, and spent many happy hours exploring her family's genealogy. Above all else, nothing brought her more joy than spending time with her friends and family, especially her six grandsons.

She will be lovingly missed and remembered by her son, Glen, and his partner, Joanna Jackson; her two daughters, Christine and her husband, Walter, and Pauline and her husband, William; and six grandsons including Dereck Tebo and his wife Vanessa, Nicholas Tebo and his wife Kelsey, Mitchell Tebo and his fiancé Alexis Phyllides, Samuel Goulart, Beckham Chouinard, and Zachary Goulart. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her first husband, Clifford B. Chouinard; her sister, Lois Hager; and her granddaughter, Felicia Mary Tebo.

Arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street, Holden (www.milesfuneralhome.com). A private burial service and celebration of Nancy's life are planned for family. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Abby's House, 52 High Street, Worcester, MA 01609; abbyshouse.org.