Jean (Costello) Tivnan

Jean (Costello) Tivnan, 94, a lifelong resident of Worcester, passed peacefully at home on January 11, 2024, surrounded by many loved ones.   

Jean was born on June 12, 1929, to the late Elizabeth (Sullivan) and Thomas Costello and grew up on Vernon hill.  She was the second of three daughters; her sister Elizabeth “Betty” (Costello) Shea, of Worcester, predeceased her in 2018, and her sister Joan (Costello) McGillicuddy resides in Fairfield, CT. The three sisters and their families remained close throughout their lifetimes. 

Jean was a graduate of Ascension High School (later Notre Dame Academy), where she was the Salutatorian of her class, and Salter Secretarial School. She worked for twenty years in the Worcester public school system as a teacher’s aide and was a longtime member of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Worcester. Jean was talented in many crafts, and often busied herself with knitting, sewing, or various home décor projects. 

In 1953 she married the late Edmund L. “Linc” Tivnan and was married for 64 years before he passed in 2017. Together, Jean and Linc built a large, loving family, starting with six children, growing to include 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.  

Jean loved being around activity, and she and Linc enjoyed many adventures with their family, notably pulling their 35-foot Holiday Rambler on various road trips around the country. Between these trips, the trailer was parked in Vermont for winter weekends skiing at Hogback Mountain, and in Wells, Maine for summers on Moody Beach. For many years they also enjoyed sharing a vacation home in South Harwich with their son Tom and his family. Jean loved being a co-pilot on day-long road trips to Maine, Cape Cod, and especially to Kimball’s for a hot fudge sundae.   

In addition to her husband Linc, Jean was predeceased by her son Robert E. “Bob” Tivnan, who died in 2014. She is survived by her sister Joan and her remaining five children and their families: Paul B. Tivnan of Centerville and his daughter Remy (Tivnan) Bengston, of Norfolk, Virginia; Thomas P. Tivnan and wife Barbara “Bobbie,” of Milton, GA, and daughter Callie Tivnan; the children of her late son Bob Tivnan: Sean Tivnan of Holden, Jared Tivnan of Longmeadow, Jennifer Tivnan of Worcester, and Matthew Tivnan of Somerville; James M. “Jamie” Tivnan, of Worcester, and his daughters Katelyn (Tivnan) Flint of Andover and Erin Tivnan of Boston; John L. Tivnan, and wife Christine, of Scottsdale, AZ, and their children Alana and Skylar Tivnan and Adam, Stephen, and Jordan Marzola; Jean Milissa “Missie” (Tivnan) Gravois, and husband Patrick, of Austin, TX, and their children Evan and Lincoln Gravois; as well as nine great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. 

The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude for the attentive, loving care provided by their mother’s in-home caregivers over the past several years: Lucy Egner, Iolanda Browning, Hanna Lima, and Magale Mutz Lima.

Calling hours are from 5 to 8 PM on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester. The funeral Mass will be held at 11 AM on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 25 Fales St., Worcester. Burial will be held at 12:30 PM on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.