Winifred Lyons, known lovingly to all as Winnie, passed away peacefully on July 6, 2026, at the age of 90.

Born and raised in Roxbury, and living her adult life in Jamaica Plain, Winnie was a Boston girl through and through. Despite the challenges she faced growing up, she never stopped calling Fort Avenue her home. Winnie even asked for some of her ashes to be spread in her old neighborhood in Roxbury. She loved telling stories about the way things were growing up in a Boston that’s long since disappeared, a place where kids worked in barrooms, went to the store to buy cigarettes for their parents, and ran around in the streets until supper.

Winnie’s love of music began as soon as she could sing. As a young girl, her father brought her to barrooms around Boston to sing and earn money for their family. Those early performances sparked a lifelong passion that led to a glamorous career singing in nightclubs downtown, and later in life, in the Saint John’s Episcopal Church choir. Whether she was on stage or simply at the kitchen table, Winnie had a voice that could fill a room and a spirit that made everyone feel welcome.

After many years working for community-based support programs, Winnie became the proud owner of Winnie’s Pub in Mission Hill, a place that was far more than just a local drinking hole. It was a refuge, a gathering place, and a second home to many. It was a comfortable place free of frills and judgment where you could find her sons working behind the bar, dogs sitting up on barstools, and always a pot of soup on the stove. Winnie welcomed even the roughest characters who walked through the door with kindness. She had an innate ability to see the good in people, even when they didn’t see it in themselves. Including her husband Richard, who became her number one fan and greatest defender.

To know Winnie was to know generosity in its purest form. Things didn’t always come easy for her, but if someone was in need, she always found a way to help. If they needed a meal, she fed them. If they needed a place to stay, somehow there was always room. If they needed a shoulder to cry on, she could sit and listen for hours, fully present. Winnie gave so freely that she rarely accumulated much for herself, but what she built instead was far richer, a life full of friendship, family, gratitude, and love.

Family meant everything to Winnie, and she was the glue that held ours together. Decades of holidays were celebrated around her table, where there was always room for one more. Though modern technology wasn’t exactly her forte, Winnie learned to navigate it and faithfully joined weekly family Zoom calls to stay connected with loved ones near and far. Winnie believed family wasn’t measured by distance; it was measured by showing up.

And while Winnie always showed up for everyone, she rarely showed up on time. To her, time was merely a suggestion. But no one could stay mad at Winnie long because whenever she arrived, she came with her whole heart. Winnie was the type of person who was genuinely interested in everyone around her and could make each person feel like they were the most important in the room. If you were lucky enough to know her, you probably spent a fair amount of time waiting for Winnie, but you also knew she was worth waiting for.

Winnie attended St. John’s in Jamaica Plain for most of her life, and became deeply connected with her community there. She was especially grateful for her prayer group, a remarkable circle of women who stood beside her with love, faith, and friendship until the very end.

Winnie leaves behind her three beloved sons, Mitchell, Jefferson, and Gregory. She is predeceased by her husband Richard Pettengill. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren, her sister, and many generations of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who all knew they could count on Winnie no matter what.

Though Winnie has left this world, the love she shared and the many lives she touched will live on as her legacy. Let us honor Winnie in the way she lived: check in on someone going through hard times, forgive quickly, sing loudly, and always leave room in your home, at your table, and in your heart for one more.

A memorial service will be held on August 1, 2026, 1:00 PM, at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Revere Street and Roanoke Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.