ROCKPORT — Priscilla (Nalchajian) Slade, our loving, funny, and beautiful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend passed away peacefully on August 16, 2021 at Sussman House in Rockport, Maine after a brief illness complicated by Alzheimer’s. She was surrounded by the endless love of her husband, their two daughters, and other family members who had gathered to be at her side.

The second daughter of Dr. Willard D and Evelyn Nalachajian, Priscilla was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up and attended schools in Chelsea before completing her high school education at Walnut Hill School in Natick. She graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts in 1956 with a B.A in Political Science.

After graduation, she taught elementary school before marrying William F. (Saladino) Slade on January 16, 1960. On a day in September 1940, Priscilla and Bill met and their 81-year journey commenced. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on January 16, 2021.

Some of Priscilla’s favorite memories were riding with her father in his car as he made house calls and her young summers with her siblings at her parents’ cottage in Freedom, New Hampshire and at Camp Winnemont, both on Ossipee Lake. Her love of horseback riding flourished at camp, later on the equestrian team at Wheaton College, and into her adulthood. She continued the tradition of annual family vacations and long weekends at the cottage as her own and her siblings’ families grew over the years, which created a lifetime of childhood memories for the adults, her cherished daughters, nieces, nephews, and the eventual fourth generation who experienced the magic of being together at the lake.

Most of the incredible life Priscilla and Bill built together occurred in Boxford, Massachusetts where they lived for 49 years. Her children and the children of her friends frequently remark to each other what a tight-knit unit The Boxford Group was and how we rarely see such strong adult friendships in our own lives. The many friends and neighbors she and Bill had in Boxford set the bar high for relationships wherever they lived, creating endless memories and hilarious accounts of shared escapades.

Priscilla enjoyed playing tennis and participated in many tournaments. She and Bill skied many of the New England mountains with friends and family. A memorable event was her being photographed skiing in Italy with the Italian army. There were annual vacations spent skiing in the Rockies, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and the Sierra Nevada mountains with their dear friends, Bill and Jane Bush.

An avid reader of books and newspapers before her eyesight failed, she especially enjoyed what she called her “soft mornings” reading all she could in front of a sunny window. She loved to travel and was fortunate to have
visited throughout the U.S. and Europe for Bill’s work and traveled with her own family on vacations to the UK, Hawaii, Arizona, Alaska, Hilton Head, and throughout New England. She delighted in hosting holidays and was a loving matriarch to her extended family.

Priscilla was employed at Talbots in South Hamilton, Massachusetts where her sense of style and kind way of finding what looked best flourished. She won numerous sales contests and her successful efforts were regularly recognized by letters from the company’s executive leaders congratulating her on her sales achievements. Her successes resulted in being asked numerous times to take on the role of store manager, which she graciously declined. Her daughters benefitted from being the oldest kids they knew who still enjoyed being dressed by their mother. Priscilla was always the one at family events to have extra jewelry for an outfit, the right lipstick to borrow, the perfect purse to loan, or emergency pantyhose for anyone in a bind with forgotten or lost items of their own.

Priscilla deeply loved her family and with each new addition her love grew exponentially. Her most recent precious and darling angels were her three great-grandsons Raymond (6), Bradley (5), and Michael (1) Butler who brought a light to her life and a smile which will always shine brightly in our hearts. She treasured their most recent visit in July of 2021 and they, too, will forever miss their “MM” (Mom’s Mom, a name used by her grandchildren and adopted by everyone else).

Priscilla was predeceased by her parents, Dr. Willard D. and Evelyn W. Nalchajian; her sister Joanne Lawson; her nephew Jeffrey Redding; her niece Debbie Seal; and her nephew Robert Saladino.

She is survived by her loving husband, William F. (Saladino) Slade of Rockport, Maine; her daughters Pamela (Timothy) Visel of Ivoryton, Connecticut and Julie Slade of Camden, Maine; her grandchildren Willard (Chelsea) Visel of Salem, Connecticut and Abigail (Michael) Butler along with her great-grandchildren Raymond, Bradley, and Michael Butler of Charles Town, West Virginia; her siblings Nancy Seal of Madison, Wisconsin and Willard (Lynne) Nalchajian of Exeter, New Hampshire; and many nieces, nephews, their spouses, and their children who all adored their Auntie Pris.

Priscilla’s family is forever grateful for the compassionate friendship and laughter her caregivers Penny, Karen, Marilyn, and Mary provided to her. The Med Surg team at Pen Bay Medical Center and the staff at Sussman House made the end of Priscilla’s wonderful life and the pain of her loss easier to bear through the excellent care both she and her family were given.

A service of committal for Priscilla will be held September 11, 2021, at 11 a.m., at Sea View Cemetery, 171 Chestnut Street, Camden, Maine, followed by a reception in Rockport. All are welcome to attend.

A memorial celebration of Priscilla’s life will also be held in early summer of 2022, due to her grandson’s current military deployment in Africa and ongoing Covid concerns for other family travelling from across the country and Canada.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or to a charity of your choice. To share a memory or condolence with Priscilla’s family, please visit their Book of Memories at bchfh.com

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland, Maine