Harriet (Schofield) Nawoichik

Harriet (Schofield) Nawoichik passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 24, 2020. She was 90 years old.

Born on April 27, 1930 to the late Florence and Clesson Schofield, Harriet grew up in Lexington. She graduated from Lexington High School in 1948 and then attended Bryant and Stratton Commercial School in Boston where she completed the secretarial program. In spite of her strong mathematical abilities, she was not allowed to pursue an accounting degree because she was a woman.

It was at Lexington High School that Harriet met her future husband, Stanley Nawoichik. They were happily married for 65 years and raised their six children in Bedford.

Harriet was an avid gardener, reader, and swimmer. She and Stanley enjoyed square dancing with the Minuteman Squares and spent many years camping at Cape Neddick, Maine.

She is predeceased by her husband.

Surviving Harriet are her sons, John of Hyannis, Barry and his wife Liliane of Ayer, Richard of Lowell, and daughters, Marilyn Hickey of Maine, Susan Stephens of Oklahoma, and Carolyn Gillespie of Bedford.

She is also survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Private graveside services were held in Shawsheen Cemetery, Bedford.

Memorial gifts in Harriet’s honor may be made to Ascend Hospice, 100 Locke Dr., Marlborough, MA 01752.

Shawsheen Funeral Home, BEDFORD.

Center on Interstate 95 in Salisbury, it was only a temporary closure, said North of Boston Visitors Bureau and Convention Center Executive Director Ann Marie Casey.

She said her regional tourism council maintains a partnership with MassDOT to run the center. MASSDOT is responsible for maintaining the property and utilities, and she pays for the staffing.

The Maria Miles Visitor Center is one of 11 visitor information centers in Massachusetts that are managed in some way by regional tourism councils, Casey said. They each receive an earmark in the state budget each year for supplemental funding to help with staffing costs, but it’s never a guarantee, she said. Each year it’s a bit of a battle, Casey said, but it has enabled her to keep the visitor center open year-round.

What seems to be different about the Chelmsford rest stop – at least on the northbound side – is a water main burst several years ago caused a great deal of damage to the building, and it would require a significant capital investment to get it functioning, she said.

Casey said she hopes the partnership North of Boston has with MASSDOT will continue so she can keep the Maria Miles Visitor Center open.

“With the budget deficits we’re seeing now, nothing is certain,” she said. “It’s a scary time for everybody.”

She said the highway visitor centers are an important public safety feature in addition to helping with tourism. They provide information, a spot for travelers to rest and a safe environment for those who may be experiencing car problems and are waiting for assistance, Casey said. It’s also an economic opportunity to point travelers to local restaurants and businesses they may not otherwise learn about, she said.

With the Chelmsford visitor centers out of the purview of the Greater Merrimack Valley Visitors Bureau and Convention Center for over a decade, “it’s something we haven’t had in our consciousness for quite some time,” said Executive Director Tom Fitzmaurice.

“Both the management and the funding of these visitor centers has become an annual budget battle over the years, and obviously, we see how vital they are,” he said, noting they are essential in welcoming people to the state.