Iva Jean (Ogilvie) McCurdy

Iva Jean (Ogilvie) McCurdy (known by most as “Jean”), age 74, of Royalston, Massachusetts, formerly of Harvard, MA, passed away on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester, following a brief battle with cancer.
 
Jean was born in Ayer, Massachusetts, on October 22, 1949, the daughter of the late Parker Clifford and Arcola Olive (Wheeler) Ogilvie.
 
She was raised by her parents in Littleton, MA, and graduated from Littleton High School. She spent many years of her early upbringing with her cousin, Daryn (Peterson) Rodriquez, whom she considered a sister.
 
Her academic journey led her to Framingham State, where she earned degrees in the fields of biology, chemistry, and microbiology. Her love for science and nature was evident in her avid exploration of these subjects.
 
Jean married and settled on a large farm in Harvard Massachusetts where she enjoyed raising her two children, caring for horses and hosting hundreds of other animals and growing large gardens over a span of decades. She was a highly skilled horseman, riding from a young age into her final years. She was an avid reader and enjoyed hiking, skiing, kayaking, bird watching, gardening and numerous other outdoor activities.
 
For 35 years, she was an integral part of the Emerson Hospital Laboratory team, working in hematology, oncology, and microbiology.
 
She was known to all as exceptionally hardworking, strong, independent, kind, helpful, and a fierce protector of her children. She is survived by her son Steele McCurdy and his wife of Littleton, her daughter Susan Fink and her husband of New Canaan, CT, her four collective grandchildren, Isabel, Jackson, Kaylen, and Riley, and her loving companion for 27 years, Tony Ferragamo of Royalston, MA.
 
Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Jean on Sunday, July 14, 2024, from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Badger Funeral Home, 347 King Street, Littleton, MA. Her funeral service and burial on Monday at Westlawn Cemetery in Littleton will be private.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to:
Rising Star Horse Rescue
93 Silver Spring Road
Wilton, CT 06897
 or
Draft Gratitude Horse Rescue
148 Ashuelot Street
Winchester, NH 03470
or
The ASPCA
PO Box 96929
Washington, DC 20090
 or
the animal charity of one's choice

Arrangements under the care of Badger Funeral Home, 347 King Street, Littleton, MA 01460  978-486-3709 www.badgerfuneral.com