Phyllis J. Nealon of Scituate, formerly of Hull, passed away peacefully on July 9 surrounded by family in her home. She was 98.

A much-beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Mrs. Nealon – as she was known to the many kids in the Hull neighborhood where she raised her five children – was born in Boston to Polish immigrants Adolf and Mary Grankewicz. She graduated from Roslindale High School in 1944 at the top of her class.

She left school early in her senior year to work for Hawkridge Brothers Company, a prominent steel merchant that operated in Boston for roughly a century. She worked there until shortly after her 1952 marriage to John Nealon, whom she met through mutual friends, on the beach in Hull, where his family had moved from East Boston.

Together they embarked on a cross-country honeymoon trip in the days before interstate highways, traveling from Boston to Los Angeles – with a much-recounted, unplanned stop in Zanesville, Ohio when their far-from-new car broke down.

Returning home, they settled in Mattapan for a few years before moving to Hull. The city girl quickly embraced her seaside home. She became president of the Hull Parent Teacher Association; president of the Hull Women’s Democratic Club; and treasurer of the Hull Federal Credit Union. She was a member of the Women’s Sodality at St. Mary of the Assumption parish in Hull, where she was a parishioner for 45 years.

More than anything she loved her front porch overlooking the bay, with its unparallelled view of World’s End.

When her youngest child was school age she returned to work, first at a local law firm in Hull, and later as the office manager for Haff Business Forms in Hingham, while still working as treasurer of the credit union in Hull.

She worked until she was 75, only retiring when she was diagnosed with cancer twice in a year. After receiving excellent care from Boston hospitals, she survived for 23 years.

Her first priority was always her children. Denied a college education for financial reasons, she was particularly proud that all five of her children earned college degrees.

When grandchildren arrived, she was permanently on call, shuttling them to flute and piano lessons at the Conservatory in Hingham, picking them up from day camp, and always, always, babysitting.

After her husband died in 1993, she remained in Hull for a number of years before moving into the in-law apartment her youngest daughter, Pam, and her husband, Mike, added on to their Scituate home.

There she remained until her death, indulging in her favorite pastimes. An avid reader, she loved living so close to the Scituate Public Library, which she visited every week to load up her cloth bag with five books or more.

A lifelong, committed Democrat, she rejoiced in the election of Barack Obama in 2008, writing him a farewell letter when his two terms were up, thanking him and bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t stay longer.

When Joe Biden was elected in 2020 she was thrilled, posing with a Biden/Harris yard sign for her Christmas card that year.

She adored MSNBC, particularly Lawrence O’Donnell, always pointing out that “he’s from Boston.” Rachel Maddow was also a favorite. And she stayed up past her bedtime to watch Stephen Colbert’s monologue on The Late Show.

She loved reading newspapers, especially The Boston Globe.

A Tony Bennett groupie, she traveled to see him perform every summer, from the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis to Tanglewood. But her preferred venue was the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, where she nabbed an aisle seat for one of the last times she saw him. She was able to reach out and touch his hand as he walked to the stage. A singular thrill.

In her later years she dabbled in watercolors, creating seashore-inspired paintings for her grandchildren and pecked out tunes on a portable keyboard.

She is survived by her five children, John L. Nealon Jr. of Plymouth and his wife, Virginia; Patricia Nealon of Scituate; Judith Hartigan of Rockland and her husband, Paul; Jane Panariello of Boston and her husband, Paul; and Pamela Nealon-LaBreck of Scituate, and her husband, Michael.

She was the adored Gramma to seven grandchildren, Molly Hartigan of Portsmouth, Virginia; Matthew Panariello of Boston; John Nealon Panariello of San Francisco; Emma LaBreck Murphy of Duxbury; Margaret Hartigan of San Francisco; Allison Panariello of Paris; and Abigail LaBreck of Boston.

She is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Violet and Poppy Dauphin, of Portsmouth, Virginia.

Visiting hours are Tuesday, July 14, from 4 to 8 pm. at the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald Street, Hingham.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Ann’s Church in Hull at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15. Burial will be in Hull Village Cemetery.

Donations may be made to Croi Health at croihealth.org or to St. Mary of the Assumption Parish at christbythesea.net.