Gloria Jean (Scott) Champion, of Waltham, passed away peacefully on Jan. 1, 2025. She was born in Waltham 75 years ago on June 8,1949, and spent her life here, raising a family and dedicating herself to serving the city. She worked from 1987 until 2010 as a clerk for the City of Waltham Conservation Commission and had recently been appointed a member of the commission.
Champion is remembered as “a key figure in protecting the open space and environment in Waltham,” according to a tribute posted on the website of the Waltham Land Trust.
She founded the Prospect Hill Park Advocacy Group and, with George Darcy, was “the impetus for founding the Waltham Land Trust.”
Among her accomplishments, she certified a vernal pool on the former Berry Farm property, now the Berry Park section of Prospect Hill Park; the pool serves as an educational resource for the community.
Additionally, Champion organized the first Earth Day in Waltham in 1995 and was instrumental in the certification of Waltham as a Tree City USA.
She served on the board of the Department of Parks and Recreation from 1996 to 2000. She also volunteered for the Democratic Ward and City Committee as a delegate to State Conventions, and she served on the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the Upper Charles River Reservation Restoration and the Met State Hospital Re-Use Task Force.
Champion was appointed to the city of Waltham’s Conservation Commission last year.
Champion was proud of her Lithuanian heritage as is remembered for hosting Baltic Bashes in her home. “No one left Gloria’s home hungry,” her family and friends recalled. She contributed research on the Lithuanian section of the book project, Waltham Rediscovered: An Ethnic History of Waltham, Massachusetts (1988).
Champion was predeceased by her husband of 40 years, William J. Champion, who died in 2018. Her survivors include her sister Mary Ellen (Scott) Brennan and her husband Donald of Waltham; children Jennifer (Dwinells) Fitzgerald and her husband Frank of Waltham, Bruce Thibault and his wife Kathryn of La Follett, Tenn., Julie Champion, William R. Champion and his wife Christine, and Andrew Champion and his wife Stephanie, all of Waltham; grandchildren are AnneMarie (Fitzgerald) Reynolds of Waltham, Allison Fitzgerald of Lowell, April Fitzgerald of Waltham, Suzanne Galinsky and her husband William of Atkinson, N.H., Michael Thibault and his wife Emily of Campton, N.H., David Thibault and his wife Brianna of Ocala, Fla., Sabryna Lepore, William J. Champion, Charlotte Champion and Liam Champion all of Waltham; and great-grandchildren Aiden, Daisy, Aurora, Taryn, Eva and Tiberius.
A wake was held for Champion at the Joyce Funeral Home on Jan. 7. Her funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 8 at the Sacred Heart Church in Waltham, followed by burial at Mount Feake Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice House, 10 Green Way, Wayland, Massachusetts 01778.