THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 18, 2024 Page 19 OBITUARIES Betty M. (Grace) Fitzpatrick A lifelong resident of Malden, passed away on Thursday, October 10th, after a brief illness. Betty was born in Medford in 1947, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Grace. She was raised and educated in Malden, graduating from Malden High School with the Class of 1965. She then attended the New England Hair Academy where she earned her Master Barber license. Betty went on to work as a barber at Alberti's in Everett, until her retirement in 2014. In 1998, she married her sweetheart, Robert E. Fitzpatrick, and the two settled down in Malden together. They shared many wonderful years of happiness until his passing in 2021. Betty was an outgoing person who said what was on her mind, and she enjoyed spending time with her family and her cherished dog Fitzy. She is survived by her children, Denise M. Buckley and husband Michael of Peabody, Susan Culleton of Malden, Bruce B. “J.B.” Culleton Jr. and fi ancé Stephanie Freni of Hudson, NH, her sisters Rita Lacount of Saugus, Patty Rosemarinofski of Haverhill, and her favorite sister and best friend Karen O'Brien of Alton Bay, NH, her grandchildren, Nicolette and husband Justin, Alexandra and husband Michael, Michael, Madison, Bruce, Robert, and Brandon, and her great granddaughter Avianna. Betty was preceded in death by her husband Robert, her sisters Barbara Murray and Mary Lussier, and her brothers Jospeh Grace and Gary Grace. Funeral services and visitation were held at the Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home, Malden on Wednesday, October 16th. Committal services will be private. In lieu of fl owers, donations in Betty's memory may be made to St. Jude's Children’s Hospital, an organization Betty always supported. Katherine M. (Kirby) Salerno A longtime resident of Malden, passed away on October 9, 2024. She was 88 years old. Katherine worked for the Bank of America for many years. She was an avid Mahjong player and loved traveling to Florida with her sisters and their husbands for vacations. Most of all, Katherine was the happiest when she was spending time with her family. Katherine was the wife of the late Joseph P. Salerno Jr. She was the loving mother of Russell Surette and his partner Susan Irwin, Michael Surette and his wife Dorothy, Lisa Sullivan and her husband Paul, June Laff erty and her husband Mark, Carol Salerno and her husband Russell Trammell, and the late Paul Salerno. Katherine was the dear sister of Florence DiNozzi, Joan Ferri and the late Donna Lawson and William and Robert Kirby. She was the cherished grandmother of Jessica Kearns and her husband Dennis, Angela Highnote and her husband Brian, Nicole Maniatis and her husband Yianni, Dawn Surette, Amanda Jaklitsch and her husband Jonathan, Paul Sullivan Jr. and his wife Jessica, Meaghan Zell and her husband Aaron, Lindsay Herlihy and her husband Kenneth, Lauren surette, David Dunhan, Anthony Salerno, Matthew Dion, and great grandmother of Kyle, Brandon, Brian, Niko, Jada, Emma, Lucas, Logan, Finn, Lucille, Rhys and Caleb. She is also survived by nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Katherine’s life was held at the Immaculate Conception Church, Malden on Wednesday October 16th. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visitation was held at the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, Malden on Wednesday prior to the Mass. Interment was private. Rosario Russell Giacoppo Of Malden. Passed away peacefuly on October 12th at his home in Malden surrounded by his loving family at OBITUARIES | SEE PAGE 21 Discount Tree Service 781-269-0914 LEGAL NOTICE Invitation to Bid City of Malden FitzGerald Park Improvements Phase II Notice to Bidders The City of Malden invites the submission of sealed bids for the FitzGerald Park Improvements Phase II construction. The Project Area consists of the western portion of FitzGerald Park on Exchange Street. The scope of work includes the demolition and removal of the existing landscape, and the installation of play equipment (previously purchased by the City of Malden) with resilient safety surfacing, concrete pavement, fencing and landscape planting as depicted on the project plans, as well as five (5) add. alternates related to site furniture. BID OPENING will be held Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 1:00pm at the Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development (OSPCD), City Hall, 215 Pleasant Street, 3rd Floor, Malden, MA 02148. A Bid Summary will be made available to all Bidders, and other persons properly interested, within twenty-four (24) hours of the Bid Opening. Plans, specifications and all bid documents may be obtained electronically beginning Monday, October 21, 2024, at 10:00am. Requests for electronic bid documents may be made to Alex Pratt at apratt@cityofmalden.org or 781-324-5720 x 5728. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 10:00am at the FitzGerald Park site on Exchange Street. All sealed bids must be hardcopy (only) and delivered to the Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development (OSPCD) prior to the BID OPENING, as stated above. Bids shall be delivered to OSPCD at Malden City Hall during these hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:00am - 5:00pm, Tuesday 8am - 7pm. The office is closed Fridays. The bidder assumes the risk of any delay due to mail or other delivery. Bids received after the official BID OPENING will be returned unopened. The City of Malden reserves the right to waive any informalities in Bids, to reject any or all Bids, or to accept any Bid that in its judgment will be in the best interest of the City. October 18, 2024 Professional TREE REMOVAL & Cleanups 24-HOUR SERVICE avy eniior avvy S iorn oro a y avvyavy iori by Jim Miller How to Find a Cheaper Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Dear Savvy Senior, What’s the easiest way to compare Medicare Part D prescription drug plans? My Part D premium is increasing again in 2025, so I would like to use the fall open enrollment to fi nd and sign up for a cheaper plan. Shopping Around Dear Shopping, I’m happy to hear you’re comparing your Medicare coverage options this fall! Research shows that many Medicare benefi ciaries with Part D coverage can lower their prescription drug costs by shopping among plans each year during the open enrollment season, which runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. There could be another Part D plan in your area that covers the drugs you take with fewer restrictions or with lower costs. You never know until you look. You’ll also be happy to know that thanks to the Infl ation Reduction Act, in 2025 annual out-of-pocket costs will be capped at $2,000 for all Medicare Part D benefi ciaries. Here are some tips and tools to help you shop and compare Part D plans. Plan Finder Tool If you have internet access and are comfortable using a computer, you can easily shop for and compare all Medicare drug plans in your area and enroll in a new plan online, and it only takes a few minutes. Just go to Medicare’s Plan Finder Tool at Medicare.gov/fi nd-aplan. You can do a general search on the right side of the page, under the title “Continue without logging in.” If you wish to save your drugs and pharmacy information, you can log into or create your Medicare account on the left side of the page. Next, type in your ZIP code and choose the type of coverage you’re looking for, enter the drugs you take, choose the pharmacies you use, and indicate whether you are interested in a mail order option. The plan fi nder will then display results for plans in your area. Be aware that a plan may not cover all the drugs you take, but it may cover alternatives. It will also tell you if the plan has a deductible and how much the monthly premium is. Initially, the plans will be sorted by “lowest drug + premium costs.” This is the closest estimate to what you may pay out of pocket for your Part D coverage for the year. You can select “plan details” to fi nd out more specifi cs about coverage, including any coverage restrictions that might apply to your drugs. Before enrolling, it is a good idea to call the plan directly to confi rm any information you read on plan fi nder, as information may not be completely up to date. If you need help, you can call Medicare at 800-633-4227 and they can do this for you over the phone. Or contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which provides free unbiased Medicare counseling. To fi nd a local SHIP counselor call 877-8392675 or see ShipHelp.org. Any changes to coverage you make will take eff ect Jan. 1, 2025. If you take no action during open enrollment, your current coverage will continue next year. Extra Help If you’re lower-income and having a hard time paying your medication costs, you may be eligible for Medicare’s “Extra Help” program. This is a federal low-income subsidy that helps pay Part D premiums, deductibles and copayments. To be eligible, your annual income must be under $22,590 or $30,660 for married couples living together, and your assets (not counting your home, personal possessions, vehicles, life insurance policies or burial expenses) must be below $17,220 or $34,360 for married couples. For more information or to apply, call Social Security at 800-772-1213 or visit SSA.gov/medicare/part-d-extra-help. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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