Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 22, 2026 A Family’s College Goal Maureen Whitcomb joins the last of her quadruplets in earning a bachelor’s degree from UMass Lowell By Mark E. Vogler P recinct 4 Town Meeting Member Maureen Whitcomb, a single mother of quadruplets, set a lofty goal for herself more than six years ago. She aspired to a college education with plans to graduate with all four children – two daughters and two sons – from UMass Lowell on the same day. But things didn’t happen the way the Saugus family had hoped. “COVID kind of messed things up,” Whitcomb told The Saugus Advocate last week. “When they started, I wanted to start. But COVID hit and I went to work,” she said, recalling how the pandemic of early 2020 and the following year changed the trajectory of the Whitcomb college plans. It took three commenceMEMORIAL DAY | FROM PAGE 1 Kosovo during Operation Joint Guardian. Singing this year’s National Anthem at the Riverside Cemetery will be Amy Macauda, daughter ments in four years for Whitcomb and her children to finally achieve that goal. Collette and Diana graduated in 2023. Andrew got his diploma from UMass Lowell a year later and earned his master’s degree in 2025. Whitcomb graduated with her son Bryce last Saturday during commencement exercises at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. “I never thought this would happen, given our family situation,” Bryce, 25, said last week, joining his mom in an interview. “I thought we were stuck and we were all going to get deadend jobs that didn’t pay much. After graduating from high school, I didn’t think I was going to get here,” he said. “The four of us [children] wouldn’t have gone to college if it wasn’t for my mom. I’m proud of her and the four of American Legion Post #210 Commander John Macauda. The holiday will officially get underway today (Friday, May 22) at 3 p.m. with a flagging of veterans graves in Riverside Cemetery. Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve CastinetWhitcomb wore a decorated mortarboard that beamed with pride: “First Gen Quadruplets & Mom.” “I just didn’t want them to end up uneducated like me,” Whitcomb said. “Today, you need a college education to get a good job. Because I never graduated from college, I wanted them to be college graduates,” she said. “It was a goal – something The UMass Lowell mascot, Rowdy the River Hawk, joined the Whitcomb family of Saugus at last Saturday’s commencement exercises. From left to right: Andrew ’24, ’25 (master’s degree); Bryce ’26; Maureen ’26; Collette ’23 and Diana Whitcomb ’23. (UMass Lowell courtesy photo by Henry Marte) of us graduating from college,” he said. Bryce, who is a 2019 Saugus High School graduate, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from ti has again issued an invitation to all Saugus citizens to volunteer their time to assist longtime grave officer Randy Briand in planting mini-American flags. “We need as many volunteers as we can get to make sure all of the veterans graves in the UMass Lowell, with concentration in management information systems. He plans to pursue a master’s degree, with possible plans for a career in the IT field or cybersecurity. cemetery get a flag,” Castinetti said this week. “All are welcome to join in. The more, the merrier,” he said. For the first time in many years, the Saugus High School Marching Band will be marching in the Memorial Day Pathat I always wanted. Seeing my kids go to high school and start college made me believe I could do it, too. You know, it’s never too old to get a college education. A couple of years ago, I remember reading about a grandmother graduating with her granddaughter,” she said. COLLEGE GOAL | SEE PAGE 5 rade. Other bands include the Stuart Highlanders Pipe Band of Wilmington and the McGann Marching Band of Gardner. Guy Moley, the man behind local charity car shows, is organizing a large assortment of classic and antique cars and vintage vehicles to participate, as in past years. There will be four Junior ROTC units participating in the parade: Lynn English High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC, Salem High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC, Peabody High School Air Force Junior ROTC and Gloucester High School Navy Junior ROTC. Saugus TV Studio Associate John Prudent has again prepared a special Memorial Day video capturing Saugus veterans, which will be displayed on the truck during the parade. There will also be a special video played later in the cemetery. World War II soldier reenactors, led by David Savoie of Saugus, will again participate in the parade, along with a wide variety of youth groups and civic organizations of Saugus. Saugus VFW Post #2346 will host a collation at 190C Main St. after the Memorial Day observances at Riverside Cemetery.
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