Betty Jane (Sailor) Conte of Peabody, formerly of Revere, died on Saturday, October 31, 2026 with her family around her. She was 80.
She was born in New Bedford on January 1, 1946 to Travis Sailor and Dorothy (Parker) Sailor. She was married for 19 years to Ronald Conte, who died before her.
Her family calls her a firecracker, and the description seems to have been earned: she was the one who made sure a gathering turned into a party, and the one whose generosity ran ahead of her means. She loved to shop, less for herself than for the pleasure of finding the right thing for someone else, and she loved even more to cook for a crowd, filling her house with family at the table and the smell of dinner from the kitchen.
She leaves her daughter Michele Covill and her husband John of Manchester, New Hampshire; her daughter Debra Conte of Peabody; her son Paul Conte and his wife Sherry of Rochester, New Hampshire; her grandchildren Brittany O’Neill and her husband Joseph, William Simmons, Ron Conte and his wife Alexis, and Joseph Tavilla; her great-grandchildren Angelo, Phoenix, Collin and Wyatt; her close friends Jean Mazza and Diane Maria; and nieces and nephews. Her sister Arlene Patterson died before her.
Visitation is Thursday, November 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Paul Buonfiglio and Sons Funeral Home, 128 Revere Street, Revere, followed by a prayer service at the funeral home at noon. Inurnment is at Woodlawn Cemetery. The funeral home’s guest book is at buonfiglio.com.
Compiled from information published by Paul Buonfiglio & Sons-Bruno Funeral Home, 128 Revere Street, Revere. Photograph courtesy of the family via Buonfiglio Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
