Jennifer E. (Bushard) Pacitto

Jennifer (Bushard) Pacitto, of Hudson, passed away on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at Marlborough Hospital. She was 42.

Jen was born in June 1980 in Newton, the first of three children to Beth and Don Bushard. She grew up in Natick, where from a young age she was known as a loving, vibrant, hard-working, often taciturn and always warm-hearted daughter, sister, granddaughter, student and friend. Jen was a dancer. She was a cheerleader. She loved music and made friends easily. She found reprieve in being outside, telling stories, watching movies and going on walks. She loved her family.

Jen was almost constantly surrounded by children and animals. She was a mentor and best friend to her younger sister Sara, forming a bond so close that even though they were nearly four years apart, they were frequently mistaken for twins. When she was 15, she got to be a role model again for her younger brother, Brian, helping raise him and later showing him the joys of music and nature or just taking him out for ice cream.

It was in high school when working as a cashier at the Donelan’s in Wayland she met Fred Pacitto, the man that would one day become her husband. Years later, he slipped his phone number to her during a chance meet-up at a doctor’s appointment. They started dating, and it soon became obvious they were meant for each other.

Not long after, Jen and Fred moved in together, and in 2008, she gave birth to the other love of her life: her son, Anthony. Jen loved being a mother, and dedicated her life to raising Anthony. To him, she was a teacher, a teammate, a best friend.

Jen was always surrounded by family, and that family grew exponentially after she met Fred. She embraced them immediately, going on family trips with them to Maine, New Hampshire and Cape Cod. Together they enjoyed the simple things in life, usually dodging crowds for a quiet weekend escape. She preferred a laid-back evening with her family to a night on the town.

In 2014, Jen, Fred and Anthony moved to their house in Hudson. Always one to stay busy and take on a challenge, she set her mind to renovations: making the basement into a gaming cave for Anthony, buying the longest couch available and taking down dozens of pines in the backyard to host family gatherings. She committed herself to helping others, and the people in her life loved her for it.

Jen is survived by her loving husband, Fred Pacitto, son, Anthony Pacitto, parents Beth and Don Bushard, sister Sara Knox (Brian Knox) and brother Brian Bushard, as well as her mother-in-law Mary Pacitto, father-in-law Fred Pacitto, sisters-in-law Elicia Hunt (Rob Hunt), Theresa Lundberg (Brian Lundberg) and Cheryl Crowley, and nieces and nephews: Zachary Hunt, Tyler Hunt, Kayleigh Lundberg, Kelsey Lundberg, Hunter Knox, Emma Crowley, Maggie Crowley and Nora Crowley.

Relatives and friends are invited to a period of visitation from 4 to 7pm on Thursday,  April 27, 2023 at Tighe Hamilton Regional Funeral Home, 50 Central St., Hudson, MA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9am on Friday, April 28, 2023 at Saint Michael Parish, 21 Manning St., Hudson, MA; followed by a procession to Saint Michael Cemetery, Hudson, MA for Committal Services.