ATTLEBORO -- By the time cancer patient Shirley Collins died at her home Sunday, she had realized her wish of seeing her soldier son Charles one last time.

And while Mrs. Collins slipped away quietly amidst a fierce and snowy nor'easter, the discrete efforts of several people and agencies helped ease her family's pain and spirit the 69-year-old widow away to a dignified final rest.

Charles Collins, serving with the Army in Iraq, was contacted by the American Red Cross and arrived in time Saturday to join other family members at his mother's bedside. Collins said his mother, a hospice patient of the Community Visiting Nurse Association, was alert and responsive when he saw her.

Collins said he's grateful for the opportunity to be with his mother in her final hours -- and for the efforts of many who helped to ease her suffering and overcome obstacles to make her death as dignified as possible. `` I came home two months ago, after she was first diagnosed, but she was doing well at the time,'' said Collins, who has been serving in Iraq for six months.

`` When they called me, I got on a plane Thursday.'' Following the emotional impact of Mrs. Collins's death on the family, came the mounting snow outside her home on John Street. The storm threatened to make it difficult for nurses and funeral workers to perform necessary tasks and remove the Attleboro woman's body to a funeral home.

But Judy Gordon, director of the Community Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Care program, phoned police to request an escort through the storm for a nurse to make the official pronouncement of death.

A police cruiser picked up Attleboro nurse Dianne Moore, who made herself available to perform the required details.

The way for Moore and officials from Dyer Lake Funeral Home in North Attleboro was smoothed by city snow removal crews, who made sure the area was fully passable and accessible to the hearse, Gordon said.

Funeral director Timothy Nay said a number of factors needed to mesh in order to accomplish the removal of Mrs. Collins, a procedure that under normal circumstances goes almost unnoticed.

He said city workers and nurses performed admirably.

`` I'd say the entire process, from the first call, took no more than an hour,'' he said.

The funeral was held Thursday.

City public Works Superintendent John Clover said aiding the family was a `` team effort'' involving city workers and private agencies.

`` We were glad to do whatever we could to help a family in that situation,'' he said. Charles Collins, who has a half brother, Michael Middleton of Attleboro, and a sister, Kelly Pietryzyk of Pawtucket, said he appreciates the efforts of so many focused on his family.

`` It took a lot of people working together to make this happen,'' he said.