Obituary of Rosemary P. McLaughlin

Rosemary P. ( Mace ) McLaughlin, a resident of South Meadow Village in Carver, passed away on Tuesday, January 23, at 71 years of age. She was the beloved wife of John R. ( Jack ) McLaughlin for over 45 years of marriage. She was the adored mother of Sean R. McLaughlin of Saugus, MA, Paul M. McLaughlin and wife Diana of Dracut, MA, and Lisa A. Charland and husband Greg of Billerica, MA. She was also the loving grandmother of Connor A. and Anna Rose of Dracut, MA. She is a former resident of Cambridge, Arlington, and Woburn. Born in Cambridge, MA, Rosemary was the daughter of the late Walter and Rose (Elliott) Mace and is preceded in death by two older brothers, Walter and Lawrence Mace. She is survived by her beloved sister-in-law Betty Mace. She is also preceded in death by her dear friend Anne Martin, who was like a sister to her. She was educated at St. Peter's and St. John's in North Cambridge and was a graduate of the Blessed Julie Billiard School in the North End of Boston. During high school, she volunteered many days and nights as a health aide to long term care patients at St. Patrick's Manor at its location then on Commonwealth Ave. in the Back Bay of Boston. As a young woman, Rosemary was initially employed with the Telephone Company in Boston, and then the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in Cambridge. She then successfully obtained a longer term position as one of two administrative assistants to the Registrar of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In this capacity, she audited the work and credit completion requirements of students attaining graduate and higher degrees at MIT and certified for the Registrar the final graduate class degree lists for each commencement year. She remained in this position until after marriage and up to the birth of her first child in 1975, at which time she left to become a full-time "Mum" and homemaker, raising three children through to high school. During this time, she was very involved and interested in all of their activities and their friends. She was a neighborhood "Mum", a team "Mum", and an active supporter and volunteer at sports events, dance recitals, school choirs performances, high school theater productions, skating classes, among other activities. Rosemary was also considered a surrogate "Mum" to her children's friends and cared for many of them as if they were her own, either after school or whenever they would join the family for summer vacations in Scituate. On Rosemary's Facebook page, she not only connected with her many cousins , relatives and friends, but also with many of these same children, now grown older, sharing in the joy of their marriages and milestone events. She cared deeply for each and every one, always offering continuing advice, praise and encouragement. Rosemary had a great love for music. She participated in her high school choir and subsequently, more formerly, in later years with the Mishawum Choral Society, a large choral group which practiced weekly and performed Christmas and Spring concerts every year, as well as performances in various municipal celebrations or church services. She loved all types of music from Elvis Presley to great Broadway shows. She regularly sang to her children in their younger days, or around the house doing the chores of the day. The sound of her lovely singing voice will be deeply missed. As her children grew older, she decided to return to the workforce full-time, taking a position as a lunch lady at Arlington Catholic High School. She later accepted a position with Minuteman Senior Services of Burlington, MA, coordinating congregate meals for area senior centers, and the Meals-on-Wheels programs for 16 cities and towns within the Woburn, Burlington, Concord and surrounding Metro-West area. This challenging position brought her into contact with thousands of seniors over a nineteen year span. She coordinated daily with meal site managers, adding and maintaining client lists for meals-on-wheels recipients, hiring and personally training meals-on-wheels drivers, and delivering meals-on-wheels herself while filling in for other drivers as necessary, spending time in pleasant conversation and sharing part of the day with them. She would sometimes be the only person that recipients would see during their whole day while confined at home, and she always provided much aid and comfort to them and to their caregiving families. She was a friend and hero to many seniors over the years. She was cited for her accomplishments by the Massachusetts Legislature with formal commendations from both the Massachusetts House and Senate for her extraordinary efforts in her work with seniors. Rosemary was very active in her lifetime in generous efforts toward others and thankfully was blessed with good health for most of her life. She was a caregiver to many of her own family members, caring for her mother, father-in-law, and aunts on both sides recovering from or afflicted with serious illnesses, stroke, rehabilitations, etc., seeing them home and then facilitating continually their services and needs. She faithfully saw many of them through. Prior to residing full-time in South Meadow Village, she spent many years traveling there, visiting with aunts and uncles on both sides of the family who had lived there many years prior. Upon retiring full-time five years ago, she took up residency at South Meadow Village and truly loved every day of being in this community. She remained active in the Holly Fair fundraisers and was the advertising manager for a time for the community newsletter, "The Lark". She loved going on the many excellent trips from there with her friends and neighbors and participated in many other enjoyable activities and events. She loved being near the ocean and would often drive down to Plymouth Harbor to be by the water, conversing on the phone with friends and family, reading a book, or to just take in the salt air on a beautiful warm day. Rosemary was a delight and a joy to be with, and she always valued and was loyal to her many friends and acquaintances over the years. Rosemary was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease within the past two years and was heroically dealing with its debilitations in movement and balance. She never gave up in striving to do the best she could to fight through its mounting and progressive limitations, and never complained of her afflictions. She regularly participated in group exercise classes and movement disorder therapy to help offset the effects of Parkinson's. Rosemary's unexpected death was a shock to many as she was conversing with friends and relatives up through her final day. She then quietly slipped away at home with no pain or suffering. Our family could not ask of any more than this than to have Rosemary pass peacefully into God's loving care. Rosemary gave much of her heart to others throughout her lifetime, and that little light has now sadly flickered and faded from us. One relative observed upon Rosemary's passing that she truly did live a meaningful life. We should all be so fortunate. A gentle and beautiful soul. She was known and loved by all. A funeral memorial mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church , 126 South Meadow Road , West Plymouth, Mass. on Thursday, February 1, 2018. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Interment will be private. Remembrances in Rosemary's honor may also be made to either of the following: Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Parkinson's Disease Movement Disorders Clinic, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02215; or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, Maryland 21741-5014. To offer condolences please visit www.shepherdfuneralhome.com. Shepherd Funeral Home, Carver.