Mary Jacoba Elizabeth Van de Veen Priest

Mary Jacoba Elizabeth Priest, 99, of Beverly, MA, formerly of Dublin, NH, died Monday morning, October 20, 2014, at the Essex Park Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Beverly, MA, following a period of failing health.

She was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, on February 10, 1915, the eldest of eight children of Bert Van de Veen and Jacoba (De Graaf) Van de Veen, who were Dutch immigrants. She was raised in Parkside, Saskatchewan, and lived and worked for several years, in her 20’s and early 30’s, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In 1951, she met Frederick Priest from Liverpool, England, who had come to America at the age of 33. They were married on July 3, 1951.

In January of 1953, they moved to Tampa, Florida. Their jobs in a Florida hospital were influential in their decision to move to Brattleboro, Vermont in 1960, to study to be licensed practical nurses at the Brattleboro Hospital School of Nursing. Mary and Fred moved to Hobart, New York, after their training and worked in hospitals and nursing homes in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York State.

Mary and Fred had no children of their own but, their love and care for countless children and teens in the churches they attended left a lasting legacy. Several times in their careers as nurses, they took a leave of absence from their paying jobs to lovingly care for a member of their church who was in the late stages of a terminal illness.

Mary retired from nursing at the age of 65. In 1997, she and Fred moved to Dublin, New Hampshire. In 2002, Fred passed away. Mary lived for several years at Fairview, an assisted living facility on the property owned by Fairwood Bible Chapel in Dublin, NH. In 2007, she moved to Hamilton, Massachusetts where she lived with her niece, Nelia, for five years. In 2012, she became a resident of the Essex Park facility in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Mary was the last surviving member of her family. She was pre-deceased by her brothers, Neil, Art, David and Jake and her sisters, Jeannette, Jessie and Margaret.

She is remembered fondly by her many nieces and nephews: Janice Barkway and Mark Van de Veen of Calgary, Alberta, Trudy Beleznay of Edmonton Alberta, Brad Van de Veen of Red Deer, Alberta, Brenda Person of Canwood, Saskatchewan, Carol Fehr of Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Darlene Cote of Crutwell, Saskatchewan, Ruth Peake of Mayview, Saskatchewan, David Van de Veen of Parkside, Saskatchewan, David Moore of Oxford, Nova Scotia, Nelia Brooks of Hamilton, Massachusetts, Cheryl Noe of Durham, Maine, and Ryan, Larry and Kathy Woodall of Holland, Michigan.

A celebration of Mrs. Priest’s life will be held on October 25, 2014 at 2:30 P.M. in the library of the main house, Fairwood Bible Institute, Old Marlboro Rd, Dublin NH. An hour of visitation will be held immediately prior to the service. Burial will follow on Sunday, October 26 in the Shiloh Cemetery, in Durham, ME.

Fletcher Funeral Home and Cremation Services (www.fletcherfuneralhome.com), 33 Marlboro St, Keene has been entrusted with the arrangements.