Mrs. Marilyn (Downey) McGrath, of Marblehead, passed away very suddenly on Sunday morning, August 28. She was the wife of Vincent McGrath and later this year would have celebrated fifty years of marriage.
Born and raised in Malden, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Lydia (Hussey) Downey. She was a graduate of Malden High School class of 1955 and then went on to earn Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education along with many courses of advanced graduate study at Salem State College. Marilyn taught Elementary School at Forestdale School in Malden for three years and then taught third and fourth grades at the Bell School in Marblehead for thirty years. While a teacher at the Bell School she was an official of the Marblehead Teachers Union and was an advocate for Unions and worker benefits her entire professional career. She was particularly proud of her longtime work as Chairperson of the Union Grievance Committee and always maintained that “if any individual loses their rights, then all of us are in danger of losing our rights.”
Marilyn was a person of varied interests including travel, gardening and interior decorating and an accomplished seamstress who enjoyed making clothes for children and curtains and drapes for family members. She was also a long time supporter of the North Shore Music Theatre and for many years she was an active member of the Out of Focus Camera Club of Marblehead and enjoyed weekly camera outings with several dear friends.
In addition to her husband, Marilyn is survived by two daughters, Susan Larcom and her husband Robert of East Greenwich, RI, Mary McNamara and her husband Gregory of Marblehead; and one son, William Henry McGrath and his wife Kristen of Marblehead. She is also survived by seven grandchildren who were truly the lights of her life: Brendan, William, and Mary Larcom, Gregory and Edward (Teddy) McNamara, and Julia and William Henry McGrath.
A funeral mass will be celebrated at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Avenue, Marblehead on Friday, September 2 at 11AM. Relatives and friends respectfully invited. Visiting hours will be held at the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home, 142 Elm Street, Marblehead on Thursday from 4-8PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to My Brother’s Table, 98 Willow Street, Lynn, MA 01901.
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