Maureen McCahery

Maureen was born in the Bronx, NY on October 23, 1943, the second of three children of Timothy S. and Bridget (née Connor) Hayes.She met her husband, Raymond Joseph McCahery, in high school and they married on June 19,1965. They lived in the Bronx, then New City, then Suffern, New York; retired to Bradley Beach, New Jersey; and moved to Poinciana, Florida for the last several years of Ray’s life.

In addition to raising three sons, Maureen devoted many years to helping others while enjoying the outdoors. When her boys were young she took courses at SUNY Purchase, and this coursework informed her EMT and Wilderness First Aid work. While living in New York she volunteered with Jawonio, a nonprofit that supports children, families, and adults with special needs; with the New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Rescue Squad;and with the NY/Northern NewJersey Chapter of the AppalachianMountain Club. When she and Ray moved to Bradley Beach she became a valued and beloved member of the Bradley Beach First Aid Squad and also led hikes for and supported the Friends of the Monmouth County Park System.

Maureen loved hiking, canoeing, and the beach. She was the 30 th person to complete the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s 360-mile “Long Path” hiking trail, 30 years ago, on April 19, 1996. To date less than 250 people have completed the Long Path hike. When it was created, she joined the Wilderness First Aid committee of her chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Later, for many years, she co-chaired the committee. She taught nearly two dozen courses of Wilderness First Aid and assisted in at least a dozen others before retiring in 2017.

For the last six years of her life she was lovingly cared for by the staff of HumanGood (formerly Presby’s Inspired Life): first in memory care at Spring Mill Pointe in Lafayette Hill, PA and then in nursing care at Rydal Park and Waters in Jenkintown, PA.

Maureen is survived by her sons Stephen(Tracey) and Ray (Emily), sister Joan(James) Monaghan, sister-in-law Ellen (Thomas) Hayes, sister-in-lawMadeline (Ron) Denaro, daughter-in-law Christine (Michael McCabe),grandchildren Tess, Timothy, Kayleigh, and Kieran,and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Raymond, her parents Timothy and Bridget, her older brother Thomas, and her son Brian.

Calling hours are Tuesday, April 21 st from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Home, 321 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956. The funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, April 22 nd at 10:00 am at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church, 114 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956 with the interment immediately following at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 10 West Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY 10532.

All are welcome to attend and celebrate Maureen’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Maureen’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.