Mary Margaret Downey, 88, of Nashua, passed away Friday afternoon, January 15, 2016 at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center after a brief illness.
A native of this city, Mary was born on April 7, 1927, a daughter of the late John F. and Alice M. (Welch) Downey. Educated in local schools, she was a graduate of Nashua High School Class of 1944. Miss Downey received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in 1948 and did graduate work at Boston University and Northeastern University.
Mary began her career as a computer programmer with the New England Telephone Company in the early 1950s and continued to work for its successor companies NYNEX and Verizon, as a project manager in Boston, MA and White Plains, NY until her retirement in 1992. Mary grew up in the Crown Hill section of Nashua and was a resident of The Huntington at Nashua at the time of her death. Mary also enjoyed her vacation home in Chatham, MA for many years.
She was a member of the American Association of University Women; The Telephone Pioneers of America; The Nashua Historical Society; and RISE. In her leisure time, Mary enjoyed traveling, playing duplicate bridge, theatre, reading, and gardening, and loved spending time with family and friends. Miss Downey was a communicant of St. Patrick Church in Nashua.
Members of her family include five nieces and a nephew, Debra Mackey of Sudbury, MA, Margaret Thornton and her husband Steven of Keene, Susan Diggins and her husband Anthony of Nashua, Martha Drukker of Nottingham, John Burnham and his wife Susan of Nashua and Mary Burnham of Tacoma, WA; four grandnieces and two grandnephews, Sarah Diggins and Emily Diggins of Nashua, Jack Drukker and Dow Drukker of Nottingham, Meghan Thornton and Abigail Thornton of Keene; a great-grandnephew, Carter Anthony Vegas; and her brother-in-law, Francis H. Burnham of Nashua. She was predeceased by her sister, Jacqueline T. Burnham, who died in March 2011.
There are no calling hours. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Patrick Church, 29, Spring Street, Nashua, Saturday morning, January 23rd at 11:30 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Patrick Cemetery in Hudson. Friends are invited to attend and will gather at the church. Donations may be made in her memory to The Huntington at Nashua, Attn. Scholarship Fund, 55 Kent Lane, Nashua, NH 03062 or to The Nashua Historical Society, 5 Abbott Street, Nashua, NH 03064. Arrangements are in the care of the FARWELL FUNERAL SERVICE, 18 Lock Street, Nashua. (603) 882-0591. www.farwellfuneral.com
