Obituary of Mary C. "Mikki" (McDonald) Power

Mary C. “Mikki” (McDonald) Power RN, 84, died peacefully on February 16, 2008 at the Kaplan Family House, Danvers, MA with her family at her side. Mrs. Power was born on December 18, 1923, in Peabody, daughter of the late Septimus and Mary (McCarthy) McDonald. A lifelong resident of Peabody, Mary graduated St. John the Baptist Elementary and Girls High School. She then pursued her education and graduated from St. John Hospital School of Nursing in Lowell as a Registered Nurse. Mary became a member of the Naval Cadet Nurse Corps towards the end of WW II where she was assigned as an RN at the Chelsea Naval Hospital. There she met the love of her life, a recovering Marine, David E. Power of Watertown, Mary and David were married in 1947 and together they raised 5 children. They were married for 57 years before Dave’s death in 2004. Mary was a private duty nurse for many years working in several North Shore hospitals but spent the majority of her working life as an RN at Salem Hospital retiring in 1990. An accomplished pianist she loved to play and sing for groups, family and friends and also played the piano and led sing-a-longs at many functions at St. John’s School, Sunrise at Gardner Park and the Trask Senior Health Center in Peabody. As a volunteer nurse, Mary assisted at the Peabody Chapter of the American Red Cross blood drives and other functions. Mary enjoyed seeing new places, outings with friends, trips to get “good fried clams” and visiting family, cousins and friends in Maine and Canada. Mary will be remembered for her willingness to help others, her love of music, her dedication to the nursing profession, her eagerness to share her love and knowledge of gardening, science and religion, her energy, ingenuity, enthusiasm and her inability, no matter how hard she tried, to deliver a punch line of a joke. She is survived by her children and their spouses, David and Linda Power of Phippsburg, ME, Kevin and Kathleen Power of Ipswich, Neil and Deborah Power of Merrimac, Maureen Power of Silver Spring, MD, and Julie Power of Peabody; a sister, Eleanor Boyd of Peabody, her sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Henry Gooszen of Saltillo, Mississippi; 7 grandchildren, Justin and Shannon Power of Ipswich, Matthew Power of Beverly, Nathan Power of Bartlett, NH, Kate Power of Portland, ME, Christopher Power of Lowell and Megan Power of Merrimac; many nieces, nephews, and cousins from New England, Mississippi and Prince Edward Island Canada. His brothers Edward “Mac” MacDonald DVM and Raymond MacDonald predeceased her. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday, February 20, 2008, at 10 a.m. from the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 20 Church St., (downtown location) Peabody followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. John the Baptist Church, 16 Church St., Peabody. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Visiting hours Tuesday 5 to 8 p.m. Burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to St. John the Baptist Grammar School, 17R Chestnut St., Peabody MA 01960 or the NSMC Salem Hospital, 81 Highland Ave., Salem, MA 01970.