Obituary of Mary E. (Donlon) McLaughlin

Mary E. (Donlon) McLaughlin, 95, of Peabody died peacefully on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Jeffrey and Susan Brudnick Center for Living in Peabody with family at her side. She was the wife of the late Terrence E. McLaughlin. Mary was born in Peabody, MA, the daughter of the late James and Mary (McCarrick) Donlon and resided here most of her life. She excelled at Peabody public schools and attended what was then called Framingham State Teachers College. She was the first in her family to attend college. Mary began her teaching career in Amherst and later taught in Arlington, MA. It was during this time that she met the love of her life and husband of 63 years, Terrence McLaughlin. She was a parishioner at St. John the Baptist Church, Peabody her entire life. Mary taught night school in Lynn while she was raising her children. She then returned to teaching home economics in two junior high schools in Peabody, first at the Seeglitz and then at Higgins. She was a dedicated teacher, and was committed to education. She taught practical life-long skills to a generation of students. She was also a lifetime learner- she took courses throughout her life, including photography, furniture finishing and crafts. First and foremost, Mary loved her family- nothing brought her more pleasure than being with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved holidays, family vacations, and any occasion that brought the family together. She loved the ocean and walking the beach, taking trips and exploring new areas. She was kind, interested in people and respectful of everyone she met. She is survived by her four children and their spouses, T. Mark and Sandra (Roman) McLaughlin of Western Springs, IL, Mary (McLaughlin) and Peter Salkins of Salem; Joan McLaughlin and David Weiner of Arlington, VA, and John and Gale (McHenry) McLaughlin of Cincinnati, OH, twelve grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, her sisters-in-law, Lorraine McLaughlin of Peabody and Patricia McLaughlin of Salem and many nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Margaret and James Donlon. A Visitation will be held on Tuesday, July 25 from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at 82 Lynn St., Peabody. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday, July 26 at 9:00 AM at the funeral home followed by a Funeral Mass in St. John the Baptist Church, Peabody at 10:00 AM. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem, MA. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Mary McLaughlin Memorial Fund, c/o Maureen Kelleher, Principal, St. John the Baptist School, 19 Chestnut St., Peabody, MA -01960 in her memory or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation http://www.jdrf.org/donate/. For directions and guestbook, visit www.ccbfuneral.com