Remembering the life of Ann (McEleney) MacKAY (2024)

Bangor - Ann Marie (McEleney) MacKAY, 91, passed away peacefully on August 23, 2024, with her family by her side. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend.
Ann was predeceased by her loving husband of 67 years, John F. MacKAY, Ret. Army Lt. Colonel in April of 2022.
The daughter of the late Thomas F. McEleney, Lt. Detective of the Everett Police Department and the late Margaret L. Hurley, Ann was born in Everett, Massachusetts, February 15, 1933. She attended Lafayette Elementary school, Everett, Massachusetts, and Girls Catholic High School, Malden, Massachusetts, class of 1950. Following graduation, she graduated from Carney Hospital School of Nursing, So. Boston, Massachusetts, class of 1953. In 1992, she graduated from the University of Maine Farmington, with a bachelor's degree in community health.
A military wife for 20 years, Ann embraced the Army life accompanying her husband on his many assignments from France to Germany to Virginia, to Massachusetts to Maine. She endured war time separations and family relocations with strength and grace. Her hospitality and charming sense of humor created lasting friendships before calling Maine her home for the past 57 years.
A loving and proud mother and grandmother, she enjoyed watching and attending the many activities of her children and her grandchildren along with their friends.
Wanting to come out of her comfort zone as a young mother, Ann joined and became a member of the Downeast Toastmistress Club. She went on to compete in numerous speech contests, and in April of 1973, she won 1st prize with her title winning speech, "You've Come A Long Way Baby" which was about style ... she loved her hats!
Ann loved her job and the friends she made as the school nurse in Bangor, Maine. She served the children and teens of the Bangor School Department for 21 years from 1977 to 1998. Serving all schools for 10 years and the last 11 as Bangor High School's Nurse and Chemical Health Coordinator.
Ann was a member of the Maine Teachers Association. A devoted parishioner of St. Mary's Catholic Church, now St. Paul the Apostle Parish, she volunteered in many ministries to include Faith Formation, Church Life, R.C.I.A, and Eucharistic visits to the homebound. She was a team member of the St. Joseph Hospital's Hospice Program. In all, she cherished the service and life-long connections she made.
Following the death of her husband, Ann moved to a senior independent living apartment at Boyd Place in Bangor. There, she fondly met many new friends among her resident neighbors as well as the wonderful staff.
Ann is survived by her five children and their spouses, Thomas MacKAY, Kathleen and Arthur Kane, Timothy and Dawn MacKAY, Christine and Scott Dunbar, and Sean and Denise MacKAY; 10 cherished grandchildren, Maggie & Jenny Kane, Jonathan, Joshua, and Joseph MacKAY, Ryan (Becca) and Heather Dunbar, and Finley, Evan, and Alice MacKAY; 5 great-grandchildren; her sister, Barbara and brother-in-law, Roger Barnes, of Burlington, Massachusetts; sister-in-law, Lorraine MacKAY of Everett, Massachusetts; brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Elaine MacKAY, of Stoneham, Massachusetts; and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sister, Peggy and brother-in-law, Frederic Kelley; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Charlotte and Robert Byrne, Robert and Winifred MacKAY, Dorothy and David Singleton, and Frederick MacKAY; daughter-in-law, Angelika Kennedy MacKay; and grandsons, infant Eli MacKAY, Patrick Kane, and Christopher Kennedy.
Relatives and friends are invited to call from 4-6 p.m., Friday, September 20, 2024, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. Saturday, September 21, 2024, at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, St. John's Catholic Church, 217 York St., Bangor. The family invites all to share conversation and refreshments in the Parish Hall immediately following the Mass. Those who wish to attend the service remotely may do so by visiting stpaulbangorme/watch-mass-live. Interment to follow at a later date in The National Veterans Cemetery, Bourne, Massachusetts. Condolences to the family may be expressed at Brookings-Smith.com.

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Published on August 30, 2024