PRESQUE ISLE and BANGOR – Mary E. Shaughnessy, 86, formerly of Maine and longtime resident of Jamestown, N.Y., passed away Friday, July 16, 2010, at St. Paul Homes, Greenville, Pa. She was born July 22, 1923, in Presque Isle, daughter of the late Albert and Verna (O’Brien) Hayes. Mary attended high school and normal school in Presque Isle before graduating from St. Elizabeth’s College, Convent Station, N.J., in 1946 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She returned to Maine in 1946 to report society news and general features for the Bangor Daily News, interviewing celebrities such as Eddie Cantor and Margaret Chase Smith. The most important “celebrity,” however, turned out to be fellow News reporter William A. Shaughnessy, whom she married in 1951, and to whom she remained lovingly devoted until his death in 1994. Together they raised six grateful children. Mary worked as a librarian at St. Bonaventure University from 1951 to 1953 and at the Health Science Library of WCA Hospital, Jamestown, N.Y., from 1983 until 1993. She was an active parishioner of Holy Apostles Parish, Ss Peter & Paul Church for decades as a lector and volunteer. She loved making music and listening to it, serving on the Jamestown Concert Association board. She loved family and friendships and the conversations that accompanied them. Cherishing children and their world, she volunteered extensively in pro-life women’s services, including the Choose Life Center of Jamestown. Always treasuring good writing, literature and poetry, she often gave books as gifts and for several years volunteered to read for the visually impaired over the Radio Update Reading Service. She is survived by her brother, the Rev. James Hayes of Scarborough; her five children, Mary Prunty of Arlington Va., the Rev. William G. Shaughnessy of Washington, D.C., Dr. Patrick Shaughnessy of Greenville, Pa., Dr. Jim Shaughnessy of Long Beach, Calif., and Annie Shaughnessy of Northborough, Mass.; as well as 13 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by a daughter, Kathleen Blatz; and two brothers, the Rev. Patrick Hayes and Jack Hayes. Information on her wake and funeral is available on the Web site of Lind Funeral Home, Jamestown, N.Y., at www.lindfuneralhome.org.
MARY E. SHAUGHNESSY
