Mary Margaret (Donahue) Eagan passed away peacefully on December 14, 2024, with close family by her side at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She was born in 1938 in Hartford, Connecticut, to Frank Donahue, an employee of the Royal Typewriter Company, and Margaret (Gilligan) Donahue, an OB nurse at Hartford Hospital. She had two beloved sisters, Barbara, the eldest, and Margaret, the youngest, both of whom she loved dearly. Mary grew up in a cold water flat in Hartford, but some of her favorite childhood memories came from spending her summers in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her maternal Grandparents, two of her aunts, Mary and Eleanor, Eleanor’s husband, Bob and their son Peter.

Mary attended Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Hartford for grades K-10 and then transferred to and graduated from Hartford High School in 1956. Mary was a registered nurse, graduating from St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in 1959 and becoming the youngest head nurse at St. Francis Hospital soon after, at only 23 years of age. She continued to work there as a head nurse until she retired in 1987, with the exception of the brief time away from the hospital that she spent working as an office nurse as a favor to her dear friend Dr. James Calio. She was well known for the excellent care she gave her patients and for the conscientious way she ran her department, always treating her staff with dignity and respect. Patients would very often request to be placed on her unit above all of the others in the hospital, even those in newer buildings with more modern amenities, because they knew they would get the best care on her floor. Mary was also the head of a great deal of committees at St. Francis, and many of the policies and procedures she personally wrote are still in place at the hospital today.

In addition to working at St. Francis, Mary joined the Connecticut Air National Guard in 1960 and graduated from the Medical Services Orientation Course at Gunter Air Force Base in Alabama. She served for twenty years with the Guard, attaining the position of Chief Nurse of the 103rd U.S. Air Force Dispensary. She became one of the first women to break the sound barrier in an F-100F jet, earning her the title of “Machbuster.” When President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter visited Connecticut, Mary was held in such high esteem that she was selected to care for the First Lady. By the time of her retirement from the military, Mary had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mary always had a story to tell her nieces and nephews about pilots, planes or travel as a member of the military. In fact, two of Barbara's four children joined the Air National Guard as a result of Mary’s encouragement and life experiences she had while serving her country.

Mary wed Philip Sheridan Eagan, an economist employed by Fafnir Bearing of New Britain, CT, on April 7, 1978. They were a devoted couple with many shared interests, including a love of traveling. Together, they traveled the world, including trips to Bermuda, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. They made West Hartford, CT their home until 1987, when the couple decided to move to what had been their Cape Cod summer home in South Harwich, MA. Mary loved Cape Cod and her nieces and nephews shared the love of the Cape with their aunt and spent as much time as they could spending sunny summer days at the beach with her. On the Cape, Mary worked as Director of Nursing at Rosewood Manor in Harwich and Orleans Convalescent Home and then for multiple visiting nurse agencies. Not long after it first opened its doors in 1989, Mary began volunteering at the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, where she served as a team leader for 33 years. She was also a very active member of the Garden Club of Harwich.

Mary was never blessed with any children of her own, but she blessed the lives of many by being a wonderful mother figure, including the children of her late sister Barbara (Donahue) Taksar (Steve, Jane, Bill and Lisa) her late sister Margaret (Donahue) FitzGerald (Tom and Mary Kate) all of whom she loved dearly. Mary first became an aunt when the eldest Taksar, Steven, was born. She was a very involved and important part of their lives, as she took her role as a new aunt seriously and with great joy. Holidays were always a festive occasion for the Taksars. Aunt Mary and Aunt Margeret never had a shortage of food, activities, or gifts. The Taksar children always looked forward to traveling to Hartford on Christmas Eve and they felt like they had two Christmases due to the generosity of their beloved aunts. Of particular note was the excitement they shared singing Christmas carols around the beautiful lighted Christmas tree at the end of the cul-de-sac with everyone in the neighborhood.

Mary was incredibly close with her late sister Margaret, who always told Mary that she considered her to be the “other mother” to her children, whom Mary loved as her own. Tom, Margaret’s oldest, had a special connection with Mary at a young age when he lived with her and her husband five days a week for over a year while attending preschool at St. Francis Hospital, so Margaret could focus on caring for infant Mary Kate. Tom and Mary continued to stay close, even when Tom’s work and schooling separated them geographically. Mary played a special role in Margaret’s daughter Mary Kate’s life as well, throughout Mary Kate’s childhood and especially during the many years they both spent living on Cape Cod. The two Marys were not only aunt and niece but best friends. They had an exceptionally strong bond, mutual love, and affection. They were each other’s confidants and were always there for each other. Mary Kate’s husband Jeff was also always there for Mary. They adored and appreciated each other and Jeff was a tremendous help to Mary Kate when they moved into Mary’s home to care for her in her final months of life.

Just as she was the “other mother” to Tom and Mary Kate, Mary subsequently became the “other grandmother” to Tom’s children (Olive, Walter, Margaret Mary, and Philip), and Mary Kate’s daughter Chloe Anne, all of whom she couldn’t have loved more. Tom’s daughter Margaret Mary and son Philip were named for Mary and her husband, to carry forward the memory of those happy years Tom stayed with them. Mary had an especially close relationship with Mary Kate’s daughter, Chloe. Chloe and her parents lived with Mary when she was a young girl, creating a strong bond between the two that only grew stronger with time. The young family moved out on their own after a few years. Still, due to Chloe’s parents’ work schedule, Mary would drive Chloe to and from school and to appointments and social gatherings so often that she was on a first-name basis with the school office staff, Chloe’s friends, and even the receptionist at Chloe’s dentist’s office. Mary cherished these car rides as they gave her an opportunity to spend countless hours bonding with her beloved grandniece.

Mary was a devout Catholic, attending daily Mass throughout her life, and she truly lived her faith. She was known by all for being exceptionally compassionate, selfless, and incredibly generous. She did so much for so many and never expected anything in return. Mary had a unique talent for always knowing how to comfort someone when they were upset; always knowing just what to say. She was an extremely kind and gentle soul and all who knew and loved her will miss her soft spoken nature, and love of life. But if there was anyone who is surely in heaven, it would be Mary. She couldn’t possibly deserve it more. We hope that she has been joyously reunited with many lost loved ones, including her late husband, both of her parents and her two sisters, along with the many friends and family that we like to think were there to greet her with open arms when she arrived at heaven’s gate.

Mary is predeceased by her husband Phil, her mother, father, and two sisters. She is survived by her six nieces and nephews and their families, Tom FitzGerald and his wife Sam, Mary King and her husband Jeff, Steve Taksar and his wife Laure, Jane LaBorde, Bill Taksar and his wife Terry, Lisa Orifice and her husband Tom, fourteen grandnieces and grandnephews, three great-grandnephews, one great-grandniece and by many cousins including Peter Shaughnessy and his wife Linda, and by many good friends who loved her dearly.

Funeral Mass to be celebrated on January 20, 2025 at 11am at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 98 Station Avenue, South Yarmouth, MA 02664. A prayer service will follow at 1pm, during which our dear Mary will be laid to rest in the columbarium at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 246 Main St, West Harwich, MA 02671. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Mary’s favorite charity, Boys Town, at: https://www.boystown.org

I have just found out about Mary’s death. She was a colleague and then a dear friend. When I was widowed she surrounded me with love and kindness and kept my job open until I could return to work. She was a gentle but strong woman and although it is three years since I saw her we spoke on the phone from my home here in Spain. She will always be close to my heart.

On behalf of Massachusetts Nurses Honor Guard Ann Os Watch To the entire Eagan Family know that we express our sincerest condolences and deepest sympathies. Thank you, Nurse Mary, for your outstanding dedication, and service to nursing, a career that reflected your empathy, caring, kindness, and compassion. Thank you for your love and service to others. May you rest in peace. May fond memories of you live on.