Obituary: Arlene M. (Lynch) McDonald, Longtime Teacher in Peabody

Obituary from Conway Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home.

Arlene M. (Lynch) McDonald, 85, beloved wife of the late Thomas P. McDonald, died peacefully on Friday December 5, 2014 at the Ocean View Assisted Living Facility in Beverly while in the comforting presence of her family.

Born in Salem, she was the daughter of the late Cornelius and Helen (Coyle) Lynch. She grew up in the Wyoma Square area of Lynn and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Lynn. She then graduated from Salem Teacher’s College which is now Salem State University.

Mrs. McDonald was a dedicated Teacher with the City of Peabody for her career. She started at the Samuel Brown Elementary School and was mostly with South Memorial School.

Arlene was devoted to her family and her faith. She was active and a Eucharistic Minister at St. John the Baptist Church in Peabody and when she retired with her husband to Florida at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in New Port Richey, FL. She also had a passion for golf and was a member of the Thomson Country Club in North Reading and more recently Seven Springs Golf & Country Club in New Port Richey. She was a Treasurer of the A.O.H. Division 11 of Peabody and earned the distinguished recognition as Irish Woman of the Year in 1990.

Her family wishes to acknowledge the caregivers at both the Ocean View Assisted Living and Compassionate Care Hospice.
She is survived by her children, Thomas P. McDonald, II & his wife Patricia of Rowley, Marie Ferree & her husband William of Newport, RI, Ann McDonald & her husband Paul Miedzionoski of Beverly, and Maureen McDonald of Amesbury; 6 grandchildren; two brothers, William Lynch & his wife Sally of San Diego, CA and Richard Lynch of Somers, NY, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death, besides her husband and parents, by a brother Gerald Lynch and sister Cornelia (Fountain) Yunker.

Following cremation, relatives and friends are kindly invited to gather for a Funeral
Mass on Monday December 15, 2014 at 11 AM in St. John the Baptist Church, Peabody. Memorial donations may be made to either St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472.