Mary T. McLellan

Mary Therese (Cushing) McLellan passed away peacefully at home on September 11, 2024, surrounded by her loving family at the age of 96. Mary was born in Abington on October 18, 1927, to Mary Josephine (Deegan) and Leo Cushing. She is predeceased by her beloved husband Malcolm McLellan, and her four sisters, Rita, Norma, Leona (Bunny), and Josephine. Mary is survived by her 6 children, Laure and her husband Michael Houston, Roderick and his wife Nora, and Andrew and his wife Nicole, all of Rockland, MA; JoAnne and her husband Gary Cook of Plymouth, MA; Douglas and his wife Carole of Abington, MA; and Samuel and his wife Monica of Little Compton, RI. She was the much-loved “Grammy” to the 17 luckiest grandchildren in the world: Benjamin, Suzanne, Austen, Allison, Jacob, Jennette, Aaron, Gregory, Samantha, Rachel, Melissa, Colleen, Amanda, Hannah, Molly, Sophie, and Sarah, plus 25 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews. 

As children, Mary and her sisters lost their parents and were taken in and raised by their grandparents, Annie and Sam Cushing. The love and care shown to the girls during this time led Mary to strive to be a grandmother just like her Nana Cushing and provide a place where her own grandchildren would always feel loved and welcome. She achieved this every day. Mary graduated from Sacred Heart High School and Cambridge City Hospital School of Nursing, and worked as a nurse on the maternity floor at South Shore Hospital for many years. She was smart, funny, and loved staying up to date on politics and current events. She hosted Tea every Sunday afternoon where her family would gather to tell stories, sip King Cole tea from her beautiful tea cups, and eat homemade cookies––a talented baker, no one else’s oatmeal bread will ever taste as good as Mary’s, even when they used her recipe. She loved traveling to Prince Edward Island, Canada to visit family, New Hampshire in autumn, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she and Malcolm took cross-country road trips with their kids. The family is comforted by more memories and love than can be expressed in words and the knowledge that Mary and Mac are now reunited in heaven.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend a visitation for Mary on Tuesday, September 17, from 4-7pm, in the CC Shepherd Funeral Home, located at 134 Pleasant St (Columbian Sq.) South Weymouth. Relatives and friends will gather the following morning for a Celebration of Life for Mary in the funeral home at 9am, prior to the Mass at Saint Francis Xavier Church in Weymouth at 10am. Burial will be at Saint Patrick's Cemetery in Rockland.