Rose Patricia “Pat” O’Grady

Rose Patricia O’Grady passed away peacefully on January 3, 2021 at the age of 84.  She was surrounded by members of her family who had provided great support to her during her illness.

Pat was the oldest of 9 children born to Rose and John McDonald in Weymouth, MA on April 7, 1936. She graduated from Weymouth High School in 1953, received her nursing degree from Quincy City School of Nursing in 1956, a B.S degree from Boston College School of Nursing in 1966 and a master’s degree in Nursing from UMass, Boston in 1989. She joined the US Airforce in 1957 and was stationed in Cambridge, England where she met her husband John, an Airforce officer.  She travelled extensively in Europe, Egypt and the Holy land.  As a student she worked on a Polio ward at Children’s Hospital before there was a vaccine.  She worked as a nurse at many locations in the Boston area, including the VA hospital in West Roxbury and she taught nursing at UMass Boston. She was instrumental in creating the Women in Military Service Memorial at Arlington Cemetery, For many years she was a member of the (National Organization for Women), and the Women League of Voters in Hingham and she loved helping on the 4th of July floats. Pat also belonged to TIARA, the first ancestral research association and spent many hours doing genealogy research in the US, Ireland and Scotland. She was a proud member of the Scituate Harbor Yacht Club for almost 50 years. She was very well read and had a wide range of intellectual interests.  She was high spirited and loved nothing more than an interesting conversation with old friends or new acquaintances. She will be long remembered as the energetic trailblazer of a large family, a woman of faith and fortitude.

Pat is survived by her husband of 57 years, John O’Grady (RetCol) of Hingham, MA; her son and daughter in law John and Pia O’Grady, her daughter Erin O’Grady and seven siblings, Anne Marie McDonald, Jeanette Rose Gutshall, Jack McDonald, Christine Bronchuk, Dan McDonald, and Bernie McDonald (RetFire Dep Cap), and Elizabeth Pare, along with many nieces and nephews.

The Family would like to thank the staff at Mass General Hospital for their wonderful care. A one-month anniversary mass is scheduled for February 7th at 9:00 am at Immaculate Conception in East Weymouth and online at Catholicweymouth.org. The family will hold a celebration of life gathering once it is safe to do so. 

Donations, if desired, can be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.

friends may offer their support by sharing a special memory or message.