Eugene F. Mcgrory

Eugene F. McGrory of Braintree, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on December 5, 2023. He was 79 years old.

Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Eugene and Mary McGrory (McQuaid) and brother of the late Mary (Pat) McGrory.  Gene was raised in Mattapan by his mother Mary and older sister Pat. He lost his father at a very young age. He had a passion for fixing cars and motorcycles and was an expert marksman with his slingshot. As a young man he enjoyed spending time with his friends riding motorcycles and vacationing on Cape Cod. When the country asked him to serve, he answered the call in 1966, and did a tour of duty in Vietnam from October of 1967 to September of 1968. During that time, he was wounded twice, received two Purple Hearts, and earned the Combat Infantry Badge. Gene was one of the few people who literally took a grenade for his country. The men he served with became lifelong friends who could pick up a phone after several years and continue where they left off. He was honorably discharged from the military and attended the dedication of the Vietnam Wall in 1982 to honor his fallen comrades. Later in life he attended rallies where he met up with several of his old friends.

When he returned home, he was a changed man. Gene used the GI bill to return to college and met his wife Nancy at UMass Amherst. Following their graduation, the couple were married on June 18, 1972. They backpacked through Europe for their honeymoon and shortly thereafter he began his second round of national service by joining the Internal Revenue Service. The couple moved to Nancy’s hometown of Braintree where they raised their two sons, John and James. Gene was a beloved father who did everything for his family. Weekend soccer and baseball tournaments, hockey games, and practices at 6:50am for his kids were the norm. The family was fortunate to have taken many family vacations to Orlando, ski out west and in the northeast and spend summers at his sisters house on Cape Cod. Gene loved golf and tennis and played several times a week. He was also a Cub Scout leader for both of his sons and took his family on walks in the woods of Cranberry Pond several times a year.

The family grew from four to six when John married Lisa and James married Liz. He was very grateful that his sons had married such wonderful and caring women, and admired how hard they worked and how dedicated they are to family. He grew to love them very quickly. They blessed him with 7 grandchildren: Alexis, Shane, Luke, Jack, Lily, Allison, and Leanna. The traditions that started with his sons continued with his grandkids. The kids loved that he was at their important events, went on walks in the woods and spent weeks in the summer in the cape with them. They did crossword puzzles together and talked to grandpa all the time. Even though he didn’t like to fish, he would still gladly sit and watch the kids fish off the pier at Dowses beach. He was generous enough to always do what it took to make his grandkids happy.

Life blessed him with the opportunity to retire and spend quality years with his wife, going on vacations all over the world with friends and family. This list of places is too long to mention. He golfed and played tennis whenever he wanted, enjoyed cigars and drinks by the fire, and spent the rest of his time reading and doing crossword puzzles. Even though he could spend the entire winter in Florida, he would rather be around family and friends, so he and Nancy would only go for a month or two at a time. About a year ago he suffered from a stroke that severely impacted his quality of life. He went in for life saving heart surgery in early October and fought hard to make it back to his beloved wife and family. Unfortunately, he did not pull through this time as he had in the past. Even though he leaves all of us behind, he is welcomed by all the people who love him in heaven. Gene will be missed, and we are fortunate for the time he spent with us.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to greet the family during the visiting hours on Thursday 12/14 from 4-8 PM at the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home SOUTH WEYMOUTH at 809 Main Street (Rte. 18 opp. So. Shore Hospital). Funeral Mass and burial will be held privately.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Eugene may be made to the charity of your choice.