Gretta Morris

Gretta Morris

March 03, 1949 – October 30, 2023

North Quincy – Gretta died peacefully on October 30, 2023 at her favorite place, her “lovely house”, surrounded by her family. Gretta is survived by her children, Dylan and his partner Alyson, Aengus, and his wife MaryEllen, Nollaig and her husband Keith, and Aoife and her husband Justin. She also leaves her much loved grandchildren, Gavin, Kian, Eily, Faela, Avery and Rhys. She is survived by her siblings, Patrick, John, Brendan, Geraldine, Breege, Liam and Kevin and their families. All of whom will carry their amazing mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt in their hearts forever. She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Mary McDonnell, her brother, Michael Joe McDonnell, her nephew, Michael McClintock and her beloved granddaughter, Finn McCabe.

Born and raised in County Mayo, Ireland, Gretta was the second of nine children. She worked as a pediatric nurse in Dublin until she moved back to County Mayo to raise a family. She worked for many years as a telephone company operator where she made many lifelong friends.

In 1989 Gretta moved her family to Boston; she always said it was one of the best decisions she ever made.  She returned to nursing, earning degrees at Labouré College and Emmanuel College. She was devoted to all her nursing roles including proudly serving as a SANE nurse for over 20 years and as a CPR instructor.  She was extremely proud of her 27 years in the Emergency Department at Boston Medical Center, where she truly loved her job, creating lasting bonds with her patients and the extended family that she created there. She also imparted her love of her chosen vocation to countless nursing students as an Adjunct Professor at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University and Labouré College of Healthcare.

Gretta loved to travel far and wide. Between frequent trips to see family in Ireland, Canada, and Norway she visited China, Alaska, Iceland, France, Spain, the Caribbean, and much of the US. While enjoying all her travels, her truly favorite place to hang out was the beach, especially Florida and Cape Cod.

Gretta was passionate about health and fitness. She was an avid runner and was a longstanding member of the L Street Running Club in South Boston. She ran road races and marathons all over. In the years that she was not running in her favorite, the Boston Marathon, she could be found volunteering in the finish line medical tent. In recent years she took up hiking, climbing mountains throughout New England, as well as the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

Visiting hours will be held at The Cushing Memorial Hall, 673 Main St, Norwell, MA on Thursday, November 9th, 2023 from 4:00PM – 8:00PM with a memorial service at 4:30PM.

Funeral and burial will take place in County Mayo, Ireland at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Gretta’s honor to the foundation in memory of her granddaughter, Finn, which was very important to Gretta:

The Finn McCabe Foundation

www.finnmccabefoundation.org

or via mail to: c/o North Shore Bank, 412 Lynn Fells Parkway, Saugus, MA 01906